Buggy Whip Makers

Back in the 60's, A grade school friend's father was an adding machine repairman.

Unless your my age or older you have no idea what I'm talking about. The mechanical adding machine was the precursor to the calculator. An interesting, but clumsy device that added and subtracted numbers. This is what was used by number crunchers for decades before the digital calculator showed up and blew them all away. What would cause that?

The adding machine weighed a ton
The adding machine needed maintenance
The adding machine was expensive

So, almost overnight, the adding machine went away.

I feel a lot like that friend's father. His name was Vern (by the way) the same as Elvis's daddy. My father sold Vern a Cadillac that cracked a block when winter hit. I guess he didn't check the antifreeze. I don't know what happened to Vern, my mind has made up a story that he died of seroses of the liver. Enough about Vern, back to me...The piano has been largely usurped by the digital keyboard. A device that is lighter, cheaper, and needs virtually no maintenance.

I have been closely watching this transformation for a good many years. 'First becoming alarmed over 20 years ago. The technology was transforming rapidly, I figured I would be out of a livelihood within a few years. I checked with friends in concert production. One, a well-regarded owner of a large sound/light company told me MIDI technicians were in demand. Most musicians didn't understand the full power of Musical Instrument Digital Interface.

That same man, a little later called me for a Little Richard show where they needed a piano equipped with MIDI. I was able to supply that. My life in concert piano supply began and I have not looked back since.

The Other Side

When I was a young adult, (c 1970) I was on the other side of this paradigm: A small Chicago commercial typesetting firm I worked for was using a computer to set advertising type while everyone else was using equipment that had been standard for about 100 years. We called them buggy whip makers. Railroads no doubt scoffed at the early airline industry; "wait 'til a few of them fall out of the sky". A strong Union governed the industry, and they were ready to fight change tooth and nail to keep the status quo.

1992, Lesson learned: Neither one is around, both replace by users doing it themselves on their own computer.

I made a joke with my doctor, just today when he fantasized about taking guitar lessons that he might become a hippie folk singer. "You need a backup plan" I offered.
"I think I'll keep my day job" he replied.