Re: [microsound] good instruments vs good music

["Beni Borja" <beni.borja@xxxxxxxxxx>]

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I don't think it's about the instrument...  It's how you use it.  =
Composers are to be blamed for bad music, not instruments.

That pretty much sums up my comment that started this thread.=20

 Beni=20

----- Original Message -----=20
From: "Michal Seta" <mis@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "microsound" <microsound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 6:50 PM
Subject: Re: [microsound] good instruments vs good music

> On Fri, 8 Nov 2002 10:42:00 -0800
> Soren wrote:
>=20
> > You can't have a good instrument without good music because why =
would
> > anybody bother to build them?  It's evolution, the bad instruments =
stop
> > being built and the good ones get improved upon.  What defines them =
is
> > good has always been how they are used.
>=20
> Well, I don't think that the lute or the viola da gamba or the theorbo =
stopped being built because they were bad instruments or that the music =
that was written for them was bad...  While you could argue that a =
guitar is "an improvement" over a lute, I'd disagree (not here, not now. =
 Ask me if you want).  And there's still good music being written for =
the renaissance and baroque instruments and there are still _a few_ =
instrument makers that build them (mostly out of love for those) but =
they're too expensive (hence, less popular.  Anyone can buy a guitar =
now, even for less than a 100$...).  Those instruments were pushed away =
by louder instruments, whenver louder instruments were needed for larger =
concert halls.  I guess we're getting back into marketing/business side =
of music with this...
>=20
> Also, while many instruments were being improved the western culture =
was calling for standards: equal temperament, major & minor mode etc.  =
There's a lot flavour in the music that has been lost.  On the viola da =
gamba (and the old lute) the frets were made of gut (the same gut as the =
strings) and wrapped around the neck (no, not the player's neck, the =
instrument's).  You could move the frets to accomodate different =
tunings!  If you want to play Just intonation guitar you have to rip =
your frets away!.  Also, if you look at the music, there was much =
greater variety of tuning systems (in terms of which string tunes to =
what pitch) which also provided a greater variety of possibilities.  =
Times have changed, things got standardised and I'm not so sure if they =
actually improved.
>=20
> And while we're at it, I don't think it's about the instrument...  =
It's how you use it.  Composers are to be blamed for bad music, not =
instruments.
>=20
> I think I'll go do some Dowland covers now...
>=20
> --=20
> ./MiS
>=20
> Michal Seta http://creazone.eworldmusic.com/doc/mis
> CreaZone http://www.creazone.com
> No One Receiving http://www.noonereceiving.32k.org
>=20
> upcoming release:
> NOR - "The Release of the Wandering-Eyed Girl"
> http://www.grainofsound.com
>=20
>=20
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>=20

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