Re: [OT] Vivi, the Virtual Violinist, plays LilyPond music

[Shane Brandes]

       As a random aside on the whole electronic music effort. On the
one hand the technology and science is very interesting, but on the
other it is somehow disturbing. I suppose since I have spent so much
of my life attempting to master keyboard instruments and having watch
so many students progress in their own studies that it seems to me
that one cold never hope to replicate a human at an instrument. There
are all sorts of odd philosophical ramifications of trying and already
certain deficits are occurring especially in the film industry on
account of such efforts. As a tool and a method of rationalizing
musical praxis it is certainly useful and convenient, but where will
the limits be? And no this not a forum for such discussion, but we
should all be conscious of these questions.
      An example of the limits of our technological advance might be
supplied by the following technical issue. The piano which is my
primary instrument, if not the primary performance vehicle, (church
organist) is an instrument that I have studied in depth, not that I
have or ever will realize any sort of mastery over it, but being
exposed to some of the great teachers on the planet has really altered
my view of what is possible. I once heard someone say that with the
advent of touch sensitive keyboards pianos were obsolete, and perhaps
years ago I might have agreed, but the mechanics of that instrument
are such that I find it doubtful that it will be ever replicated by a
electronic device for a whole host of reasons. One of my favorite
examples is that of vibrato. It never would have occurred to me that
it is possible or even relevant to piano until it was demonstrated to
me, but yet at the same time it can be achieved simply by the action
of your fingers upon the keys after they have been struck. The
difference in tone is of course not terribly obvious but yet it can
yield a completely different character to the chords thus being
treated. There are certainly other examples, but that is the one that
I find least likely to ever be replicated.  As is the simple fact that
no two people ever draw the same tone from the same instrument and
that can be startlingly different.
   Anyway sorry about the wasted bandwidth, but I really needed to do
something aimlessly constructive. And have been following this thread
all week.

regards,
Shane Brandes

On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 7:41 AM, David Kastrup <address@hidden> wrote:
> Han-Wen Nienhuys <address@hidden> writes:
>
>> On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 8:17 AM, Mike Blackstock
>> <address@hidden> wrote:
>>> This is F*****G great! Especially the Bach BWV 1006 - I could have sworn it
>>> really was a kid playing. http://percival-music.ca/audio/bwv-1006_1.wav.mp3
>>
>> To my ears, the rhythm sounded eerily exact - don't kids slow down
>> their tempo when it gets difficult?
>
> No.  They practice until they can pick their nose while playing.  When
> was the last time you heard a child prodigy?
>
> One problem is that they practice until the listeners can pick their
> nose while playing, too.
>
> Everything is there, but you find it hard to care.
>
> I get this sort of double-take when practising accordion rather often:
> focusing on playing fast enough that the listener does not get bored.
> Of course, the proper approach (and basically my only realistic chance)
> is to play it _well_ enough that the listener does not get bored.  With
> percussive instruments like a piano or harpsichord, the options for that
> are limited.  With a manually sustained instrument like string
> instruments, wind instruments, accordions and their directly controlled
> ilk (harmoniums only so-so, organs not really), you have what it takes
> to fill long notes with musical sense.
>
> --
> David Kastrup
>
>
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