Compression vs Expression

In the last few years, the digital revolution has brought about enormous change in the way we receive information and communicate. Where it once took days to send a message around the world (by something called a ‘letter’ if I recall correctly), this can now be done at the click of a button.

The ability to speak to, or meet someone required planning and foresight and at times patience. Now we expect replies and answers instantly.

The same can be said for music. When we choose to seek out, or listen to, new music it’s often ‘convenience’ that is the predetermining factor in shaping many people’s decisions and this has led to an ever-increasing demand for music downloads.

With MP3 players now dominating the ‘convenience listener’s’ perception of music, one factor that often gets ignored is quality. By this I refer, not to the quality of the methods by which the music is obtained, but instead to the actual quality of the music files themselves.

For example, if you were standing in a room, would you be happier if the person opposite you suddenly became less distinguishable by tenfold in what they’re communicating (unless of course you were trying to avoid them in the first place)? Would it suddenly feel like they’re on the other side of the world or at least in the next room.

The fact is, ipods work in a similar way. These devices containing compressed music are generally filled with MP3 files at 128 kbps - (the standard bit rate for iTunes downloads) That’s about 1/10th the size of a CD file.

Explaining this to some often evokes a reply of “who cares?” yet many of us are unaware of how much we experience music through our bones and not just our ears. For example, you may be able to sing along to that band playing in the room next door, but can you really feel the music? Can you hear it with crystal clarity and feel it vibrate through your entire body?

The question we should ask is whilst we’ve gained in the arena of convenience and portability, why are we so quick to dismiss quality as irrelevant and most importantly the ability for music to translate emotion?

With broadband improving, download and transfer times will be reduced thankfully. This will allow larger files to be more accessible for the average listener, but will the listener demand something better? At present there appears to be either an apathy or ignorance towards the quality of digital music and yet we can experience and appreciate much more if we choose or the situation allows.

Communication and understanding are what make us better people and music often speaks to us in ways other languages cannot. Are we to allow compression to be the ongoing flag bearer for hearing music? or will we want expression to return and sit alongside this wonderful world of convenience?