Instruments and Innovation

Scholars in the fields of musicology and the sociology of music are increasingly analyzing the role played by technology in music (Prieberg 1960, Jones 1992, Schafer 1994 [1977], Born 1995, Frith 1996, Théberge 1997, Waksman 1999, DeNora 2000, Taylor 2001). There is also growing interest within science and technology studies (including the history of technology) in sound, noise, and music (Hennion 1989; Ungeheuer 1991; Braun 1992, 1994, 2002 [2000]; Kraft 1994, 1996; Siefert 1995; Thompson 1995, 1997, 2002; Pinch and Trocco 1999, 2002; Bijsterveld 2000; Schmidt-Horning 2000; Pinch 2001). Arguably, music technologies are amenable to the same sorts of analytical insights as technologies in general. In particular, the influence of technology in music raises questions as to the boundary between “instruments” and “machines” and the place of the latter within musical culture.2 New technologies sharpen the perennial issue of what makes for good music and “art.” They also challenge our notion of what counts as live entertainment: should one applaud when the performer is a machine?.