Thoughts on software, Dischord & DIY and definitions

I spent some time looking at the music notation software websites Professor Simon provided us with this week. Sibelius’AudioScore got my attention with one of their features. I used Sibelius and Finale briefly as an undergraduate music student. I was not a composer so my use of it was very limited. In fact, it was usually easier to hand write the scores for class assignments than to try and fight with other students to get enough time on the department’s computer to use either Sibelius or Finale. Anyway, I was really impressed with the Mic-to-Score Automatic Notation feature of AudioScore. I wonder if it’s similar to the humming by query applications, where it works but is imperfect. It would be fun to experiment with, to be sure.

I have used Adobe Audition for several years now, mainly to edit and produce radio audio. I find Audition to be pretty intuitive and easy to use. I have definitely not explored all of the options in the program, mainly because I have not needed to use them all. It works well for mixing pre-recorded audio programs to be aired later. Although a musician, I am a visual person, so having a concrete way to look at audio and sound waves is appealing to me.

Dischord records kept coming to mind during the Kusek & Leonhard readings this week. In chapter 7, the discussion is about how the music industry is changing, or will change. Dischord records is an easy example of how outsiders to the music industry created their own way of recording, distributing, touring, selling and making their own music. I believe many musicians are finding ways to do so outside of the music industry out of necessity, but Dischord did so both out of need and out of ideals. These punk kids from DC in the 80s weren’t exactly what Warner Brothers was probably looking for. But lots of other kids and adults across the country were hungry for what they were making. Of course, the whole project was contingent on Ian Mackaye’s parents allowing the label to operate out of their house. But, it does prove that to have a long career in music does not mean you have to have an office in downtown L.A.

Of course, the DIY aesthetic is associated with certain genres of music: punk, indie, underground, etc. But other genres have ways of operating outside the confines of the ‘legitimate’ music industry. Mixtapes were also discussed in Kusek & Leonhard, and they operate almost as a proving ground to some hip-hop artists. And, as programs like Adobe Audition and GarageBand become more common and easier to use, the sophistication of the average person will likely rise. I have bought at least one album recorded and produced entirely on GarageBand by a San Francisco band that is getting some larger renown: the Tune-Yards.

The Manual for the Performance Library was interesting to me. I believe someone discussed the difference between a performance librarian and a music librarian on the discussion board this week. I think the author considers a performance librarian to be someone associated and working for a music ensemble, like an orchestra, chamber ensemble or possibly a soloist. I can agree with this definition. I would then consider a music librarian to be a subject librarian in an academic library. Some of the duties might overlap, but it seems a performance librarian is focused on assisting a performance, whereas a music librarian is more focused on assisting research. These may be fairly arbitrary definitions and not in the spirit of Girsberger at all, but they are my take. However, where does that leave librarians working at radio stations, public libraries or elsewhere?