Participatory Culture in Music: Online Music Collaboration

Catherine Kelly

Wiki Page 2

**Online Music Collaboration**

Music collaboration, alteration, and sharing with others are now possible without leaving the comfort of your own home.  Thanks to the technological advancements of the online world, amateur artists are now able to participate in this emerging form of musical culture. Online techniques are becoming increasingly important and more prominent than live participation of collaboration in order to create, share, and experience digital music (Freeman).  Applications such as Kompoz and Blend allow you to upload your work and share it for collaboration with others privately or even globally.  This emerging form of participatory culture within music requires knowledge of recording and editing applications such as GarageBand, Logic Pro X, or REAPER in order to record one’s musical compositions.  However, once uploaded to one of these many music collaboration sites, you can share with other musicians you meet online or simply with your friends and band members.  Once the collaboration is complete, you are able to share it via the same website or perhaps post it to another music sharing website such as SoundCloud or Datpiff.  This active form of participatory culture within music is truly a breakthrough, as it enables random people who share similar goals and ideas to work collaboratively.

**Kompoz Video**

https://vimeo.com/kompoz/explainer

According to critic and writer Howard Rheingold, online social networks can be “powerful amplifiers of collective action” because they facilitate human sociality.  Music collaboration sites like Kompoz make connecting and sharing with musicians around the world possible.  Moreover, you don’t have to be a professional musician to participate in this program.  Amateur artists are encouraged to upload their music and receive feedback, constructive criticism, and assistance from other musicians.  In addition, if you only play one instrument but want to create a track with multiple, Kompoz gives you the ability to search for specific musicians such as drummers or bass guitar players.  Musical social networking sites like Kompoz facilitate powerful collaboration to create new and original tracks.  Once a track is completed, the site gives you option to share it via other social networking sites that have a wider audience than just other musicians, such as Facebook or SoundCloud.  By doing this, many more people are able to listen, share, and critique collaborated tracks.

Featured below is a collaboration between a guitarist/producer from Malaysia, a bass guitar player from Russia, a singer/songwriter from Florida, and a keyboard player from Italy.  This track is called “Disco Two Step” and falls under the genre of electronic.  The main engineer and producer was able to find and direct each musician as well as place each of their contributions together.  Because of Kompoz, these musicians were able to find each other from all over the world, share their ideas, and put each other their talents together to create a catchy dance track.

http://www.kompoz.com/music/listen/release/581161

**Conclusion**

According to Henry Jenkins’ definition, music collaboration and sharing websites such as Kompoz or Blend are indeed forms of participatory culture within music.  They support creating and sharing with others, there are low barriers to artistic expression, an informal mentorship from the most experienced musicians is present, as well as each member is given the ability to feel like their contributions are important (Jenkins).  This groundbreaking technology gives amateur musicians the ability to connect with others all over the world and create almost a band-like setting.  This new and emerging form of participatory culture within music provides artists with many resources needed create and share their music.

**Kompoz Demonstration Video**

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                 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1JBjTz3K6BuUi1wbmtPNGtpQUU

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**References**

Freeman, J. (2010). *Web-based collaboration, live musical performance, and open-form scores.* International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media. Vol. 6(p.149-170). Retrieved from

☀http://0-web.b.ebscohost.com.libraries.colorado.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=f8dd882d-f91d-4ebb-adca-06b454724779%40sessionmgr110&hid=106&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=ibh&AN=55531596.

Jenkins, H. (2009). *Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture.* Retrieved from https://learn.colorado.edu/d2l/le/content/90699/viewContent/1998813/View.

Rheingold, H. (2010, May 25). Participatory Pedagogy for a Literacy of Literacies. *Freesouls.* Retrieved from http://freesouls.cc/essays/03-howard-rheingold-participative-pedagogy-for-a-literacy-of-literacies.html.