Re: (idm) Jazz (was Re:d'n'b)

From thatcat
Sent Sat, Apr 11th 1998, 00:50

On 04/10/98 15:13:41 you wrote:
>>         Anyway, I guess that leaves me questioning the limits of IDM, and
>>electronic music in general.  I think programming can go a really long
>>way...  But has anyone really been able to achieve the same level of
>>communication and interaction with their synths and computer programs
>>that a moderately gifted player can with a sax or guitar or other
>>physical instrument? 

yes. but in a different fashion...playing an instrument is a combination of mental (deciding which notes to play) and physical (actually playing the instrument) skills. working with a computer is all mental. lots of musicians communicate with and interact with their synths and equipment...tweaking a filter cutoff knob or pitch-shifting a sound up and down in realtime is not all that different than bending a guitar string to get vibrato, or muting a trumpet. 

> Is any computer program as flexible and nuanced as
>>a physical instrument, dynamically and otherwise? 

computer programs in general are far more flexible than physical instruments in terms of sound creation...i can get synth pads, bass sounds, drums, voices etc. out of my computer...let's see someone do that with a flute. the thing that makes physical instruments so great is that you can physically modify the timbres in real time to a great degree. and you are correct in saying that you can't do that as well with synths or software. but to say that computers and synths aren't flexible in making sound is silly.
another important difference is that playing a physical instrument requires years of training before you can express your musical ideas, whereas someone with creativity and intelligence can start off making electronic music without spending years playing frustratingly simple tunes. 

>Maybe in a few years
>>electronic musicians will be able to instantly call up exactly the sound
>>they want, but I don't see that capability existing now.

i can call up instantly the sound i want, if i've already created it and saved it. otherwise i have to make it, but i can generally create whatever sorts of sounds that i imagine. i don't see where acoustic instruments would be better...a sax player can't "call up" a bass guitar sound...?

er, given the title of the thread, i guess i should mention that i don't hate acoustic music; i enjoy classical music and especially jazz (and occasionally the rare guitar band)...but i feel that electronic music generally intrigues and excites me far more.

np: autechre "basscadet"

"a dream is worth a thousand pictures,
 the mouths of lampreys a thousand more..."