The Genre of Electronic Music

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In addition to genres making slow, gradual shifts in their course of development, the invention of new, useful technologies abruptly altered and almost completely transformed many genres and their sounds. Although new and innovative technology has always influenced the speed at which music advances, only recently has technology so abruptly made such an imprint on music and its quality. The use of devices such as turntables and synthesizers brought about the genre of Electronic music, which is specifically characterized by experimentation with devices that affect the pitch, tempo, and tone of instruments and vocals and a very futuristic, up-beat vibe. Essentially, this means that the genre loses most of what makes other genres soulful and personal. According to Adam Hadhazy at LiveScience, Auto-Tune, which works by adjusts and corrects a singer’s pitch, making his or her voice smoother, while still maintaining the natural sound, provides singers with a choice between developing a talent that can take years to perfect and taking the easy route to success in music, by allowing technology to compensate for what they lack in skill. Put simply, anyone who can carry a tune can sound nearly perfect with the help of this technology. While past genres featured intricate vocals and instrumental woven together with care by a talented artist, newer genres do not require this time-consuming process as there is technology that will do the work. Alternately, Auto-Tune can serve the purpose of giving singers a “digitized,” almost inhuman sound by making the correction to pitch very quickly, rather than gradually and smoothly (Hadhazy). This shatters the mold of traditional music.
In Plato’s Republic: Theatre of the Mind, Plato warned of music’s ...

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