How The Interface of Music Production Software Influences Behavior

My thesis examines how musical tools (particularly digital ones, such as Digital Audio Workspaces (DAWs), Virtual Studio Technology (VSTs), virtual instruments, and plug-ins) affect music production (the producers themselves and the sounds produced) through the tools’ variances in user interface, default settings, potential settings, and tendencies. I explore how certain genre conventions, timbres, and compositionality emerge due to the technology available at certain times and convention of those tools. As for tools that supposedly do the same thing but have slight variations for commercial, functional, or creative reasons, I study what those differences are (in user interface, default settings, potential settings, tendencies, marketing) and how they make a difference (in the genre conventions, timbres, and compositionality/production decisions), in order that my readers may better understand how to innovate music production conventions by understanding the past/history of music technology, tools, and conventions. By studying how media tools available impact genre emergence, one can better predict the future emergent trends of genres as well and implement innovative techniques ahead of the curve, which will allow for producers with such knowledge to be better prepared for the constantly evolving music market. Also, by understanding how the medium/interface affects the outcome of what is produced, one can better understand how to apply certain technologies for maximum efficiency in utilization. By having a critical approach to these musical technologies and understanding the machines’ tendencies and conventions, one has more control over said machine and using it in one’s own intended implementation rather than allowing the machine to control the user and subconsciously impact what is produced.