In this digital age many listeners of music now purchase albums from online digital music stores instead of buying a physical album from the record store. This has created a concern with many regarding the future of the album as a physical medium. This study investigates the impact of the possible death of the album on certain listening habits, the activity of record collecting, the creation of large-scale musical works, music consumerism, and its implications for the creative process on music as art and sound-recording quality. Three realisations have led to the problem statement. Firstly, the album might not have a future in the digital age. Secondly, downloadable songs might not be able to recreate an album experience. The third realisation is that the possible death of the album could create new, exciting challenges to artists as they strive to create art. This study is exploratory in nature - and no hypothesis was generated. The research necessitates qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual approaches. Furthermore, the investigation has led to the collection of mostly new data, constituting a “primary data design” through the implementation of qualitative listening experiments and a focus group, using full-time NMMU students between 18 and 25 years of age. It is herein argued that digital distribution might possibly have an effect on the perception of the album format and might possibly still be a relevant listening experience, valued by young people. Singles and albums are collectable; and good albums are considered artistic and comparable to the large-scale musical works of the past. If the concept of an album does not die out, then high fidelity formats should be able to re-invent the album experience. Listening experiences other than the album experience do exist, and they could generate new ways for artists to create musical art.

This dissertation addresses the convergence of ethics, labor, aesthetics, cultural citizenship, and the circulation of knowledge among experimental electronic instrument builders in New York City and Berlin. This loosely connected group of musician-inventors engages in what I call “DIY music technology” due to their shared do-it-yourself ethos and their use of emerging and repurposed technologies, which allow for new understandings of musical invention. My ethnography follows a constellation of self-described hackers, “makers,” sound and noise artists, circuit benders, avant-garde/experimental musicians, and underground rock bands through these two cities, exploring how they push the limits of what “music” and “instruments” can encompass, while forming local, transnational, and virtual networks based on shared interests in electronics tinkering and independent sound production. This fieldwork is supplemented with inquiries into the construction of “DIY” as a category of invention, labor, and citizenship, through which I trace the term’s creative and commercial tensions from the emergence of hobbyism as a form of productive leisure to the prevailing discourse of punk rock to its adoption by the recent Maker Movement. I argue that the cultivation of the self as a “productive” cultural citizen—which I liken to a state of “permanent prototyping”—is central to my interlocutors’ activities, through which sound, self, and instrument are continually remade. I build upon the idea of “technoaesthetics” (Masco 2006) to connect the inner workings of musical machines with the personal transformations of DIY music technologists as inventors fuse their aural imaginaries with industrial, biological, environmental, and sometimes even magical imagery. Integral to these personal transformations is a challenge to corporate approaches to musical instrument making and selling, though this stance is often strained when commercial success is achieved. Synthesizing interdisciplinary perspectives from ethno/musicology, anthropology, and science and technology studies, I demonstrate that DIY music technologists forge a distinctive sense of self and citizenship that critiques, yet remains a cornerstone of, artistic production and experience in a post-digital “Maker Age.”

Music conservatories play an important role in the musical development of musicians. Students often choose to attend a conservatory because they are seeking to focus their efforts on honing their skills as performers, composers, or both. The use of music technology has increased in recent years as hardware and software has become more user friendly, resulting in the incorporation of music technology into the professional practice of musicians. While the innovation of technology has been swift, the adoption of music technology by educators in music conservatories has been slow when compared to those in other institutions of higher education. With each passing year, conservatories are graduating an increasing number of musicians who are met with greater expectations than those of previous generations. This multi-site case study investigated the perceived role of technology in the conservatory curriculum as reported by conservatory students and faculty. Further, this study examined the supports that are in place, for both students and faculty, in regard to integrating technology into current and future curricula. Research has been conducted to investigate the integration of technology into curricula; however, the research tends to focus on challenges for technology integration rather than technology as a tool for supporting sound pedagogical practice. Findings from this study indicate that students wish to see an increased presence of music technology in the curriculum as they hone their skills during their studies. Further, increased access to music technology, as well as support on using music technology in effective and engaging ways during instruction was identified. Conservatories can benefit from additional staff positions to support the use of music technology, frequent and relevant professional development for faculty, additional computer laboratories for student and faculty use, and increased communication between students, faculty and administration on the use of music technology throughout the conservatory. The implications of the findings and recommendations have the potential to positively impact the experience of students in conservatory communities. Future avenues of research might investigate the relevance of conservatory pedagogy in modern music performance and composition, pathways to support consistent and relevant professional development, and necessary supports to increase access to music technology for faculty and students.