It gets forgotten that people will make music on whatever comes to hand, and that music is never stuck in time. I remember, as a student, some chap bringing a Fender Strat to the class (this was 1963) for us to see. I'd never held one before, and it was like magic to me. Some silly snob among the female students said, "Oh, that's not a REAL instrument", before turning away with a moue of dissatisfaction on her face - a remark which we treated with the same contempt she had shown for the Strat!

A great example of musicians taking advantage of new technology is the glass harmonica, invented and improved in the 18th century - with works written for it by Mozart, Beethoven and hundreds of others.

People also forget that there are no rules in music. Play what you want, how you want, is all that matters. Whether what you play is a success or whether it's liked or not is, in the end, no matter. As my Irish great-grannie used to say, "Have what you will - and pay for it."