These anthropologist and musicologists have been studying comparative melodies since World War II under cover and in secrecy, but then came to the attraction of public knowledge in the 70's when visiting the remote areas of the world with tape machines to record original music of primitive natives before the music was contaminated or lost forever due to the Western type sophisticated and complicated civilization. The study of the relationships between Western, non-Western, and primitive music was dependent on either being recorded on disc or by tape recorders. Albeit the conformity may be traced back to the 18th century thereabouts, but did not surface from the primitive condition until phonographic equipment became available. Then upon further studies and research they found that primordial elemental music was orally transmitted rather than in a written notation format. The recitation practices of the primitive rhythms and intonations is somewhat rather difficult to transliterate (write or copied) accurately into the Western documented characteristics notations. The most recent studies was conducted as a race against time. In the late 1940's magnetic wire recorders became widely available. Sound was recorded as patches of magnetism on very fine steel wire threads moving at 20 inches per second. By 1950, plastic based magnetic tapes and tape recorders, which were more convenient than wire recorders availability. The 8 Track stereo cartridge was launched in 1966 which was initially considered for use in Lear Jets and luxury cars. Its handiness and sturdiness made it a dominant embellishment for cars, but it was difficult for the user to access music selections on the tapes, they in-turn disappeared from the scene between the 1940's to the 1960's. |
