From: Emlyn (pentacle@enternet.com.au)
Date: Wed Jan 12 2000 - 18:52:13 MST
> One of the greatest blessings of modern synths is the depth of the sonic
> possibilities, but very few artists take the time to learn to program new
> sounds. The amazing sounds these machines can make is what attracts me to
> them in the first place. I cringe when I hear popular music where the
> sounds are so obvious that I can name the machine and patch number. What
> is the point of using a synth if you aren't going to add something to the
> soundscape?
I agree, and it goes for traditional instruments too. How many times have I
heard Ben Fold's Five playing, for instance, and thought to myself "jeez,
that's just a plain old piano he's playing. How mediocre".
>
> I am generally in complete agreement with you. The sounds themselves
can't
> carry a well-written piece, particularly if the sounds are canned. The
> ability to build deep and interesting musical constructs from its basic
> components is still an essential skill for making great music; to
> integrate carefully designed sounds just adds to the experience.
> Unfortunately, modern technology lets a person with mediocre skills "pass"
> for having talent, by letting the machine do all the work (basically
> utilizing the creativity of the person who programmed the machine at the
> factory).
>
> -James Rogers
> jamesr@best.com
>
I'd say the opposite to the above; the sounds themselves can't carry a
poorly written piece, and don't have to carry a well written one. With the
argument above, all music written earlier than last year is crap by
definition, because the sounds are so "canned" compared to now. Listened to
the Beatles lately? Cruddy production, hackneyed electric guitar/bass/drums
arrangement. How'd they get a recording contract?
Good sounds are very cool (I'll be trying to get myself the hardware for
really nice sounds ASAP). But they absolutely play second (or third or
fourth) fiddle to good composition. I'd rather hear Bach on a vic chip than
plenty of the more mediocre modern stuff that uses the most expensive
equipment.
Actually, for good sounds, what I really want to get my hands on is an
orchestra...
brain is working... please
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Emlyn
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