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Re: "Instrument" vs "Effect"
Kris cites two definitions of instrument and then says...
So, is my looper or effect device a instrument? In my opinion, no, according
to the above, unless they can be used to produce music by themselves,
otherwise I think they are musical "tools" that take music and transform it.
A looping device IS a tool, a means to an end - something to augment the sound you're making from something else.
And, as such, I think this may also be a reason why some people (i.e. most of the general populus) isn't drawn to performers that only qualify themselves as a 'looper', as if a 'looping' needs no further explaining.
I mean, would you go to a concert that is advertised as 'the guitarist has a distortion pedal', 'the cellist plays with a bow
and her fingers', or 'the drummer has cymbals'???
And if something's a device or a tool, then what matters is the end result. If I'm a carpenter, people shouldn't hire me because I own $500 chisels - they should hire me because of the work I've done before.
As a musician, there needs to be some positive effect on myself and/or my audience. (And if you add money to that, then things can get screwy.) And how you affect others isn't coming from your effects, but through them.
When I hear a piece of music, I rate it on how it affects my mind and my heart. We've all heard music that's technically fabulous and you look at their gear list and say 'wow' but if it doesn't affect your heart and be memorable, then chances are it won't stay in regular rotation.
To paraphrase: it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. And swing don't come in the box with your looper.
ted harms.
"Indeed, naturally I think that a film should have a beginning, middle, and an end — but not necessarily in that order." Jean Luc Goddard
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