more awesome sound-making stuff from cameras ..

James R. Coplin EMAIL HIDDEN
Fri May 30 16:54:40 CEST 2008


> some sounds, but doesn't cover a very wide range. Until we find new
> interfaces, electronic instruments will never be more than a piano with
> a strange sound.

What's wrong with this?  Are you suggesting a piano lacks depth of
expression?  Is the piano a soulless instrument?  Ill suited to live
performance?  Surely not...

The electronic keyboard already has far more dimensions of expression over a
piano.  Aftertouch alone is a major expressive tool.  Add in modwheels,
knobs, etc. and a keyboard should be far more expressive than a piano.
However, there is no single piece of electronic music I've ever heard that
moved me as much a Rachmaninoff piano concerto.  In fact, the more
"expressive" and gesture based interfaces that get added, the less
expressive and emotive I find music.  I think there is fundamental mistake
in thinking that gesture equates to musical expression.  There is a physical
aspect to music to be sure, but gesture is more mechanical as regards music,
it is physical expression, not musical expression.

James R. Coplin





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