Is my cell phone the best new field recorder for Musicologists?

Overview

I am often amazed at the breadth of technology tools available to the average Joe. When I really think about it, I realize it wasn’t too long ago that many people did not have a need for any of the gadgets that we now use everyday. Each time I leave my house I carry with me a plethora of devices; a laptop, cell phone, iPod, and some kind of camera (either for video or just for stills). Each of these devices is capable of recording and playing back something, which is great for most of my daily tasks, and also for assistance doing my research. With the proper combination of tools, I can easily document an event either in audio or video, edit the content for broadcast, attach any field notes, and distribute that content in broadcast ready formats for television, radio, or web, all within a single day (or within hours, or even minutes of an event). Yet still, I can also prepare that content for offline distribution on CD or DVD, PSP, iPod, and additional distribution in the afore mentioned media, or in just about any media I should choose.

As a musicologist in training at The Ohio State University, I have not yet had the opportunity to do extensive field research. I do, however, envision myself one day traveling to some remote location somewhere in the world in order to document an event for my research (preferably, somewhere where the music is both rare and extraordinary, but where comfort is king…and I’m not swatting flies away from my field notes). It’s not difficult to envision the day when I’m lucky enough to be invited or stumble on to an extraordinary event, and rather than having to leave the staging area to get my bulky cameras, microphones, and tapes, I simply seize the moment by whipping out my iPod and recording the whole thing then and there. As an added bonus, the small side of the recording device will have left me almost invisible to the most of the participants; those who would have been distracted by the huge cameras, towering booms, and shiny lights that accompany most professional shoots barely notice the “i[thingie]”, and just go about their business, which lets me be a better “fly on the wall” or, at least, a more efficient voyeur.

In this day and age the devices we use everyday can also serve as convenient research tools. For example, most of today’s cell phones are equipped with some kind of recording device for audio, video, text, and more. Just about every cell phone can take still pictures; many of them can record 30-60 second of video at a time. More versatile phones have greater capabilities; they can take more photos, record longer videos. Many of them can email, send and receive large documents and new media. Some devices can even post newly recorded content directly to the web. Some of the newest cell phones and portable media players have great possibilities; with many of their best features being developed and enhanced by third party developers anxious to add large amounts of storage, encoding and posting of varied video content, and editing software to what are already powerful recording and sharing machines. Additionally, today’s portable devices utilize some type of connection to a larger storage device; be it a computer, transportable flash media, a hard disc recorder, or more. You can save and back up your data for use later, in some other media, in the manner chosen by you. All of this is provided through the convenience offered by one of these tiny, little machines.

Imagine the possibilities; the common cell phone can now be used as field recorder. The field recorder can be connected to a computer to backup the files (and notes). Audio and video content can be edited on the spot through computer software. Files recorded can be sent from the remote location can be sent via email to research colleagues back in the U.S. (or anywhere in the world with the world wide web) almost instantaneously . With the addition of a moderately priced computer (desktop or laptop), CD and DVDs of the field research can be encoded for distribution while the final presentation is prepared in PowerPoint (or Flash,, or another presentation program), or placed on a web site or web application, or even (gasp) a Blog. And by the way, this could all theoretically, happen within the same day!
All of the technology is great, but there are a few pitfalls and hidden dangers of which Musicologists using these “techie tools” should be aware. If you’re traveling to places where you can’t charge a cell phone, then these tools probably won’t help you for long. Excessive heat, moisture, and dust are other things that can be problematic, as they can wreak havoc on electronics. Security is an issue also; cell phones, iPods, and the like are stolen and re-sold daily all over the world and woe to the researcher who has not implemented a good backup plan. Yet though, despite the risks, the convenience is hard to pass up. Nothing feels more expedient than being in the moment, grabbing the recorder, whipping it out and seizing upon that opportunity to document something fantastic!

So now that we’ve seen the benefits and risks, let’s take a look as some of my favorite categories of everyday “geekware” for Musicologists.

Categories of Tools

CATEGORY 1 - Pocket Tools - This is a category in which one can leverage the everyday equipment that fits in your pocket and can be used at a moment’s notice. These include the afore mentioned cell phones, disposable cameras, usb key chains, dongles and such. These are tools of convenience offer moderate to high levels of recording quality. At least, most of them are sufficient enough to get a good quality recording, still, or video of the object to be documented.
My favorite “all-in-one” device would be one that provides the capability to record (and display) audio and video, type field notes, provide editing tools for all of the content, save the media to something external, and provide software for uploading content. While no device has all of these features, many do come close. The Samsung Instinct, for example, can record stills as well as audio and video clips, has an application for typing, can save all its content to “hot-swappable” flash media (up to 8GB) or can connect via usb to computer, and can upload content via a wireless internet connection (via Wi-Fi or on Sprint’s own data plan). The iPhone has less features (no video or audio recording yet), but does sport impressive storage space (8 -32 GB). Additionally, upcoming iPhone software (particularly those created mostly by 3rd party developers) promises some impressive features and enhancements sure to shepherd even the most “geek weary” sheep into the iFlock. There are many more potential devices available from Nokia, Microsoft, and PALM that already provide tools useful to the traveling musicologist. Check each of their web sites for something that may best fit your needs.

CATEGORY 2: Specialized Tools – Specialized Equipment can, like pocket tools, be carried and utilized a moment’s notice, but may be slightly bulkier than the mini counterparts. The trade in size, however, is usually offset by an increase in quality . Again, these are tools of convenience however, they are alos capable of high to very high qualities of recording/documentation.
One nice piece for audio is M-AUDIO’s Microtrack II, a hand held audio recorder that saves audio files to flash media (on 2GB to 8GB flash cards) in .wav, .mp3, or .aiff format. Additionally, it’s also phantom powered so the unit can use high quality external microphones is a variety of recording settings. For video, there are a fair number of small, hand-held recorders available in the consumer market. ARCHOS’s AV400 has a whopping 20 GB of storage space available for recording both audio and video. If you’re feeling both adventurous and nostalgic, try Belkin’s Recording Kit for the iPod Classic and you’ll be able to transform that media player into a massive 80-160GB field recorder! A good still camera from Nokia, Cannon, and the like will typically allow you to record video as well. If you want a device specifically for recording video only, try VADO’s Pure Digital Flip Mino, a decent recorder for a small amount of money.

Conclusion

There are always bigger, task specific pieces of hardware that can be purchased specifically for the need to record photos, audio, video, that are available should you wish. That being said, if these devices you already own can work for you, I encourage you to enjoy the convenience of the cell phone/hand-held music player/ video camera/field recorder!

I’ll try to talk about more other helpful gadgetry and music software later in the year. Peace!