Random access: looking back to the future: examining how we communicate.(Professional Resources)(Column)

I have been writing about "new" technology in the music and music education fields for more than 20 years. At times, the fast pace of change has confused the issue of what is new and what isn't.

For example, I--like many music teachers--have found it amazingly convenient to search for and to order music on the Internet. It can save a lot of time and can often produce faster results than the traditional alternatives. Some of us have been purchasing music in this way for a few years now.

Yesterday, I showed the mother of one of my students how to do this. We searched for a piece at www.google.com, found a site that not only sold the music but gave us a visual preview (so we could determine that it was the right level), and completed the transaction in less than 5 minutes. Although my student's mother was vaguely aware of the possibility of ordering online, the experience of doing it for the first time meant that this concept was really new as far as she was concerned. And, she was both amazed and thrilled at the result.

As this example illustrates, the concept of "being new" is really a ...