Episode 3

1. According to Krukowski, what are the main differences between a microphone and a cellphone and why is this difference important?

A microphone technology record your voice on a way which you can control your breath and avoid unwanted sounds. The proximity effect refers to whether the singer records close to the microphone, which exaggerates the base of your voice and makes it sound deep or when you back away from the microphone, it high light the clearer tone of your voice. A cellphone is an instrument which was created to exchange a message, is used as a “you say, I say” way of speaking rather than to transmit a feeling to the listener which is the effect that a microphone provides. When speaking on the cellphone there is no proximity effect as in the microphone, also there is no way to avoid the background noise.

2.What do Krukowski and Gary Tomlinson, the professor he interviews, assert about the “musical” qualities of the voice and how are these changed by digital transmission? 

They agree on Gary’s phrase in which he says “there are musical absences at the heart of a language, we are musical beings as much as linguistics ones”. They discuss on the fact that linguistics professors nowadays focus on syntax and grammar and leave out the musical aspect of languages.  Tomlinson explains that if you leave this aspects out you are leaving the overlapping part which is so important. In the digital transmission the non verbal quality of their voices tend to get lost on the coding. To make their voices perceivable on the over end, the sound of our voice is limited,

3. What is the significance of Krukowski’s comments on the voice to ideas about community and interpersonal connection?

He comments that “digital tools make it possible to share our words at great distances, but they fail us in so many ways as we try to communicate on to one, not only are we often left hanging, speaking into the air in one end and listening to nothing at the other and even when it is working as it’s supposed to the sound of our voice over digital lines is limited…” with this said, we are able to communicate with other thanks to digital network but it does not allow us to transmit a feeling or a mood as we may want to.

Episode 4

4. Krukowski begins by discussing the issue of music file sharing. What is your opinion of this issue? Should music be freely available or should one have to pay? 

Krukowski says he is worry about the quality of the sharing, he refers to the sound, the media they are sharing together. I think that somehow music is free but pays at the same time. We have the ability to access any songs we want for free via YouTube and other applications which allow us to download it to our devices, but also there are many other applications in which a payment is required. People who pay for music are contributing to the artist business which is a positive aspect of music. Artist spend their time and money to produce their music so it can be provided to their public. With that said, it gives us reason to think that music shouldn’t be for free. On the other hand, if you do not have the money to pay for music you do not have to, there are many ways which music can be access freely.

5. How does this episode represent the relationships between music, community, and culture?

Music, community and culture are related depending on people’s like. Everyone have different like and communities divide to the music they like the most and create their own culture.

6. Does charging money for music impede the formation of communities around this music or does it help support the circulation of music?

I think the money music is charge helps support the circulation of music. Music production is not free, it takes time and producers charge a price for producing a song. In fact, not everyone has money to pay for music but to be an artist is consider as a career, a job which should not be offer for free.