Dawn of the DAW

This resource tells the story of how the dividing line between the traditional roles of musicians and recording studio personnel has changed throughout the latter half of the twentieth century to the present. The millennial music maker is ensconced in a world in which the symbiosis of music and technology is commonplace. As audio production skills such as recording, editing, and mixing are increasingly co-opted by musicians teaching themselves in their do-it-yourself (DIY) recording studios, conventions of how music production is taught and practiced are remixed to reflect this reality. This book examines DIY recording practices within the context of recording history from the late nineteenth century to the present, and it discusses the concept of "the studio as musical instrument" and the role of the producer, detailing how these constructs have evolved throughout the history of recorded music in tandem. This also details current practices of DIY recording--how recording technologies are incorporated into music making, and how they are learned by DIY studio users in the musically--chic borough of Brooklyn. Finally, this examines the broader trends heard throughout, summarizing the different models of learning and approaches to music making. Dawn of the DAW concludes by discussing the ramifications of these new directions for the field of music education.