Chapter 43 Getting in the Way? Limitations of Technology in Community Music Gillian Howell Are there some conditions in which music technology is inappropriate or inefective? Tis is the question I address in this chapter, drawing upon my experiences as a com- munity musician who leads groups of people—all ages and abilities, experienced players and frst-timers—to create and perform their own music. Based in Australia, I work in diverse environments around the world—communities, schools, hospitals, prisons, and confict-afected settings—leading practical and collaborative projects that by necessity must respond in some way to the realities of the local environment. Tese “local environment realities” lead me to question the suitability or value of music making based around contemporary music technologies for some community music projects. While the extraordinary capabilities of computers, music creation and recording sofware, synthesizers, and computer-generated sound-makers, tab- lets, smartphones and their apps, and platforms that facilitate remote linking and fle- sharing across great distance each can ofer incredibly powerful solutions and learning opportunities to some community music projects, there are a number of limitations that are worth examining in more detail. In my experience, technology can indeed ofer solutions and create new possibilities, but it can just as easily create problems, and thus be as much a burden as a resource. Many technologies, particularly computer-based technologies, have elements of unpre- dictability that can disrupt or derail workshop fow and focus. Programs freeze, updates suddenly need to be installed (which may not be a quick process), operating systems crash, or shut down, or need to be rebooted. Work may be lost, and group music mak- ing will defnitely be paused while solutions are found. Individuals may require more personalized attention to assist them with their project. It may be that the group leader or person in command of the technology does not have sufcient knowledge to trou- bleshoot or solve the problem on the spot, requiring access to specialized technicians, or a plan B for that particular class or workshop that can be quickly executed. Tese OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRSTPROOFS, Thu Apr 13 2017, NEWGEN oxfordhb-9780199372133-part-3.indd 449 4/13/2017 3:47:02 PM