The voice that could only be heard before at a special occasion is set free from the boundaries of time and place. As a result of this, the relation between the performer and the listener changed profoundly. The site of the performance changed, the elements of performance changed and the nature of the music also changed. A four hours piece of music in North India can become a 4 minutes piece one can hear anywhere. It is not just playing music, it is re-playing music and in the act of re-playing music different kinds of things change: the context, the nature of the performance, the relation between the voice and the ear, the relationship between where the voice is coming from and where the voice is heard. When re-playing music the experience has become anonymous both ways: for the listener, because there is a voice but no face and for the singer because there is no presence of the audience to interact with.
Relation between performer and listener
Technology deeply influences how people can witness each other and experience each other’s presence. Parthasarathi argues that because music can be recorded and be listened to at any time and any place, the relation to the voice of the performer has changed.
