Todays lecture was to be on Digital Creativity, net.art and electronic Literature. But our guest lecturer was not available. Did this matter? Nope. We had a very interesting lecture on Electronic music. What is electronic music? Is it the production. Is it the delivery? I personally think it refers to the production or electronic tools used to make the 'music or sound'. In our technological age all music we hear other than live (to a degree) is is basically electronically delivered. But if we focus on how the music is produced or made then we can find three different catergories or classifications.
1. Tradition instruments played by hand, mouth etc. Including strings, wind instruments etc.
2. Electronically produced music. Made on computers from pure sound.
3. Mixed music. Original soundtracks etc mixed together or with electronic sounds to create a new sound.
It is the technology that we have today that enables us to create these different styles. It gives us the choice to create and listen to the style/s that we like.
On the video we watched, one guy commented that 'all music comes from the 70's or before. Over the last 20 or so years we have been creating music from loops and sample etc from the era'. I am not sure that this is correct as I have heard alot of original music during the last 2-3 decades. But I have also heard alot of old songs being re-hashed, re-mixed or just re-done. Some are great some are not.
In regards to pure 'electronic' music as per my previous definition, I have never really liked the stuff that I have been exposed to. Techno is my least favourite genre as is most of the music on the video from the lecture (Modulations). I have discussed this with many different people to work out why, and don't really have many answers. But interestingly, I also didn't like disco which was the BIG THING during my teens. One thing I have identified is the constant beat that seems to be prevelent in all this music. A bit like a heart beat. Many people that I have spoken to say it is this beat that they like and refer to African music. Strangely I love African music but feel very uncomfortable with our new stuff.
But at the end of the day my position is that we now have more styles of music than we ever had before and we now have a choice of what we create and listen to. This is a good thing regardless of whether we like it all or not.
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1 comment:
I think you have made it clear what I wanted to say about the three categories of music. I will quote what you wrote in my blog with 'quotations from Lee', if that's okay. Thanks Lee!
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