Eight years. That’s how long I haven’t touched my six-string sound box. Once I was obsessed with my guitar. My electric Gibson and I played in a girl band; we wrote our own songs. Also, my sister, then a conservatory singer, and I performed as an acoustic duo at weddings. Somehow Country Roads never got bored. When I decided to take my hobby to the next level and actually study music – scales and music theory had to be learned – the inevitable happened: the spark extinguished.
Until last week. My old acoustic friend was standing in the corner of the living room, covered in a thick layer of dust; the strings looking dull. But otherwise still able to do its trick.
So I decided to pick it up again. I’ve never been a big fan of reading notes, something my guitar teachers considered a flaw. Rather, I did everything by ear and played songs by heart. In retrospect, that came with an advantage: the songs from fifteen years ago are still floating somewhere in my memory today. Although I must admit that I have become rusty. Take Tommie Emmanuel’s version of Classical Gas that I (tried to) learn a decade ago. I still manage the beginning now: the run on the A chord, then through to the G. But after that it stalls. The rest I have lost.
Sometimes I wish the songs I once studied so hard on were still right there for the taking. Would that be possible in the future with the help of technology? In other words, what would the world be like if … we could upload music directly into our heads?
Neurointerface
Musicians of the future no longer have to worry about failing memory. They have implanted a neurointerface-a tiny device placed behind the ear. A network of tiny electrodes connects directly to the neurons responsible for memory and motor skills. By stimulating specific neural pathways, the interface activates stored musical information. Effortlessly, you can recall old songs you once mastered so well. Guitarists, violinists, or piano virtuosos: this technology has become indispensable for professional musicians. Wonderful, no more false scenes in the middle of “Sweet Home Alabama” due to a forgotten chord.
Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King
The interface also includes a second useful option. Namely, you can also “download” the brain patterns of legendary musicians. Suddenly, you have their technique, improvisation style, and years of experience readily available in your brain. Learning a new song no longer takes months; only a few seconds are enough. Everyone is a Jimi Hendrix in no time.
But what actually happens to the authenticity of music when skills can be so easily shared and copied? What is left of the idea of originality when everyone has access to the same virtuosity? Will a blues lick by B.B. King then still belong to him, or to the millions who can conjure it up in their heads?
In the future, the solution to these copyright and ethical challenges lies in the development of personal musical “signatures. A unique, digital profile will be created of each musician’s style, technique and creative expression. This information is all stored in specific brain patterns that the interfaces pick up. This musical profile is stored in a secure blockchain-like structure. Problem solved.
Campfire experience
Of course, we also want to continue making music as before, without technological tools. Although the neurointerface allows us to play crisp notes, there is still something magical about it: making music in an authentic way. Just like you don’t always want to play a game of chess with a sophisticated chess computer next to you. How boring. During non-tech evenings, with a security check at the door to see that the neurointerfaces are really off, we experience music the same way we did for the past hundred years. Or the way our ancestors did at the campfire.
Stiff fingers
I have never been a true guitar virtuoso. I have no ambition to become the new Jimi Hendrix. But if I had access to a beautiful neurointerface, I would plug in the device without question, purely to get Tommy Emmanuel’s song back in my fingers.
I will start practicing again. Those fingers of mine already feel a little smoother than last week!
