Luke, It is my greatest concern about mechanical music. Certainly
part of it is the allure of the convenience of modern electronics,
but it is also more than that, I think. A huge issue is the lack of
familiarity with the instruments we love among younger generations.
Some of us had the advantage of growing up in families where mechanical
musical instruments were still around in the homes of parents or
grandparents or family friends. That is no longer the case in most
instances.
We cannot expect younger people to learn to love things they know
nothing about. We, collectively, have just got to do more to get
demonstrations out there before the public and invite younger people
to see out collections. Some will still not be interested, but I have
many more times than one see eyes light up in wonder with discovery.
Clay Witt
|