(Cross posted at Greater Democracy)

In 1906, John Philip Sousa told congress, "These talking machines are going to ruin the artistic development of music in this country. When I was a boy ... in front of every house in the summer evenings, you would find young people together singing the songs of the day or old songs. Today you hear these infernal machines going night and day. We will not have a vocal cord left. The vocal cord will be eliminated by a process of evolution, as was the tail of man when he came from the ape."

My daughters' piano teacher mentioned this at a piano party sometime back, and it has always stuck with me. She went on to cite the piano party as an example of how Sousa was wrong. This came back to me again on Saturday, as Miranda performed at a Young Musician’s Festival in Fairfield.