History of Music and Technology with Professor Wallin-Huff

History of Music and Technology with Professor Wallin-Huff

Author: Sarah Wallin Huff Language: English Episodes: 37
Join composer and scholar Sarah Wallin Huff for a deep, chronological journey through the sounds of our past. In History of Music and Technology with Professor Wallin-Huff, each episode unpacks a pivotal moment where human ingenuity met the desire to create rhythm and melody. This isn't just a list of inventions; it's a story about how tools-from the earliest bone flutes to analog synthesizers and digital audio workstations-have fundamentally shaped what music is and how we experience it. You'll hear about the cultural shifts driven by new instruments and recording methods, understanding music as a living technology itself. Sarah brings clarity and passion to these lectures, making a vast timeline feel immediate and connected to the music we hear today. Tune in to this podcast for a rich narrative that sits at the unique intersection of art and innovation, exploring a 40,000-year conversation between creators and their tools. The perspective offered here reframes both history and your playlist, revealing the technical artistry behind every note.
Episodes
Unit 14b: Utilitarian Music, Holograms, Virtual Concerts, and A.I. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:34
In our final segment of this course, we talk about the evolution of music being used in utilitarian ways (versus artistic ways), holograms performing on stage, Vocaloids and voice synthesis, virtual concerts held in cybe…
Unit 14a: The Globalizing and Remixing Effects of the Internet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:02
In this segment, we summarize the overall effects of the Internet (including developments during the Covid-19 pandemic) on music: how we make it, how we consume it, how we take what has come before and remix it in new wa…
Unit 13b: The Media-Music Industry and Video Game Music [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:59
First discussed is how technology is reshaping the film music industry, before diving into a timeline of video game music milestones. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visi…
Unit 13a: The History of Music and Sound in Film [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:38
An overview of the histortical timeline of technology’s evolution for synchronizing sound and music with film. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: If you’re interested…
Unit 12b: The History of Hip-Hop and the Effects of Modern Sampling [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:52
Starting with a deeper discussion on the philosophies behind sampling, we then touch on the controversies of fair compensation to artists whose work is used as a sample as well as the issue of diminishing creativity in a…
Unit 12a: The Historical Roots of Sampling [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:08
In this segment we go over the two historical roots that are the foundations of what we now call sampling: the history of “found sound” and the history of “musical borrowing”. We especially take note of how the evolving…
Unit 11c: File Sharing, Streaming, and TikTok [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:45
Thanks to the appearance of both the mp3 format and the public Internet in the 1990s, illegal file sharing exploded onto the scene, prompting the soon-after emergence of the streaming economy. We are still wrestling with…
Unit 11b: RCA v. Columbia and Moog v. Buchla [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:54
In this segment, we’ll examine the reasons why RCA chose to release the new tech of vinyl as a 45 format rather than an LP (as Columbia did), and we’ll see how the public responded to these two options for recorded music…
Unit 10c: Democratization Through Tape and Digital Forms [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:34
Thanks to the universality of the cassette and then digital editing technologies, the door was openend for underground genres and unsigned artists to create and spread music without the backing of a label. To view the vi…