Music in ancient times was chiefly passed down orally until literacy became more prominent and viewed as superior. This prompted people to start keeping records of it, helping preserve it more faithfully and allowing us to understand what was available and popular back in the day.
But it was the advent of technology that had the biggest impact on how we discovered music, allowing us to enjoy it in ways that were previously unheard of.
The Importance and Benefits of Music
Since the dawn of time, music has held a very special place in our society. Universally across the globe, people have used music as a way to mourn or rejoice with their communities, according to the occasion. However, the abilities of music go far beyond its emotional powers. In fact, as various research states, music can impact us in a variety of other ways.
For instance, if we take a look at games, music can aid with improving the level of immersivity. This is especially true for digital variants of previously only physical games, such as card games like poker. The addition of a soundtrack that mimics the shuffling of cards or the stacking of chips can help blur the line between the physical and the virtual.
Apart from this, music has proven to help us concentrate better. Keeping with the same example of poker, it can be challenging to remain focused during lengthy tournaments. This is where music can come in, as it stimulates our brain and can help improve several cognitive aspects. Keep in mind that some types of music will work better than others, with studies chiefly advising picking music without lyrics.
To round this off, we can see how music is used to help make activities that may be tedious or hard more tolerable. As an example, it’s pretty common to listen to music when you’re exercising, be it at home or the gym. This is because music has been proven to distract our brain from pain and act as a sort of natural painkiller. All of the above proves the importance of music, so the fact that technology has made it as accessible as it is now can only be viewed as a positive.
The Evolution of Music Discovery
As we mentioned above, music used to be exclusively passed on from one generation to the other until literacy became more commonplace. But thanks to the rise of technology, especially the advent of the radio, music became something enjoyed by the majority of the population. This led to the creation of vinyl and CDs, which people purchased in hopes of finding songs they’d enjoy.
But it was with the mainstream usage of the Internet in the late 90s that things rapidly expanded. This resulted in radios no longer being the main source of locating new tunes. Instead, music lovers rely on social media platforms, movies, and even games to find new songs. They then can simply open up their favorite streaming platform like YouTube Music to add said songs to their growing playlists.
Speaking of playlists, due to the increasingly complex algorithms fueled by artificial intelligence, you can now have a full playlist based completely on your past listens. Alternatively, you could opt to pick one created by other users. This has also helped foster online communities where people can share music with like-minded people.
But, technology hasn’t only impacted how we find and listen to songs, but even the options that are available to us. Back in the day, it was pretty hard for an indie artist to be discovered. Luckily, this changed thanks to the online world, with musicians having more options than ever before to maximize their musical reach. This has allowed us to access niche artists and expand our horizons accordingly.
Conclusion
The way we find music might have changed, but our passion for this form of entertainment most certainly hasn’t waned with the times. In fact, we’d argue that this level of accessibility has only strengthened the industry as it has allowed more people to explore new sounds at their own leisure.
