Does Technology Ruin Creativity?

[LiquidMidnight]

Imitation of a specific instrument does not mean the death of creativity. I would argue they are unrelated constraints. I often time whistle or hum a potential line or melody before I've ever picked up my bass, or sat at my piano. My creativity isn't linked to the fact that I own a specific instrument. Creativity is a mental exercise. The execution of that exercise is technique (again, not creativity).

Was Pink Floyd any less creative when composing The Dark Side of the Moon because they utilized synths, theremins (sp?), effects (both stomp and studio)? No. The technology available gave them the means to achieve what they heard in their heads.

I don't care for hip-hop, but it's a creative spark that allows someone to mash-up samples, or sound-clips, or whatever. Example: Danger Mouse mashing up The BEatles and Jay-Z. Did I like it? Not so much. Did I think to do it? Nope. He's a creative dude for the idea.

This.

Oh and hip hop and pop should be the main example of such.
Turn on the radio for the rap and R&B station for a few minutes, I'll wait.



Back? ******** isn't it

I'd hesitate to use mainstream hiphop radio as a measuring stick for the amount of creativity out there in the genre of that music. I'd also hesitate to use mainstream rock radio as a guage of the the creativity in rock or mainstream country radio as a barometer of the creativity in country.

 

[Jimbob Jones]

Our local rock radio is full of overproduced, manufactured-boyband-with-guitars junk, interspersed with horrendously overplayed 'classics'.

 

[EricF]

Our local rock radio is full of overproduced, manufactured-boyband-with-guitars, interspersed with horrendously overplayed 'classics'.

Commerical radio is full of what sells. End of story.

 

[L-A]

I can see technology doesn't ruin ranting, though.

 

[Jimbob Jones]

Commerical radio is full of what sells. End of story.

Of course, that goes without saying...That said, there are a few shows on that station where the presenters get to pick their own music to play, and they can be quite entertaining.

 

[lowsideonacurve]

Does Technology Ruin Creativity?

In some cases no it doesn't, Rock Band played a major roll in getting my girlfriend started on drums. Now she has a real set and is taking lessons at 44 years of age. She's doing very well too

In some cases yes it does, photography was a passion of mine for some time. I had a lot of 35mm equipment and developed my own black and white film and prints. People do a lot of good work with digital now, but it just doesn't gel with me. You have so much more control over exposure with film. For me, digital sucks.

 

[john grey]

Yes and no. Speaking from experience here, and you may laugh at will (on my behalf) if you feel the need:

Rockband launched my son into playing drums. After a year of "beating the plastic" at "expert" level, he asked for real drums, and we went out and bought him a Yamaha electronic drum set. He's almost 12, and I am hoping he will continue in this vein (as he also learns sax at school).

Speaking as a father, I am very impressed that your son did what he did. However (IMO) he did so because of a positive role model: you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I asked the question because I really was interested in diverse opinions. I had thought the responses would be very wide-ranging. Particularly on the conception of whether Hip-Hop was a negative example of music exploiting [or exploiting by] technology.
I have read this discussion brought up before & some said that although it (Hip-Hop) was not creative music in the purist fashion it was an example of poetry set in a musical context.
[That issue was not raised interestingly enough from a group of musicians wherein this is being discussed.]
Personally I haven't made up my mind as to whether technology has has a serious negative impact (overall) on the creative element within the society....that either exploits it or USES it.

I suppose that is the contextual issue. Is it (technology) being used to it's fullest or is it a tool of exploitation from a marketing perspective on the intellectually lazy?
I would imagine it's both, with a leaning toward one direction or another depending upon the population sampled.

 

[Marial]

The use of samples in hip hop is just a distillation of the recycling that goes on in nearly all forms of music. There is nothing new under the sun.

 

[Popbumper]

Does Technology Ruin Creativity?

In some cases no it doesn't, Rock Band played a major roll in getting my girlfriend started on drums. Now she has a real set and is taking lessons at 44 years of age. She's doing very well too

In some cases yes it does, photography was a passion of mine for some time. I had a lot of 35mm equipment and developed my own black and white film and prints. People do a lot of good work with digital now, but it just doesn't gel with me. You have so much more control over exposure with film. For me, digital sucks.

Kudos to your girlfriend for taking drums on. I am a few years older than that and been at bass for just under a year - and absolutely LOVE it (wish I had begun sooner).

My point here is to more acknowledge your comments about analog vs. digital photography. This is one realm where your example REALLY speaks out. Those, like yourself, that could truly master analog through manipulation of f-stop, shutter speed, film speed, and even creative use of chemicals were genius. That took time, patience, creativity, knowledge, and adventure. Slapping effects together through digital enhancement (like music) doesn't come NEAR the expertise and skill it takes to manipulate an analog "tool".

Coming full circle, the joy of music creativity comes from it BEING analog!! Our ancestors were genius to discover and employ rudimentary tools to fashion parts together, resulting in a wide myriad of instruments that remain timeless - and analog!!

The downside is, today's kids are a "grab-it-now-beat-it-to-death-what's-the-next-digital-experience" generation. Who wants to spend YEARS of tedious, repetitive practice on something??? Sad, in that vein.

Chris

 

[L-A]

...

The downside is, today's kids are a "grab-it-now-beat-it-to-death-what's-the-next-digital-experience" generation. Who wants to spend YEARS of tedious, repetitive practice on something??? Sad, in that vein.

Chris

This is a really interesting point. I read an article not long ago about the complaints of (especially) employers about the state of my generation as they see it.

There is a huge imbalance between effort and expected outcome. Everybody knows that. But the interviewee (I can't remember who he was) spoke of how those who complain are the same generation who raised children by giving them medals just for showing up. The bias was there before people my age started being perceived as demanding; they were *given* much more than was expected, so their expectations shifted over time.

The "positive reinforcement" crowd no doubt shaped education for a good while and I think it'll be up to my generation to work in reaction to the mistakes that were made at that point. Right now, we can feel it through the instant gratification market of tiny apps that distract for a few minutes. The new Garageband for iPad has an mode that basically plays everything for you while congratulating you for being an artist ("You should upload it for your friends to listen to your composition!").

I wouldn't blame technology itself. It is, however, the privileged tool for selling artificial creativity right now.

 

[DwaynieAD]

in the photographic world, the disappearance of darkroom technique saddens me, it was an art, it was alive and was amazing.. doing the same things i learned to do in a darkroom in photoshop just feels and looks sterile and uninspired. in the musical world i think that it is amazing.

 

[tZer]

At one point there was no way to record music other than manuscript and the only way people could experience music was live. For music to be reproduced, it had to be read and played by a musician. Did Thomas Edison ruin creativity?

Old recording methods were very limited by comparison to today's standards. Because one of those limitations was the amount of time that could be recorded the '3.5 minute' pop song was born. Creativity dead yet?

Recording studios used to record in mono, no overdubs, what you played was what you got. Anyone attend any creativity funerals?

Creativity can't be killed by anything other than complacency, lack of imagination or desire to create. Just because new things come along that make some things happen faster or add dimension to the way things used to be done does nothing to creativity whatsoever. The mean by which people can express their creativity does, but not creativity itself.

IMO, of course.

I do wonder, however, why people feel so compelled to seek a villain when the way they used to do their creative thing evolves and changes with progress.

 

[Popbumper]

This is a really interesting point. I read an article not long ago about the complaints of (especially) employers about the state of my generation as they see it.

There is a huge imbalance between effort and expected outcome. Everybody knows that. But the interviewee (I can't remember who he was) spoke of how those who complain are the same generation who raised children by giving them medals just for showing up. The bias was there before people my age started being perceived as demanding; they were *given* much more than was expected, so their expectations shifted over time.

The "positive reinforcement" crowd no doubt shaped education for a good while and I think it'll be up to my generation to work in reaction to the mistakes that were made at that point. Right now, we can feel it through the instant gratification market of tiny apps that distract for a few minutes. The new Garageband for iPad has an mode that basically plays everything for you while congratulating you for being an artist ("You should upload it for your friends to listen to your composition!").

I wouldn't blame technology itself. It is, however, the privileged tool for selling artificial creativity right now.

As a parent of a 12 year old this is an especially "intimate" subject. I am very much trying to cultivate the interest of my child "away" from the mindless tedium of the handheld or screen-borne experience, but it is difficult. Why? When you are part of a generation that is consumed by this, it's tough to be different. As a result, we get "involved" more with things taht are NOT video driven.

Of course, the sedentary lifestyle that this allows results in all kinds of other subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) behaviors and physical manifestations, like poor socialization, bullying, and obesity. When we were kids, we made our OWN fun, and stayed active. Todays' kids can ride virtual bikes through fantastic scenery - and that is "satisfying". We rode REAL bikes everywhere! So, BLAMING McDONALDS for childhood obesity is flat out STUPID - sorry, that's an off subject rant but nonetheless appropriate.

Chris

 

[john grey]

in the photographic world, the disappearance of darkroom technique saddens me, it was an art, it was alive and was amazing.. doing the same things i learned to do in a darkroom in photoshop just feels and looks sterile and uninspired. in the musical world i think that it is amazing.

Damn right it was an art & that one reason why I am not about to get rid of my "film" bodies. I had a darkroom when I was ten and had recently found out something pretty interesting. The FBI still uses film! They can't enhance digital to the degree that film could be enhanced, thus they are keeping it. They still use digital but they aren't dumping the classic. It would be like abandoning anything acoustic.

There may be all sorts of neat new things for our new digital-age but the basic skills are something that those who "pay their dues" will always have while the point & shoot crowd will only get lucky finding.


NOTE: do a search on "digital vs film photography": film will be with us for a few more years anyway.

 

[MatticusMania]

Is technology pulling us further and further from elemental creativity?

I see your thread title, and the question asked at the end of your post as two different questions.

Does Technology Ruin Creativity? Not so much. It can when used as a crutch, but there are ways to use technology in creative ways.

Is it pulling us farther from elemental creativity? Maybe. If the elements have not been used in every possible way then Id say that people might be overlooking those various uses, but if we have drawn every possible use out of something then it is the byproducts that become the new elements, and surely some of those uses have been overlooked.

Essentially, creativity will evolve along with technology. Maybe not hand in hand, but in many ways.

I sometimes ask myself the question of where is music headed, and how many new genres or styles can be created with what we're working with. It doesnt seem like there are that many possibilities, but it seems like someone is always finding something new, still.

 

[MatticusMania]

But at the same time, we are burying and distracting all the people from the original processes. It becomes more difficult as time goes on to realize that they even exist.

Which allows for others to go back and use the original process in a new way, while everyone is busy playing their 64bit, graphic eq synthesizers!

 

[MatticusMania]

Does Technology Ruin Creativity?

In some cases no it doesn't, Rock Band played a major roll in getting my girlfriend started on drums. Now she has a real set and is taking lessons at 44 years of age. She's doing very well too

In some cases yes it does, photography was a passion of mine for some time. I had a lot of 35mm equipment and developed my own black and white film and prints. People do a lot of good work with digital now, but it just doesn't gel with me. You have so much more control over exposure with film. For me, digital sucks.

BUT, does it ruin creativity when you still have the means to take photos with film? Its changed the way average people shoot photos, but nothing, aside from lack of materials, will stop you shooting on film.

 

[Jazz Ad]

I think there are too many fun ways to spend time these days thanks to technology.
This may prevent kids from becoming so good at something, because of constant sollicitations.
You know how it goes. Stop posting, go practising.
Back then I was a bored kid and had nothing to do but play music.
A musician dies for every Nintendo DS and Wii bought.

 

[MatticusMania]

^ Good point.

I think the worst way that technology ruins creativity is that it just provides too many distractions.

 

[hbarcat]

Creativity has always been creative. The mediums change from time to time, but creativity remains a constant IMO.

Short, sweet and 100% correct.