Dig if u will my research paper Chapter1

[Geoff Smith <geoff.smith15@btopenworld.com>]

Kim suggested I post the paper in 10-15k chunks so here goes chapter by
chapter. Please note the general layout paragraphs, footnotes etc. doesn't
translate from word into email.
Cheers Geoff. 

Chapter 1
Live Looping
In this research paper I wish to study the musical practice of 
Live-Looping.
Live-Looping is in a sense a mythical genre of music that does not appear 
to
have a formalised history written about it. Through my research I aim to 
put
forward the idea that it does exist as a genre of music with a clear and
traceable history. Whilst following this history from its initial
development to its contemporary uses I hope to uncover stylistic parallels
between disparate artists who have made extensive use of Live-Looping
technology. This will also go some way to ascertaining if there is any
existence of a group aesthetic. Further to this I hope to unearth links
between the compositional language of the music and the advancement of
Live-Looping technology. I intend to reference this research to artistıs
work with particular regard to their role and influence within this field 
of
musical expression. Due to the shortage of pre-existing material
illustrating the development of Live-Looping, I will gather much of my
research directly from those artists involved in the movement. Through this
first hand study I hope to glean a more accurate portrayal of what I
consider to be an incredibly vibrant musical movement.
For the purpose of this paper I have chosen to use the term Live-Looping to
define a particular use of technology in performance. Live-Looping can be
defined as being where ³the sounds of a performer are extended and
multiplied by the use of delay processing and real time sampling.²  It does
not refer to music where ³pre-recorded sounds are played back in a
repetitive way as part of a performance or recorded composition²  Therefore
my working definition of Live-Looping excludes DJ turntablism, sequencing
and simply playing repetitive music.
Briefly, the technology of Live-Looping was originally conceived of as 
using
tape-delay systems. However, it developed through the use of digital
hardware and more recently, software where it has proved to be especially
popular amongst programmers of the Macintosh language Max/Msp. Thanks to
mass-market exposure and digital technologyıs flexible nature it is now
common to find basic Live-Looping algorithms in many popular digital guitar
effects processors and other equipment of this kind. Here it is used as a
practice aid as well as a performance device. In fact it can be argued that
it has achieved the status of being a standard effect on most guitar
oriented multi-effects processors. It is also common to find a Live-Looping
algorithm as one part of a much more complex system in the software domain
of programming languages like Max/Msp. In this case the looping component 
is
there to organise and give form to the more complex processing and
algorithmic-based composition work. It can therefore be seen that looping,
like most recording hardware, has been absorbed into the software of 
digital
music technology and because of this its use has become commonplace. In 
this
paper I intend to look at all of the above incarnations of Live-Looping
technology referring to them as Live-Looping devices.
Typically, Live Looping performances are characterised by a performers
desire to create an ensemble effect that is not possible using conventional
technique. What is of interest is how performers have challenged this
notion, by examining the relationship between themselves and Live-Looping
technology to find new forms of expression. The most common use of
Live-Looping is where a player records a phrase that is then fed back to
them, this process is then repeated to create a layering effect. The
feedback loop gives the player the opportunity to learn and capitalise upon
the subtle nuances of their expression. This effect differs from that of an
ensembleıs in that one personıs personality is being layered as opposed to
many personalities being combined. The relationship between the looping
device and the musician also allows for a large amount of improvisation. 
The
player is unrestricted from having to communicate their intentions to other
ensemble members, thus allowing them to accompany themselves in whatever 
way
they see fit.    
In terms of aesthetics Live-Looping provides the user with the opportunity
to take chaos and achieve order from it. When a series of random events are
selected and then repeated they cease to be random events because they then
can be learnt and order can be perceived. Therefore, it can be said that
looping random sounds results in the organisation of events where meaning 
is
created from repetition. In this way Looping can also be said to display
detail or magnify a situation. This was used to great effect in Alvin
Lucierıs installation Sitting In A Room, where his use of looping has the
effect of displaying the resonant frequencies of the room.
This is a genre characterised by paradoxes, a performer plays their
instrument live but their relationship to the dissemination of their
instrument is different to that of the conventional player. By recording
themselves, they are in a sense involving both themselves and the audience
in the processes of both the studio and the live environment. An
instrumentalist is effectively recording their performance and 
disseminating
this recorded performance, as it happens. A live performance is typically
characterised by the fact that musical events are created and then lost.
This is paradoxically the opposite of the situation in Live-Looping, where
the moment is captured and replayed as part of the performance.