3-D Printers Bring Historic Instruments Back to the Future
This article by Tom Verde discusses the work of Sina Shahbazmohamadi, an engineer who works with Robert Howe, a reproductive endocrinologist who is a Ph.D. candidate in music theory and history at University of Connecticut. The two work together together to use CT scans, x-rays, and other medical technology in tandem with 3-D printing to create replicas of antique instruments, in the hopes that they can preserve their unique sound. This would allow concerts to be played in which the music sounds exactly like it did when the compositions were written.
I chose this article because the use of technology for the good of classical music was interesting. We often accuse technology of being the downfall of classical music; new synthesized music replacing music played by a performer with an instrument, access online making music less profitable. However, in this case, technology could, in some sense, "save" classical music, or at least preserve what could forever be lost without it.
For discussion: would you be interested in playing an older version of your instrument? Would you prefer to hear concerts with the instruments as they would have sounded when the composer wrote the music? Do you think there is any merit in this endeavor?
I think this idea is really cool! It would be neat to attend or play in a concert where older, "authentic" instruments are used. It probably wouldn't be practical to use these instruments for every concert just for the sake of authenticity, but for certain pieces it would make it more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think that hearing older pieces played on authentic instruments brings new life to music we may have heard countless of times, especially standard Baroque repertoire. It's certainly a unique experience as it's way of travelling back in time to hear exactly what the composer had in mind. I'd definitely be interested in learning the older version of my instrument, and find out all the technical difficulties performers had to face hundreds of years ago with their less developed instruments. In saying this, I do agree with Megan as she mentioned that these instruments certainly shouldn't be used every concert just to be "authentic".
ReplyDeleteI think this is really cool. I think it would be interesting to hear a concert played with these instruments, but I don't think it is the most practical thing. It would be interesting to hear what the composer was thinking when writing music for these instruments.
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool. I think it would be really nice to hear music with "authentic instruments". My seminar with Dr. Edwards we talked a lot about instruments from different eras of time so I think it would be really eat to actually hear them and not just see them.
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