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Re: [microsound] "Academic" computer music?



I wrote:
> >Well, I would argue that in the strictest sense there are very few ways
>to
> >use a computer "in a way in which only a computer can be used" but I
>suppose
> >that's another discussion....
ph!L wrote:
>And one that I am interested in. Please elaborate.

I have trouble wrapping my head around the idea of a pure computer music 
because it seems that all of the fundamentals of electronic music already 
existed either in practice or theoretically and computers simply made these 
basic operations more convenient, more practical or more accessible.

First off you mentioned not using computers to emulate analog devices or 
non-digital sound processing which seems to automatically eliminate the 
possibility that fundamentals like subtractive synthesis, additive 
synthesis, or pitch and time changes could be considered using the computer 
in a way that only a computer can be used.  This would also seem to 
disqualify any attempts at simulating acoustic instruments or synthesizing 
speech which were certainly important areas of research in early computer 
music labs.  Even algorithmic composition can be performed on paper and as 
mentioned earlier (by Eloy I believe?) it can be dated back quite far.

When I try to think of inherently digital techniques, things like granular 
synthesis or physical modelling come to mind.  But certainly a piece of tape 
can be sliced up and re-arranged in time granular-style.  The computer only 
makes this operation vastly more efficient and flexible.  And physical 
modelling of acoustic instruments might be considered a case of emulating an 
existing analog device.

For a while I was thinking that transforming one set of data to another 
(i.e. encoding a photoshop file as an mp3) was something only possible on a 
computer but I believe that would be the equivalent of converting an analog 
video signal to an audio signal or converting any set of numbers into a 
series of musical notes.

So I'm honestly stumped on any way to use a computer in a uniquely 
"computer-y" manner.  It seems to me that some of the earliest explorations 
into computer music were carried out for their own sake, using the computer 
to make music just because it was possible.  And now we're at the point 
where it's rare to make music without a computer.  So I'm not seeing the 
neccessity for the strict definition of a pure form of computer music.  
Though I certainly understand that the distinction existed historically as 
part of a political divide between various academic and research 
institutions.

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