A lot of people believe that since computers are used to make music the computer actually generates the music and there’s no talent involved in making music with a computer. I’m here to dispel that myth.
Since the 70’s & 80’s electronic instruments like synthesizers, keyboards and drum machines became very prevalent in music composition in many genres. Somewhere in the 90’s. Computers started to trickle their way into both pro and home studios.. Some of the earliest electronic music was composed or sequenced with computers. Usually linked to a hardware drum machine, sampler or synthesizer. All of this was very expensive. Therefore the accessibility was much less. You needed to pay to be in a really big studio to record your songs. Usually backed by a label or you knew someone who knew someone in the industry.
The transition from the 90’s to the 2000’s saw the advent of Pro Tools, an audio program for recording full bands, singer-songwriters, instruments, orchestras, vocals, and everything. This eventually replaced the tape machine. If you hit a wrong note or messed up your performance while recording to tape you’d have to start over from scratch over and over if need be or the engineer would cut the tape and splice it together to make an edit. The computer simplified this process greatly as the audio recording & editing capabilities were greatly superior and less tedious. (sound quality is still up for debate)
On the electronic side of things, programs like Cubase & Reason were laying the groundwork for composing on the computer itself. Virtual Studio Technology was born (VST). Now the keyboards, sound modules, synths, and drum machines lived on the computer. All are controlled by a MIDI Keyboard Controller. Which is like a traditional keyboard except for the fact that it has no sounds onboard. You would plug it up to the computer and trigger the sounds in the PC with the keyboard. But you had to actually play the keyboard. The computer didn’t make music for you. In the infancy of this tech revolution, the virtual instruments coming out were crude, basic, and not the greatest. Also, computer processing was dwarfed by the limitations of the times. I remember working for a year or two buying my first custom PC part by part and getting “the best” stuff out. My Pentium 4 computer was complete and I had a lot of fun. I also remember it choking on 1 instance of a synth plugin. (The words VST & Plugin are interchangeable.) Suffice to say it was limited even with the best computer I could sacrifice for.
Fast forward to the present day. Digital recording is still going strong. Most of our favorite bands, artists, rappers, and singers all record on a computer and have for years. The technology is very strong and capable. The virtual instruments are amazing. The plugins of 2004 are laughable compared to the ones of 2024. Yet it had to start somewhere. I guess that’s why they call it humble beginnings. I forgot to mention that in the midst of this technological boom audio engineers were included as well. Things like equalizers, compressors, and FX units were digitized as well. Most engineers adopted the power of computers and brought their talent and expertise to the table with every mix & master. No, the computers don’t mix or master for you either. You need skills and talent to make music just like “the old days” People still use real instruments, hardware, and analog audio gear just like they always have but it’s now perfectly married with their computer. (AI can assist you now but our ears, individual skillset, and personal taste are far more reliable than any AI assistant, Yet still, they are great tools none the less)
In conclusion and to drive the point home. People still play their parts via a musical keyboard or pad controller, learn and play guitars, drums & percussion, etc Microphones are still used, People write and record lyrics. People still program & play synthesizers, Many use samplers very creatively. We are still CREATORS & Audio Engineers are still relevant as ever as that too is a specialized skill set that computers can’t replicate.
Yes, some people don’t play anything traditionally. They might click in notes into a piano roll editor and drums into a step sequencer. That too is a valid skill-set that takes years to develop and get great at (MIDI Programming). I’ll always advocate to keep practicing playing things in by hand though :)
There are also generative MIDI tools that help build chord progressions, melodies, drum beats, etc Those are honestly helpful to pro’s and newcomers alike if you look at them as tools & inspiration rather than crutches & vices. It can also be educational seeing how things work and how things are put together.. Training wheels are cool for a season.
Peace & Blessings!
William Illington