Technology Autobiography

The three communication technologies that have been the most influential throughout my life are my laptop, electric guitar and different recording programs. I know these don't seem like communicative technologies, but really without them I could not communicate all of my musical idea's to my colleagues and friends. These three are constants in my life. Since I moved into a new town when I was 14 when I started Playing the electric guitar I was hooked. It was the first electronic to change my life-- socially, emotionally, and economically. I learned music from just using my ear and the Internet. As time went on I bought a few programs, downloaded videos of my guitar heroes, learned theory and technique tips all on YouTube. I could not record or have acquired the knowledge I needed to do what I do without the three technologies I listed. I would say the way these three communication technologies affect me the most is by being a resource to facilitate communication for my written compositions and recorded idea's. The recorded idea's start on the guitar, which is recorded onto my computer through recording programs and then placed on several media networks. This helps me get my music out, which has been my life since I picked up that guitar at 14. I teach guitar at two different studios and I still use the same websites from when I was 14 to communicate the music/assignments to my students. When I find scales and charts searching the web that pertains to what we are learning I just got a fun addition to my students lessons. I would say the negatives of these technologies are ideas and musical thought can be so easily communicated through technologies that there becomes less of a need for physically collaborating with musicians. Knowing that 80% of communication is body language there is probably a lot communication lost due to the lack of physically working together. The experience is not the same and I believe that it may change the direction or outcome of the music. Considering YouTube literally has lessons on almost everything guitar, learning it through the web is how I gained my basic understanding of the instrument and music itself. One has to go into learning anything with questions. Once I could narrow down the question to what I needed to know, I would then do research and eventually learn what I had once not understood. So the laptop impacted the way I learned new information by literally giving me the information I sought. From there it was up to me to understand then utilize it, which I did. This new information goes into actually playing the guitar and recording the ideas I come up with in an efficient way. As I listen back to what I create I come up with new questions, thereby leading to more research, more answers and a better understanding of my art. It all comes full circle when one is in a specific practice. The more you know the better. With finding answers online one just has to ask the right question to get the right answer. Where one gets the information is also crucial. You don't want to get an article on techniques you know, you want them on the techniques you don't, then maybe one on how it is best incorporated. The youth in this video seem to be very connected with their devices. The one student I could relate to the most was the student who, used "trial and error" to figure out making music. I understand this approach because when I got started using garage band and note flight, different music software’s, trial and error is the way I learned as well. One student says technology makes you a better learner because of the way you think. He said you have these resources and want this outcome... “How do I do this?” He is right; technology aligned with a goal can be the tool you needed to reach a success. One student simply used her phone to document photos that she could upload for a school assignment later. That’s great! I have done the same I just used a picture for a music website of mine instead. I would say the only real difference between how I use my technology opposed to how the youth use theirs is my technology is content specific. In other words these students do get a higher level of thinking out of technology, or an easier way of getting an assignment done, but that can be within any social or academic subject area. Mine is for music related content.