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Looper's Delight
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At 09:59 PM 8/11/97 -0400, future perfect wrote: >Kim Flint wrote: >> >> Yet more proof that guitarists are the most arrogant people on earth.... >> > I have not posted to the Looper list before: my roomate is a >guitarist >and synthesist and I'm a singer and flutist... oh, yeah, I forgot about singers. Guitarists are second. :-) Welcome to Looper's Delight...but you asked for it! > Though I do not wish to attack anyone on their views of music and >its >wide range of expressivity, I do not think a DJ is a musician. He may be >a craftsman and an artist, just as say, a non-musician sound engineer >can be, Many DJ's would agree with you. If you are talking about people who work at radio stations or play hits from the 50's at weddings or whatever. That is a craft that requires a lot of skill, but is not the same as being a musician. However, there are many people using turntables and samplers and such to create unique and new music. Many of these people started out as the regular sort of dj, working at dance clubs or whatever, and gradually used their craft in increasingly creative ways. At some point they are quite obviously (to me anyway) musicians. Where I live, a number of local rock bands have even had dj's *as members* since the mid-80's. Functional, contributing members of the band. Certainly as qualified to be musicians as the singer, or even the drummer. :-) The local rap/hip-hop scene had people creating unique, new music this way for a decade before that. And really, to use your other example, there are a lot of recording engineers crossing this boundary as well. I've heard a lot of remixes in the past few years that were much more creative and interesting than the originals. Is the engineer responsible for this really just a craftsman? You might not like music created in these ways, but it doesn't mean that it is not music and the people doing it are not musicians. Let's not be so judgemental. Open your mind a little and revel in the differences. Go roll around in them. Soak them in, it won't hurt you. You might even find your own musical sensibilites growing as a result. >but I *do* believe you must play a musical instrument to be >considered a musician. (And, yes, a voice *is* a musical instrument).:) Well, I believe a musician is a person who creates music. Very simple, no complications. However they wish to do that is fine, it's up to their own creative muse. Who am I to decide? > If there is disagreement here, perhaps we must broaden our concept >of >what a musical instrument is...? clearly..... To me, a musical instrument is whatever someone uses as a tool to create music. Why do we need to draw some line in the dirt about what does and does not qualify? Isn't that just a way to make sure we end up on the "right" side of the line? It's just a path to elitism and arrogance, and I'm very tired of seeing musicians behave that way. I've witnessed some extraordinary music created with the most unlikely of devices, in the most unlikely places, by the least likely individuals, and I'm very, very glad I was open enough to listen and appreciate what I heard. Again, like I asked before, what is the goal of trying to prove that one method for creating is better than another? Why do you feel a need to try? If you succeed in proving this, what is your next step? You need to delve into your own head to answer those questions. For me it meant understanding that after years of hard practice, I had developed a big ego to go along with the speed at which I could wiggle my fingers. I had to get over that and deal with a zillion insecurities about it all. I had to get humbled a bunch of times too. A never ending process, I imagine, but undoubtedly a healthy one. I'm certain I would have stopped growing as a musician if I hadn't dealt with those issues. This whole list is about creating music in an unusual way. For me, a looper is an instrument unto itself, and that's an idea that would probably be a bit controversial most anywhere else. Given that, it's sort of amazing to me to see some of the narrowness that's come up here about things like sampling and dj's and whatever. It hardly seems useful for us to be promoting these silly prejudices. And Misha, thanks for letting me use your post as a soapbox. No hard feelings meant, please feel free to join in any time. :-) good thing I'm not motivated about working today, kim ________________________________________________________ Kim Flint 408-752-9284 Mpact System Engineering kflint@chromatic.com Chromatic Research http://www.chromatic.com