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Re: [microsound] Getting started
On May 14, 2007, at 3:11 PM, Graham Miller wrote:
When you learn to play the trumpet, you buy a trumpet. You might
upgrade, or you might even start learning on a pro model. But once
you know the trumpet, you know any trumpet. The quality of the
physical instrument itself will affect how you're able to
interface with it, but basic use and musicality never changes.
an antiquated ideal indeed. a trumpet, like any instrument, is
simply an interface that converts YOU into MUSIC in a specific way.
a computer is no different.
i disagree that an instrument is simply an interface. the voice is
not simply an interface. the way you work with the air in a trumpet
is not simply an interface.
computers as they exist nowadays do not give the same kind of
biofeedback that live instruments - or the vocal aparatus - can.
comparing the pedagogical aspects make plenty of sense, especially in
light of performance practice.
but i've never felt the rush in performing with computers that i have
singing with a 100 piece orchestra. not once. same with a lot of the
vocal repertory i've sung, there's a disconnect with the computer
that i haven't quite been able to verbalize, but someday i'll get my
brain wrapped around it.
i'm guessing what you are opposed to here is the built-in
obsolescence tied to consumer electronics, which is (seemingly) not
as prevalent in, say, the brass musical instrument manufacturing
industry.
build-in obsolescence is a good term, and yeah that's one of the big
things that bugs me about it. i'd say it's the balance between
wanting to be on the bleeding edge, and wanting to just use tools
towards your own musical end.
see paul théberge's Any Sound You Can Imagine: Making Music/
Consuming Technology. it's all about this kind of thing and eals
with a lot of your points in your e-mail.
i will check that out, it sounds interesting, as well as the gould.
And not because a user asks around for tips, but because the user
can so very easily default to the loops shipped with the app, or
the way default plugins make echo/delays sound, or whatever.
Harkens back to that question of plugin presets that's shown up
here before.
yes. but no one likes that kind of music.
hm. i am not sure about that.
authenticity is a huge deal in music, both academic and popular.
music that uses presets is largely deemed inauthentic and therefor
has less cultural worth. and it is quickly exposed.
but is its time to exposure slower than pop culture's ability to chew
it up and spit it back out? after being constantly exposed to people
who would rather hear one thing and close their ears to any new
experience, i'm having a hard time believing that they care.
I guess what I mean to say is that to 'start' in microsound
shouldn't necessarily mean finding the right software package
first. Is this too idealistic of an approach to creating music?
you mean by making a kazoo out of wax paper instead of buying a
computer? or maybe recording the colliding beads of an abacus?
microsound is digital music. it is computer music.
you're expecting me to say: what's wrong with recording the colliding
beads of an abacus? ;)
i agree that the practice of microsound by the larger part of this
list is in areas of post-digital work and computer music. however,
there are plenty of entries into 'digital' music other than buying a
computer. plenty of us came into this world from the opposite
direction of computers, but still using digital/computer hardware to
manipulate sound.
what i mean is that there is a part of microsound that has nothing to
do with what you use to make it, that part of starting to 'do'
microsound music has a lot to do with your listening and your
awareness of the world of sound. getting into it begins to submerse
you in that world.
that said, i'm not of the opinion that all microsound must
necessarily be digital, i personally do not see computers
inextricably linked to creating this kind of music.
there is definitely a kind of elitism here. just because someone
is an expert programmer certainly doesn't make them a brilliant
musician. programming can be music. but it can also just be
programming. in this kind of community there is often a sense of
authenticity that comes from writing all the code oneself. but
what really counts is the end result. one could spend years
learning how to program an ableton live style program in max/MSP.
or you could buy the software and spend a year making music on it.
yeah, agreed. and if you take the latter route, you probably end up
being more imitative than not.
why exactly are packages like Live and Logic so expensive anyway?
is it because someone else has already done the footwork?
so are we paying for convenience?
yes. but these are the first steps to learning a musical language.
imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is also
the way language is learned, mastered, and, ultimately, evolves.
just think how a child begins to speak a language. eventually they
may go on to write a great novel.
yes, good point. i suppose it's ultimately subjective what peoples
reasons are, but i do find it curious that the 'presets' and loops
and samples available these days are indicative of popularized style.
-matt
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