A former ISU student spoke to a group of about 30 ISU students, musicians and other interested people about revolutionary technological advances in music.

Former ISU student and musician Jeffrey Vallier, senior firmware engineer with Gibson Guitar Corporation, told his audience Tuesday in the Memorial Union Sun room about his experiences with music, advances being made and the possible future of musical technology.

Vallier said his interest in music was sparked at an early age. He learned to play the guitar at the age of 10 and played in a band through high school and college. Vallier began his studies in electrical engineering at Iowa State in 1986, but eventually transferred to The Evergreen State College in Washington to complete his degree in electrical engineering and music composition in 1991.

After moving to California in 1998, Vallier eventually joined Gibson as an engineer to develop hardware for MaGIC communications protocol. He is now working on embedding a protocol in a single chip.

“My whole point is exploration and learning new things and developments about musical technology,” Vallier said. “Here at Gibson, we want to make music technology quicker, cheaper and easier for musicians and eventually all consumers.”

New developments in musical technology “will be a benefit to the average consumer” and musicians alike, he said.

“What I see in the next five years is access to these technologies at a cheaper, easier-to-use and completely accessible rate,” Vallier said.

David Stuart, associate professor in music, introduced Vallier to the audience as a friend and former colleague.

“He not only has experience and expertise in the field of musical technology, but [he] has also been involved in several bands around the area and therefore understands why these advancements are so important,” Stuart said.

Vallier has been working as a part of the MaGIC communications protocol, which is attempting to link up various parts of the media and keep them in sync.

More specifically, Vallier said, he is working on a chip that will completely simplify music technology today.

“My job is to implement software and put it all inside this chip,” Vallier said. “It will be completely mobile and able to be placed in many means of technology, someday easily attainable for anyone who wants one.”

Isaac Norman, 25, front man of the band Hitting My Dad, said he wanted to listen and learn from what Vallier had to say.

“I am actually a musician, and I am always looking for ways to make things better for the band,” Norman said.

He said Vallier’s ideas and insight on the technology intrigued him.

“I thought a lot of what he had to say was interesting, and the technology could be really useful,” Norman said. “However, there is a definite appeal for a vintage sound here. I guess there is a time and a place for everything though.”