Music sure changes, doesn’t it? Not only does music itself change, but how we listen to it changes. People used to sing, drum and dance around campfires in their villages. Maybe someone would perform a solo. That was about it. Music was real time and created for enjoyment in the moment. There were no MP3’s to download and play.

Music changed a lot when we learned how to record it. Now you could you listen to live performances long after they occurred! Music could be recorded in studios with no audience at all to be played later. That was a huge change that spawned so many others.

I’m only 45 years old, but I have seen at least 8 different recording mediums in my life already. Just when I get a decent music collection, a better type of recording comes along and my whole collection is passé. I remember the old reel-to-reel. My father had one. It was messy. The tapes could unravel and all your work was lost. Tapes stretched and melted, too, making them unlikely for long-term storage. That was bad.

Next I recall the small 45 vinyl recordings. Those were much better! They wouldn’t hold very much, maybe a song or two on each side, but they held up better. Then came LP’s. That stands for Long Playing. There would be several songs on each side. But you couldn’t record anything yourself very easily and the records scratched easily. Once they were scratched, they were trash.

8-track recordings are almost a joke now. They came and went pretty fast. They were bulky and not really made to record. Cassette tapes were okay. Now we could record things ourselves and the tapes were sealed in plastic to protect them longer. In fact, I only gave up my cassette collection a couple of years ago when I moved.

CD’s were another huge leap forward, especially once we could write to CD’s ourselves. They don’t scratch as easily as vinyl, so they will last much longer. Digital sound quality is way better than the analog versions on tapes and records.

Last, but not at all least, we have music we can download. It’s easier. It’s more available, more portable, and less prone to loss and damage than ever before. Do you have an iPod yet? I do. I finally gave in and bought my 8th type of music storage so I can download music from the web. What will they think of next?

About this writer - Jolene Mettaroy loves music. She sings and composes her own tunes for a small amateur band. You can read more articles about music at Saifi Music

• How to Buy Discount Airfare


• E!s New Reality Show Kill Reality


• The Ghoulish Vaults


• ABCs Invasion


• The WBs Supernatural


• Family Paintings


• A Beginner’s Guide to Football in Spain


• Look at Me [Chapter 4 The Rope]


• Look at Me [Chapter 5: The Red Horse of Shock]


• Curse of the Abyss Worm [Chapters 4 and 5]