During the last century we experienced two revolutionary shifts in the way we conceive of musical space. First the recording technology of the early twentieth century split musical space temporally spatially socially and artistically – partitioning what when and by whom music could be heard. In doing so it added many new participants to the process of creating spatial experiences. The computer technology of the late twentieth century then virtualized the space where the music would be heard how it would be created and who would be responsible for its aural architecture. As this pattern of virtualization continues musical space will merge ever more completely with musical instruments with both becoming ever more abstract.
Blesser & Salter: Spaces Speak. Are you listening? p. 133.
