The Infinite Monkey Theorem, Revisited

To create a basic foundation and starting point in this discussion of the intersection of computer engineering and music, I had planned to offer a type of "idiot's guide" to the top musical composition and editing software packages. (I also am in the market for such a software package, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone.) As I was compiling data on the most popular - NoteWorthy, Finale, Cakewalk Studio, GarageBand, to name a few - I came across the following excerpt of a review of Apple's LogicStudio:


REPENT! the end of music is at hand
Written by DF

This is tooooo easy; now all those 5-year-olds and 'musicians' who became DJs a few years ago have all the skills necessary to become 'producers' of music good enough to make your girlfriend dump you...If you deem yourself an innovator, you'd better think beyond the world of the senses, because this box makes 'musical' innovation insignificant. Just as the federal reserve devalues our currency by putting more of it into circulation, Apple has now decreased the value of music tenfold. The 'musician' as recordist is now dead. Brave souls will resist this monster of manipulation and follow the only humanizing creed left for true musicians: Live Music Only, on instruments not requiring power consumption/electricity/oil/war/pollution. The weak, among whom I count myself, will spend their time alone in front of a computer screen, standing on the shoulders of giants, listening in awe to 'what we've created,' wasting resources getting our 'creations' to the level of 'broadcast quality' so we can become a bigger cog in the machine.


This review reminded me of a passage from "The Cult of the Amateur," which I had read for my New Media course earlier this semester. In this passage, Andrew Keen discusses the Infinite Monkey Theorem and how the internet is killing our culture by providing infinite monkeys (noting the intellectual and creative value of the average internet user) with infinite typewriter keyboards (representing how the web offers a means of publishing one's work - no matter how mediocre - through the use of *ahem* blogs). Keen asserts that the existence of such ubiquitous technology as the internet and World Wide Web creates an "endless digital forest of mediocrity." Surely, DF would agree with Keen's assertion. As a computer engineer, however, I appreciate the innovative thinking, interface design, testing, and of course thousands of programming hours required to produce such powerful tools as LogicStudio. I also realize how such software packages can drastically enhance the experience of music production for the individual. Computer technology, as with all tools and inventions, are as valuable as their applications. It is not the tools, but instead the delusions of grandeur that lead people to actually publish and post their creations on the web, that devalues the importance of being published.

As for this monkey, he'll be posting his typewriter keyboard creations extensively. His piano keyboard creations, however, will be heard by these monkey ears only... at least until he gets just good enough to make his girlfriend dump him.

Introductions are in order...

Welcome to Tune Technology, my weblog on how computer engineering is redefining musical composition and expression. As a fourth-year student in computer engineering, I have the knowledge and resources necessary to bring you informative material on today's musical technology. I also have the luxury of my inexperience and youth to explain technically advanced tools or ideas in a simple and sometimes humorous manner. I hope you find the posts here educational as well as entertaining, and I encourage you to share your kudos, criticisms, and questions via the interactive comment tool.

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