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Hey guys, This is the third chapter which includes a stab at finding/compiling a definition for the term 'Live Looping', deals with analysis of live looping music, a look at the audience experience and the recording process. Again, any help greatly appreciated. Feedback concerning content preferred over english language advice as it will be proof read in due course. Thanks! Darren Perry Dartington College of Arts, Devon UK ----------------------- Live Looping Definition Recently the definition of Live Looping has come to recognise musicians of all genres, styles or categories and merely focuses on the application of looping technology. However, it has had many different definitions applied to it. One definition is that of a musical style or genre. Where this definition fails is that the term already incorporates a huge number of musicians across many different styles and genres of their own. Smith (2003 ch.10 p.2) writes: “I believe that there is a strong case for Live-Looping to exist as a musical genre and for history to relate its unfolding story. On listening to a large range of music produced by the process of Live-Looping I have found that pieces from contrasting musical genres have remarkably similar qualities.” In response, Kim Flint writes in the Looper’s Delight mailing list on the 27th May 2003: “I have received countless cd's and tapes from loopers all over the world. I've downloaded hundreds (or maybe thousands) of mp3 files that loopers have posted or told me to check out. I've been to numerous performances and looping festivals. I've bought albums by famous loopers. Yet, when somebody hands me their cd and tells me they are a looper and they want me to hear their looping music, I still have absolutely no idea what it will sound like!” Where Smith does state a valid point in that he believes there is a shared musical aesthetic across the examples he has listened to that incorporates looping technology, he attempts to apply the broader term of Live Looping as a process to a smaller definition of a musical style or genre. Were another term used however, Flint still disagrees with Smith’s evidence. There are at least two extremes in the spectrum of uses for looping technology. One is the approach of using the technology mainly to repeat audio fragments of the natural sounds of instruments, creating music that might also be reproduced in an ensemble setting or with multi-track recording. Another is to create new sounds that would be totally unattainable without the use of the technology. LaFosse certainly sits towards the latter extreme whereas Keating and Kid Beyond sit further toward the former. The approach of musicians such as LaFosse could inspire the labelling of a new genre of music due to innovative and key use of looping technology to create a new auditory experience. However, calling this proposed genre by a term that is already used to describe this huge spectrum of music is bound to cause confusion and evidently, conflict. There are also musicians that utilise pre-recorded samples, either of their instrument or of other sounds, in conjunction with other live looping techniques. Some definitions of Live Looping would have this approach discarded from the term. The technique of playing back pre-recorded sounds is similar to that of recording and playing back live sound but it is fundamentally different in that the word ‘live’ becomes ambiguous. Though the sound is triggered live, it is not recorded live and therefore doesn’t quite sit within the bracket of Live Looping. A DJ for instance would only be said to be live looping if they were actually recording and looping the sounds from the record through a looping device, playing sounds back on a record alone does not constitute Live Looping. Using this technique in conjunction with Live Looping however affords exciting opportunities for new musical approaches and aesthetics. So to conclude on the subject of a Live Looping definition, it is being, has been and will continue to be constantly defined in different ways by different people, however what pins all of these definitions together is the use of looping technology in live or realtime performance where live sound is recorded and played back repeatedly. Rick Walker writes in the Looper’s Delight mailing list on the 28th May 2003: “[Live Looping] is not easily defined because it is so all inclusive (within the caveat that it's adherents use modern analogue and digital looping techniques as the prime and ONLY unifying metaphor).” Analysing Music That Utilises Looping Technology Through writing this essay I’ve had the need to structurally analyse music that has been created with looping technology. Before completing most of my research into the technology this was a daunting and difficult task. Without understanding the functions of looping devices in general, or of the particular looping device being used, analysis of some examples was often inaccurate and vague. Although analysis can sometimes be made purely from hearing the musical content, the manner in which the music has been played is often very unclear. On the other extreme, some music defies all structural analysis of this kind, which is also true of a considerable amount of music that utilises other forms of complex technology. Audience and Listeners >From a listener’s perspective, similar issues arise to those within >musical analysis. In recordings, looping technology can be completely >transparent depending on the type of music created. By transparent, I >mean that the technology is not audibly present or affecting the music. >This is often appealing to musicians who choose not to call themselves >Live Loopers, or who focus on an audience outside of the looping >community. A similar aesthetic can be achieved in live performances >although this is much more rare and with the ability to see what the >performer is doing, the audience will be very aware that there is, for >instance, only one cello on the stage when they can quite clearly hear >many more. This is not to say that complete transparency of the >technology is required for a musician to achieve notoriety outside of the >looping community. Many musicians use looping technology to the extent >where its notable presence in live and recorded material is unavoidable >and so some musicians choose to directly reference live looping in the >descriptions of or titles for their music. As with any musical tool, it >is the manner in which looping technology is used and the musical input >into that technology that defines a musician’s success. Amy X Neuburg >states (Cleveland 2006 p.94): “Looping is an expressive device that's there to serve the music, and, as with any instrument, the music it makes is only as creative and compelling as the musician who controls it.” Recording When recording music that uses looping technology, there comes the decision of whether to record a realtime performance and give an exact recorded version of live material or to utilise multi-track facilities and perhaps explore the potential of the music out of the confines of the looping technology. There is ambiguity over whether the latter technique can still be considered Live Looping as it is not necessarily the realtime recording and playback of audio. To say that a recording of this kind is influenced by Live Looping would be more accurate although many musicians would still choose to include recordings of this kind within the bracket of Live Looping. Kid Beyond’s album ‘Amplivate’ is an example of this latter approach, taking advantage of a number of studio production techniques to present a version of his music that breaks out of the confines of his looping technology. Butler and Keating’s albums ‘livelooping’ and ‘One Cello x 16: Natoma’ both present unedited realtime performances of their music. Though Butler and Keating’s albums do adhere specifically to Live Looping values it is difficult to exclude Amplitive from the term as Live Looping has played such a huge part in the creation and popularity of his music. ------------------------------ _________________________________________________________________ 100’s of prizes to be won at BigSnapSearch.com http://www.bigsnapsearch.com