It’s funny how modernity in music can occasionally be as much to do with appearance as with sound. Do you remember, for example, the first time you saw an electronic drum-kit? Or someone with a wearing a keyboard like a guitar? Or a singer with a radio-mic attached?

I saw an ad for a “music stand” the other day which had a decidedly 21st century look. You can see it here – go half-way down the page and look for Clamps.

A colleague told me earlier this year that many young jazz players turn up to jam sessions with a real book in iPad format – capable of transposing a song into other keys. This invokes the thorny perennial about technological advances eroding skills which practitioners once honed through hours of woodshedding.

The following videos give some idea of the look and feel of this way of working:[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/G6fBT_6Sphg?rel=0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /][kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/3jt-AhkKn2E?rel=0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]