I was recently asked to prepare a piano and vocal arrangement of a piece of music as a gift. In order to do so, I had to work through a series of steps: learn the music by ear, record the music (in data form) and transform that musical data into sheet music.

As this was a piece I had never heard before, something became evident when learning the music by ear - especially when playing my private recording of it alongside the original. There were slight but noticeable shifts in tempo.

So what? Well, I believe there is something inherently human about music, and as you remove elements of "human-ness" you diminish the emotional connection with the listener - and in turn the appeal.

I have written before about quantizing, a process often used in music to sharpen up the accuracy of timing. This can be especially useful in projects such as music notation where timing must be spot on to produce an accurate result. This tool certainly has a value.

However the process of quantizing takes away one of the human elements of music. As mentioned in my Auto-tune commentary, we are not robots and should not strive to sound that way! It is natural to move slightly ahead of or slightly behind the beat from time to time when performing. A perfect snapping into the strict timing of the beat simply sounds un-natural.

Take for example the song "Forever" by Ben Harper (below). The song generally sits around 83-85bpm, however in some sections this becomes more swift, in a way not likely to be noticed unless you are clicking a metronome of some kind along with the track. These subtle variations help give the song life and help strengthen the connection between performer and listener. The listener is washed along with the song.

Let your music have life.

I, like many other composers, have for quite some time been recording my tracks as they reach a state of completion. Over the years these recordings have changed format for me several times, from four-track cassette tape recordings on a Tascam MF-P01, to digital hard disk recording on dedicated units such as a Roland VS-880, to recording audio direct to computer via Firewire. My primary synth workstation the Yamaha Motif XS even allows on-board mixing and output direct to USB as a WAV file.

These are just the means of recording audio that I have personally used over the years. Of course there are many more alternatives...

The point of this is that recording music these days is incredibly easy. So easy that much of what is heard in current popular music can be created readily in the home studio, bedroom or garage (read my blog post on AutoTune for more on that). The process of getting a composition idea from your head and into a recorded form is child's play. 

But what is the longevity of these recordings? I have many cassettes of original music I recorded only 15 years ago. I have 6 stereos in my home and none have a working cassette player. But I don't need one - I stopped listening to music on cassette years ago.

So what of the music I recorded on that format? Some of it I have continued to perform over the years and could still sit at a piano and play now. Other pieces I vaguely recall while several more songs and song ideas have been lost to time.

From cassette, to CD, to mp3 - the times will continue to change. The next generation of digital formats are just around the corner. Then what will become of all the music currently committed to mp3 or CD? Will that music's fate be the same as my old cassette recordings?

Music notation - sheet music - however, is a relative constant. The same music written hundreds of years ago, well before any form of audio recording was developed to capture the performance, could be performed today from sheet music.

As well as longevity, sheet music has an additional benefit. Many people long to read a great story in a book rather than be presented the story in film, allowing their imaginations to conjure the scene, characters' faces and surroundings. Music notation allows the performer to add his or her own interpretation to the music. This allows the music to truly live.

After a recent request from a client to provide piano notation for his wife as an anniversary gift, I have a renewed commitment to score all of my own compositions.

One day my great grandchildren may pick up a box of old things and with a puzzled look cast aside cassettes, CDs and mp3 players - but I can image a feeling of pride when they see an ancestors' name printed at the top of some sheet music. They'll just need to find a musician to perform it...