When considering the literal meaning of 'popular' music which is 'music accessible to a wide audience' I feel the idea that it could ever be 'unplugged' is impossible for most genres of music. Due to the fact that in order for popular music to be available to a mass audience, technology is needed. As Kevin Holm-Hudson stated ' Without electric technology popular music in the 21st Century is unthinkable'. If popular music was unplugged there would be no electronic amplification ie microphones, electronic guitars, keyboards or electronic drumkits, and this would remove many musical genres such as rock, punk and heavy metal, as they rely heavily on the use of the electric guitar in performances. It would also be impossible for bands to play and sing for large audiences as without microphones the instruments would drown out the voice and the sound would not carry. However it is possible for 'unplugged' music to be relatively popular, for example gospel choirs do not use electronic instruments or microphones, and do have quite a large fanbase, however it is generally not as popular as other types of music, although popular singers do release 'unplugged' albums which are successful, I feel genres such as pop and rock, could not continue to be both massively popular and 'unplugged'.
1 comment:
The definition that use for popular music is certainly a valid one, but it is not the only one. Having said that most of your post is well considered and generally nicely expressed.
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