terminology

Kokopelli  About Kokopelli

The Muses use the following terms in these ways:

• Record—the physical medium on which sound or images are recorded for subsequent reproduction, as grooved disks that are played on a phonograph, an optical disk or reel of film, or a computer disk on which sound or images are recorded.
• Recordings—(1) the plural of record; physical media like disks or tapes on which sound, images, or other information are stored; or (2) the sound, images, data, performances, information, or stimuli that are stored on records.
• Recording—the act or practice of a person or thing that records.
• Playback—the act or practice of a person or thing that plays back or reproduces a record.

about playback

Recording is useless without playback. What is playback?

• Playback is the act of reproducing a recording for any purpose, including the checking of a newly made recording.
• The apparatus used in producing playbacks.
• A recording that is heard or seen.

Recording and playing back is a four-step process. The process is the same regardless of what is recorded and played back. The steps are:

1. Capturing raw or processed information from a source, such as a musical performance, a dance, a picture, words, radio, TV or DVD, modem, or computer.
2. Copying the captured information by converting its format and carrier and then "writing" it to a storage agency or medium such as paper, film, tape, DVD, CD-ROM, or CD.
3. Retrieval of the stored information by retrieving and converting it from the medium on which it is stored.
4. Reproduction of the retrieved information by "writing" it to the device on which it is displayed or rendering it, and then displaying it.

In this connection, the record is the storage agency; recording is the process that takes place in the first two steps; and playback is what takes place in last two steps.

more About recording, recordings, and playback

Recordings are a matter of aesthetics

the production or consumption of art is primarily an aesthetic experience. Artists create the performances found on records; art lovers and consumers play their recordings to hear or see what's recorded on them. Playing a recording is an emotional experience. When people play a recording, they usually want to focus on the content—the performance—and enjoy it, not to understand how it was acquired or recorded.

Recordings are also a matter of commerce

the production and consumption of art is also a matter of commerce. Artists know that producing art can be an expensive undertaking; art consumers know that records can be critical factors in the art experience. Good recordings are records contain aesthetically good performances that are faithfully recorded; they are long lasting and easy and inexpensive to store and play. Good records can be hard to find. Gaining access to or acquiring good recordings are important.

recording and playback are largely a matter of science and engineering

Advances in recording and playback are primarily driven by physics and life sciences. The relevant scientific and engineering disciplines are electricity and magnetism, electronics, acoustics, mathematics, psychology, physiology, and the like. These disciplines produce advances in the technology of storing, retrieving, and displaying information on and from records. They lead to better recordings. In turn, better recordings enhance the arts because they improve fidelity, lower cost, facilitate distribution, and increase availability. The current practice of downloading music over the Internet is a case in point; it's producing a revolution.

these venues and constituencies meet and overlap

For artists and art consumers, technology is a means to an end. Artists want to understand how to exploit technology to improve or diversify their performances or to create new or different art. Connoisseurs and art lovers want to understand how and why technology produces and impacts their aesthetic enjoyment; they want to get more from recordings, absorb more from the artistic experience. Everyone wants to exploit technology to maintain or restore art, explore art history, or uncover art secrets. Everyone wants to improve record quality and reduce cost.

In these pages, Electricka and her muses explore the nexus of these venues as they apply to the arts.