Re: [microsound] Is the computer an instrument or performer?

[Soren Goodman <soren-microsound@xxxxxxxxxx>]

* ben nevile wrote (Fri, Nov 08, 2002 at 01:56:44PM -0800):
> > "what makes a good instrument?".
> >
> >sounds good
> 
> okay.  in the age of computers this is easy, you can make your 
> instrument sound like whatever you can imagine and program.
> 

ah!  But in the age of computers the idea of the instrument is confused
a bit.   How about a new topic?

Is the computer an instrument or one of the performers?

Think david tudor...he set up complex systems with electronics that
would then just go on their own...similar to a complex max patch that
has minimal real time usage (or at least it doesn't really matter if a
6-year-old was up there playing with it).  There seems to be a lot of 
this nowadays.

Thinking historically, composition has been defining the music while
performance has been the realization of the music.  Is the computer
simply a really complex instrument?  Or is the creation of the
algorithms the composition followed by the performance?

> 
> >easy to use
> 
> no, definitely not "easy".  that's not to say that it can't be easy, 
> but it does not have to be.  is a violin easy to play?  or is it the 
> difficulty and the virtuosity of the seasoned musician that makes the 
> instrument so wonderful?

Not easy to play, easy to use...in this regards I would consider the
violin extremely easy to use because there's a huge range of sounds it
can make (if you're good).  Same goes for computers in general...

Easy to play can be a bad thing, look at all of the horrible techno out
there nowadays...

Soren

> 
> I think before you ask "what makes a good instrument" you should first 
> ask "what is an instrument?"  there's no right answer, so your 
> definition will play a big role in the ensuing discussion.
> 
> it is perhaps easier to list qualities that make up a musical 
> instrument.  here's a partial list from me:
> 
> tonal range
> dynamic range
> subtlety of control
> ergonomics
> practicality
> sexiness
> one-handedness (so that you can drink beer while performing.  or 
> masturbate to the sound of your genius.)
> 
> bbn
> 
> 
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