quoted 10 lines Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 00:55:12 +0100 (MET)> Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 00:55:12 +0100 (MET)
> To: idm@hyperreal.org
> From: Johan Kotlinski <spleen@darkface.pp.se>
> Subject: Re: (idm) Re: lets talk equip.
> Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.1000309003608.4702A-100000@warwick>
>
> On Wed, 8 Mar 2000, Christophe McKeon wrote:
>
> > Computers have mad thingness. They got more thingness' then anythin.
> > My question: How is a computer not a musical instrument?
Anything can be a musical instrument... that wasnt the point... the
point was that music is a highly specialized area of working... people
spend their entire lives designing instruments to be played and that
time spent evidences itself in the feel the player has and the feel the
music has... computers are jacks of all trades and are great for a
number of pursuits... and of course they can do music... my point was
that they dont do the sort of music that seems to have substance very
well... at the moment
quoted 8 lines It's all about interfaces. Computers mostly have general interfaces, like>
> It's all about interfaces. Computers mostly have general interfaces, like
> keyboards and mice, that are obviously not designed for music-making. You
> can hook up MIDI keyboards and similar, but it's still a very indirect
> form of sound generation. Especially when you compare it to the most
> primitive (and general) form of music, banging on a piece of wood thereby
> making rhythms. Some electronic music equipment (MPC3000, BOSS pedals :))
> actually has that kind of directness in creation, computers have not
Exactly... although perhaps if one were to bang directly on the computer
and mic that up there might be a more direct connection... Hey there's
an idea for Neubauten...
quoted 8 lines (unless you make music by banging them on the hood, or similar). You're> (unless you make music by banging them on the hood, or similar). You're
> right that computers can be musical instruments, but I think all that
> pointing and clicking is frustrating... And, I think other people share
> that view too... I believe that Brian Eno said the following about
> computers as a musical instrument, "too little Africa", and generally, I
> agree on this. IMO, nothing's a bigger musical turn-off than pissing
> around with mice too much... But I'll change my mind the moment Logic
> comes with touchscreen or Nintendo lightgun support... :)
And Eno has made many good points about how the sequencing environment
produces music which is welded to the grid, no matter how complex that
grid may be... as he mentions, you can feel those bars and chunks of
audio cycling by your ears when you listen to so many records lately,
and its boring after awhile because your ear tunes out unless it
perceives a threat (ie a possible change or human inflection or
mistake)... and he makes another great point about how computers
separate us from the muscular action necessary to produce acts which
mean something and have a relation between a sound and the action which
produced it
A.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org