From Speakeasies to Spotify
The BGQ reviews 100 years of music and its influencers. by: TRINITY WHITEFORD staff writer
Photo: T. Whiteford
We all have different preferences of music, whether evolved through little steps and he really busted it be jazz, pop, country, rock or some of the many through the wall, and started challenging people’s other variations. But how is that music produced? To ears.” According to Hester, Stravinsky kept pursuing find out, I went to Studio Anatomy, a local recording his music and that evolved into music genres we have studio on Front Street in downtown Traverse City. now. Owner Brian Chamberlain informed me of two types After meeting with Brian Chamberlain, I wanted to of recordings; analog and digital. Analog is a more know more about changes that brought about the manual, hands on process, but it is recorded on music we hear today. Jeff Haas, a local jazz musician, wax or vinyl cylinders, meaning that if the recording introduced to me a new world of change in the doesn’t sound right starting over is the only option. 1920s. He explained how recording studios were just Digital is more complex than analog. It involves sound getting started around this time, and speakeasies traveling through a microphone and onto a computer were the primary source for music. “There was always through multiple chords. This process makes it easier to music playing, and there were all different types of edit and delete parts of a song rather than restarting people composing and going into speakeasies and all together. Digital recordings are often preferred playing music.” Haas believes that “music is your way due to sheer lack of convenience. of expressing yourself, with both the However, analog recordings can pain and celebration of life.” Musicians be more desirable because many like Haas are always composing for people feel there is a difference ordinary people, which in turn creates in the overall quality of sound, a safe haven for all. particularly in terms of warmth, Everyday people such as Jeff even though analog recordings Haas, Brian Chaimberlain, and David are slightly more expensive than Hester continue to help shape the digital. music industry into what it is today Changes over the past century by creating and producing music. in recording music are important, Think of recorded music like vinyl, but I also wondered about the cassettes, 8-tracks, CDs and streaming. Photo courtesy of: C. Hale changes in the music itself, so I We have instant access to music spoke with David Hester, Central’s band director. through devices like iPods and smartphones that Hester introduced me to a whole new world of music wasn’t available a little over 100 years ago. We find and change over the past decade, especially with comfort in music today just as people did in the 1920s. regards to a Russian composer. “One of the most In a way, apps like Spotify and Pandora are our 21st famous contemporary composers was Igor Stravinsky; century speakeasies, minus the Flappers. / / he really pushed the envelope and got music into the more avant garde. He really broke away from the common melody that composers used before him.” Having been used to listening to jazz and the blues, Stravinsky’s music was different. “People were just doing crazy things with music. [They] were just so thrown off guard by the music and styles. If it wasn’t for that time period then we wouldn’t have what we do here today.“ The 1920s encouraged people to think outside the box and push boundaries of music and self expression Photo: T. Whiteford in general. “Everyone tried to take baby steps, music 8 // BGQ // April 2020
