Disturbing Trends in Guitar Sales

[Thumpalumpacus]

I don't care for much modern music, and much of the reason for me is the overwhelming presence of computers at every turn -- AutoTune to fix the vocals, normalizing to fix sloppy beats, drums that sound mechanical with no swing nor groove, samples of music that you had no hand in writing. One reason I love jazz and rock is that the most of the artists in those fields eschew those contrivances and simply make music with their instruments.

Whether I like this or that song, genre, of musical culture is entirely irrelevant to anything. I don't think computer programmers are musicians, necessarily, but I also don't think my opinion is terribly important.

[sgosnell]

Computer programmers aren't musicians, necessarily, but many are. It's surprising to some that many of the same talents are needed for both.

[Longways to Go]

Totally agree about the tech takeover. Who wants to sit at a computer all day anyway? Certainly not me.

I spent about 1/2 hour yesterday listening to some new hip hop, as my wife had it on the radio. The show was a countdown of top 5 new songs. I couldn't get over how much "the same" everything sounded. All of the disco club clichés, and really none of the electronic instrumental sounded much different from 90's dance club music. I don't dig much of that music, but I do get that the throbbing infectious beat has some power to it. My wife like to dance, so that's the appeal for her. Oh, there was exactly one short guitar solo in that 1/2 hour of listening.

I'll bet musicians felt much the same sense of loss and decay at the decline of the big band era too.

[ptchristopher3]

I'll bet musicians felt much the same sense of loss and decay at the decline of the big band era too.

There seems to be nothing new under the sun. The more we learn (or imagine maybe) about pre-historic man, the more this seems to be true.

The sense of loss or decay seems to be an illusion of all of our lives, seemingly going back at least 300,000 years.

Well except for Ted Nugent, that is actual decay.

******************

My grandfather was a tenor banjo player (so like rhythm guitar in the pre-amplifier era) in the VERY late 20’s and 30’s.

He was completely bewildered (or bogu’ed-out) by bebop, and saw what we see as nostalgic classic jazz as decay from his familiar 1932 4-count version of rock and roll dance music.

Funny in a way.

Onward and sideward.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Computer programmers aren't musicians, necessarily, but many are. It's surprising to some that many of the same talents are needed for both.

Hmm. I'm not hearing it.

[lammie200]

...Well except for Ted Nugent, that is actual decay...

I believe that Ted lost most of his hearing decades ago. I suppose that one explanation for him being such a provocateur is that he might not be able to hear the things that he says.

[ptchristopher3]

I believe that Ted lost most of his hearing decades ago. I suppose that one explanation for him being such a provocateur is that he might not be able to hear the things that he says.

We can hope.

[Jazzstdnt]

I do not know the basic realities of your life. But pretty much everyone here is a result of absurd privilege and good fortune.

So we do not worry about grocery money (or ebony money), and possibly wallow in self-absorbed opinions while failing to gather the essential facts first.

But maybe we also seek to be impactful in the lives of our families and communities, while mostly indulging our plush-bottomed selves and pretending not to.

How any of this reasonably leads to shitting on the work of young women escapes my admittedly limited brain.

It's because they're on stage charging lots and lots of mooooooney. Fair game. Playing the woman card won't hunt.

It's only art and entertainment and we have free speech and free will. We are required to like nothing, yet allowed to like everything. It's our choice, not Perry's. We don't work for her, she works for us (if we purchase).

[Jazzstdnt]

Hmm. I'm not hearing it.

Understandable.

I believe that the reference has to do with the following - In past times (like the 80s and 90s) when companies were looking for entry level folks to train as computer programmers, and there weren't enough computer science grads (but plenty of other grads looking for gainful employment) a music major grad was recognized as a potentially good candidate. I forget all the reasons why, but do remember that it had to do with organization and form and attention to fine and subtle details.

[christianm77]

Filthy modernists!

[Woody Sound]

Computer programmers aren't musicians, necessarily, but many are. It's surprising to some that many of the same talents are needed for both.

I knew a dj who couldn't play a single note on any instrument, yet he actually considered himself a real musician because he "played" songs for people. Other than that he was a really nice guy.

[christianm77]

I think the tech takeover of music industry infrastructure is far more of a concern for the jobbing musician.

Soon, the human race will be divided into two categories - those working in technology and the plebs.

I remember reading an Asimov story along those lines when I was a kid....

[Jazzstdnt]

I spoke too soon. Not just the 80s and 90s. still going on...


Composing Code: Why Musicians Make Great Software Developers | HuffPost

[sgosnell]

I'm talking about the mental aspects of playing music and programming, not physically playing music. But if you visit an office where programming is the primary job, and it's allowed, you'll see a lot of guitars, and saxophones and other instruments. I would bet the rent money that the percentage of people who play an instrument of some sort is higher among computer programmers than among the general population. I don't know how to prove that reliably, though.

[Spook410]

I'm talking about the mental aspects of playing music and programming, not physically playing music. But if you visit an office where programming is the primary job, and it's allowed, you'll see a lot of guitars, and saxophones and other instruments. I would bet the rent money that the percentage of people who play an instrument of some sort is higher among computer programmers than among the general population. I don't know how to prove that reliably, though.

A friend and I would play guitar at lunch. Just after he was in his cubicle still noodling with his left while working on a schedule with his right. His supervisor was aghast and dressed him down pretty good for it. Out in the open even. I then called the supervisor into my office (she was on my staff), shut the door, and we had a discussion about her management style. As you might guess, it was the last time she got in someone's face (in particular a very expensive and essential software engineer) while they were being productive.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I spoke too soon. Not just the 80s and 90s. still going on...


Composing Code: Why Musicians Make Great Software Developers | HuffPost

And the obverse? Do programmers have the outlook to allow for living, breathing music? Perhaps I'm biased, but the electronica/techno I've heard seems to rely on trance-style repetition, rather than an ongoing musical conversation. Maybe I'm just too old. Hmph.

[Doctor Jeff]

I believe that Ted lost most of his hearing decades ago. I suppose that one explanation for him being such a provocateur is that he might not be able to hear the things that he says.

Ummm...no.

[Doctor Jeff]

I have missed a lot of the conversations above, but the last posts reminds me that there are a lot of guitarists that have gone on to non-musical technical careers at least for awhile.

I personally think if I could play guitar professionally I certainly would give up my day job, but apparently a lot of people have the opposite reaction, at least re' making a living in the music biz.

I think Denny Diaz was into computer programming after Steely Dan.

Jeff Skunk Baxter did defense intelligence and technology work.

Steve Morse was an airline pilot for about a decade.

I'm sure there are lot of others out there who "retired" from music and went into technical jobs.

[lammie200]

And the obverse? Do programmers have the outlook to allow for living, breathing music? Perhaps I'm biased, but the electronica/techno I've heard seems to rely on trance-style repetition, rather than an ongoing musical conversation. Maybe I'm just too old. Hmph.

My neighbors are programmers. They have an original folk band. Kinda cheesy for my tastes, and not really very technical in their playing, so to speak. I don't fault them for it though.

[Greentone]

"Perhaps I'm biased, but the electronica/techno I've heard seems to rely on trance-style repetition, rather than an ongoing musical conversation. Maybe I'm just too old. Hmph."

I don't believe it's a "too old" thing. Some folks just don't like electronica/techno. NBD.

I have been a fan, going back to early Kraftwerk, for example. I find a lot of House, Electronica, and Techno to be relatively good music. Daft Punk is good, IMO.

I have about as much equipment for creating that sort of music as I do for making guitar music. I think it's a blast. I have to be in the right mood, though.

Most days, I would far prefer to play "Twisted Blues."

[Spook410]

....

I'm sure there are lot of others out there who "retired" from music and went into technical jobs.

I think there are a lot more here who retired from another field and now focus more on music now that they have time to do so.

[TedBPhx]

Spent my working career as a programmer. Now that I’m retired I am trying to learn jazz guitar. The similarities I have noticed are in the ability and need to find freedom within the rules of the language either computational or of the music genre.

Used to to run a poetry forum where our favorite piece of advice was to either find something new to say or find a new way to say something familiar.

Applies to all creative endeavors.

[Papawooly]

I knew a dj who couldn't play a single note on any instrument, yet he actually considered himself a real musician because he "played" songs for people. Other than that he was a really nice guy.

Had similar thing happen years ago at my Daughters wedding...

We hired a DJ and he set me back $1000... plus he got a $100 tip from my Son.
( I wondered why he was following me around after the gig being nice to me!!)
He was a great DJ, and "entertained" between songs etc, but in all of the years
I have played gigs in bands (mostly dive bars) we never got close to $1100
...Plus I helped him set up...

[Mike Anderson]

Whew, lots to contemplate here. Interestingly, during the weekend's FIRST tournament, which has almost non-stop really loud music with live DJs, "Shake It Off" (which I loathe) was played. My wife, whose thoughts on Swift I had no idea of, turned to me and said, "God, what an unremarkable voice she has!" What can I say, she has good ears; lifelong rockabilly, blues, jazz, and bluegrass gal.

Anyway I've been listening to music made using synthesizers (which in recent years tend to exist as pieces of software on computers) in one form or another on and off since the late 1960s, and don't believe it's the tools used to make music that are the problem; it's more like there are two kinds of music-makers in our world: the kind who are motivated by a love of music and the kind who are motivated mainly by money and fame. Sometimes people who are passionate about music end up being financially successful through music sales, and very often the ones who only care about the money-and-fame thing aren't - which is a good thing IMO.

In the world of purely electronic music, you actually see a lot of people who are clearly passionate about music and know very well that most of their music income will come from a smattering of online sales and/or Youtube payments, but they hold down a day job and forge ahead anyway because they love what they do and have something worth sharing. With singer-songwriters like some of the ones I've chosen to dump on, it seems to me that they work (very hard, yes) at becoming involved in music because they know it might lead to wealth and fame, if they present material that conforms to the status quo; their musical output is so shallow because they grew up idolizing the same kind of celebrity entertainer they want to become.

Every time you turn on the radio you hear people whose approach to music is obviously the same, and that's why so much of it sounds the same: they're all riding whatever is the current sonic trend (cf. my comment in another thread about the Amazon Alexa commercial where the character says, "Alexa, play that hipster song with the whistling"). Music is just their weapon of choice to become famous and wealthy. It's that simple - and to me, as a guy who has listened to music from every period of history and most of the cultures on the planet, that totally bizarre and unnatural. At the end of the day I wish everyone would occasionally remind themselves they have a limited amount of time on this planet and correspondingly a limited amount of time to hear and appreciate music. It might help them decide to cut to the chase and pursue the good stuff with a little more dedication, and then maybe the celebrity/bubblegum/disposable music industry could die the death it so richly deserves.

Good a reason as any I've heard for a global celebration.

[ronjazz]

But let's be honest here, you haven't done any kind of study either. You think there are a lot, I think there are less. My opinion is just as valid as yours.

no, it isn't. the facts are facts, not opinions.