Thursday, July 11, 2013

To Greater Heights

Technology turns mediocre and non-talents into decent performers across a broad range of human activities (athletics, music, architecture, medicine, and analytics, to name but a few examples). But what about those at the top? If they fail to adapt, like some silent movie stars when talkies were introduced, they'll be left behind.

The top talents who do embrace the new technologies raise their chosen profession to greater heights. We are now used to listening to singers who record both melody and harmony in one song by using basic audio technology; and we have seen musicians show off their versatility by playing several instruments in a band and mashing the sound together in the studio.

We must confess that we are in awe of the "live loopers"---those who merge various sound tracks in real time. Below is a quiet, but brilliant example performed by Hilo-born ukulele artist Brittni Paiva.

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