So the crux of this thesis is simply: stop looking at new technology like it has to replace something else for it to be successful. You don’t need to replace the smartphone, you don’t need to replace the laptop, and you don’t need to replace the desktop to be considered a successful product. Instead you should look at each product category as another tool that people have to leverage to get their work done.

How Does This Apply to Music?

The Saxophone

Well, a long time ago in a country far, far away, Adolphe Sax was a Belgian instrument designer most famous for-you guessed it-the saxophone. Now, the original plan for the saxophone was to replace the clarinet. It was the “clarinet killer” so to say. Each saxophone had the same fingerings, something that wasn’t entirely true on clarinet, meaning that if you knew how to play one, you knew how to play them all, making the saxophone player incredibly versatile, being able to play a higher alto sax one moment and the much lower baritone sax the next (sometimes in the same song). Additionally, the instrument was made of metal instead of wood, making it significantly more durable, and the instrument was also louder. The instrument was primed to take the orchestra world by storm and overtake the outdated clarinet.

But as we’ve learned from Squidward, this didn’t happen. What we actually saw was that the clarinet and the saxophone found harmony with each other (no pun intended…or maybe it was). People didn’t completely switch away from the clarinet (especially the French, who actually would boycott any composer who would write for the saxophone). Nowadays the clarinet and the saxophone both serve their purpose. Some people play one, some people play the other, and some play both. The saxophone just became another tool in the arsenal of composers and musicians.

Guitars and Amplifiers

The precision bass didn’t replace the upright bass in the 50s despite being much smaller and easier to play with its frets allowing for someone to play in tune much easier. With an amplifier it was also able to be much louder and replace a section of 12 bass players with one single bass guitar. That didn’t happen. 7, 8, and 9 string guitars haven’t replaced the good ol’ 6 string. Humbucker pickups didn’t replace single coil pickups despite their ability to play at higher volumes without the obnoxious humming that comes with a single coil pickup (hence the name “humbucker”).

As far as amplifiers go, people still use amplifiers that use vacuum tubes. These amps are much larger, much heavier, and much more expensive than their solid state counterparts that use much more modern microchips. There are even amps that are controlled entirely through a computer. The tech never got replaced.

Tablets

Tablets, smartphones, and laptops haven’t completely replaced desktops. Desktops haven’t replaced servers, and servers haven’t replaced mainframes. Many people have switched off of using heavy desktops that are relegated to a desk in favor of a laptop or a smartphone, but there are people who know a desktop is the tool they want to use to get the job done. Some people are even able to do everything they want from a smartphone. There are also many people who prefer to work on an iPad (I’m writing this article on an M2 iPad Air). In the end, it’s about the right tool for the job. Just like the saxophone, the tablet might not replace the laptop, but it will serve its purpose for many people.

Wrap-Up

Stop wasting your time fighting over this. Really, just stop. Nobody sits around going “wow the saxophone is unusable until it’s made of wood” and nobody goes “If you just got rid of the frets and made it bigger, this bass would actually be usable for real music.”

Musicians recognize that people have different needs and different preferences, and they pick the tools that are right for them and their desired workflow.

Nobody wishes a Stratocaster were a Les Paul, nobody wishes a saxophone were a clarinet, they just use the one that works for them and celebrate the breadth of options people have to do what they love: creating.

Does this analogy make sense? Let me know on Mastodon.