What music, stupid?

Editor TAS,

At the risk of sounding like a Mediaeval philosopher, I would like to clarify the discussion occasioned by Robert Harley’s article “The Audiophile iPod” [Issue 155]. Or maybe I should, Socrates-like, ask “which music, stupid?”. Of course I realize that discussing essences, which is what this letter is doing, starts one down a slippery slope. Still, I believe that even though both bicycles and airplanes are vehicles, most people can tell the difference between them. It is to them that I offer this letter.

Let us for the moment skip the question of Platonic essences and not ponder what, say, Brahms’s 1st Symphony sounded like in Brahms’ head. For our purposes let us assume that the music is the way the Berlin Philharmonic plays it under the baton of one of our best conductors. When we reproduce it via the world’s best sound system using SACD (you put it together), we obtain a reasonable facsimile of the music, but not quite the music. But for our discussion let’s call that the music. Let us now imagine that we omit every second byte from the CD (or compress it in another way—the method doesn’t matter). It will, of course, still sound like Brahms 1st, but someone with your Harry Pearson’s acute hearing would notice that it lacks some overtones, some spatial clues, some tonal clarity, some ambiance, some “continuousness”. (Surely, if he can tell the difference between different optical cleaners and is even reputedly familiar with live music, he can notice these shortcomings). The general public may barely notice that anything is amiss. Let is now compress CD even more and listen to it via a portable radio. Will we still be listening to the Brahms 1st ? I don’t think so; we will be listening to a Brahms 1st, but not the Brahms 1st. Is this still music? Of course, it is. Can one enjoy it? Maybe so. But note that the word, “music” has undergone a subtle change. I do not want to debate the merits of iPod and its accoutrements except to point out that those who claim that they are listening to the music have made a clever switch from what in this letter I call the music. Of course, if they like, they can listen to it in Airports, gyms, on way to work.

Although I know that no analogy is perfect, allow me to give one. I am looking at a wonderful colored picture of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment. If anyone asked me what I am doing, I would say: “I am looking at the Last Judgment “. But I am not, I am looking at a picture of the Last Judgment. Thus with compressed music.

I cannot speak for Brahms, but I suspect that if he were listening to compressed music via the best of iPod I rather think he would say, “Very interesting. It has the outlines of my 1st “. And if he were to use Stairmaster, I suspect he might prefer silence. Or maybe stop exercising.