Beyond The Music

I was listening to the radio again, the other day. And, the first three or four songs that I heard used little or no real musical instruments what so ever. I know that this has to do with the station I was listening to, but I recall it being a top 40 station. So, I was wondering, if most of today's hit records don't use many real instruments, then whose buying all of the musical equipment?

I've actually been thinking about this for quite some time. Trying to find statistics for musical instrument sales has been no easy feat. I was, however able to find a Social Statistics survey that asked respondents if they had played a musical instrument in the last three years. Out of 3125 participants, 37% said that they had, while 21% said no, and 29% said that they didn't play an instrument at all. One thing I do know, is that most major online musical instrument stores are doing just fine. Musician's Friend, American Musical Supply, Sam Ash, and Guitar Centers all have online stores that are doing brisk business with or without sales and specials. So, if this is true, then again I ask, whose buying?

A couple of years ago, I read a blog where the writer suggested that recording artists should give their music away for free and make their living doing live shows. I can't say that I agree with that at all. One thing I can say, is that the DIY movement is most likely responsible for a large portion of the musical instruments that are bought and sold. Artists and bands on every level are doing live shows to support their recorded work.

The nature of making a record has changed many time over the years. In the 1990s there was a heavy emphasis on production. This gave rise to the use of a lot of special effects. The question is now, is whether or not the use of these devices have become part of the actual music making process. If this is the case, one would have to wonder if popular music has moved so far from the songwriting process, that the soul of the music presented is either buried or simply not present, given over to "clicks, pops, and sound effects."

Now, I'm not a purist when it comes to recording music. When I record, I will use anything that's available to deliver the sound that I'm looking for. But, I always try to start with a song that I have written before hand. It isn't written in stone that all recorded music must be done in this fashion. However, as the old adage goes, "great recordings start with great songs." Which, I might add, may sound like a call for a return to some nostalgic time that may seem to no longer exist. But, if you ever visit Nashville, you will find that you can't make it there in music with out a well written song. While it remains the home of Country music, there other genres of music that are represented there as well as some top recording studios.

In the late 1990s VH1 started the Save The Music Foundation. the purpose of this foundation has been to raise money to purchase musical instruments to give to schools to help them restore music programs that were lost due to budget reductions. So far the Save The Music Foundation has raised a total of 34 million dollars which has helped to improve the live of 800,000 students in 1400 public schools. I think, and this is my opinion, that this is a great way to at least keep the tradition, if not possibly the future of real music alive.