Auditory Circulation

The term "music" has been around since people could hear, and back then it was clearly understood what was meant by the term. Today, however, it can mean a host of different things to different people. For one generation music might be classical and opera. For the next it might be house and hip-hop music. As borders open up and cultures merge, so music has undergone a transformation. Music is constantly mutating and assimilating other influences, so much so that today we have a plethora of styles.Before recording technology, "music" referred only to live music. So when the recording media first appeared, the transformation of the music paradigm was profound. The experience of listening to music was seldom repetitive before recording, unlike listening to a tape which is more or less identical at each hearing. In addition, this experience is also shared by everyone who listens to the same recording, making commonality of message and musical experience a unifying social ritual for the first time.The underlying philosophy of tape music spawned a whole new direction in musicianship, and music styles that would follow. Electronica, new age, rap, and other incarnations are direct descendants of the original music philosophy.