Re: Promoting Looping and the Dubious Art of It

["Stephen P. Goodman" <sgoodman@earthlight.net>]

>Cripes, this GROUP has trouble agreeing what looping "is"...


I'm not sure about everyone here of course, but given the quasi-organic
nature of the varied methods of Loop Processes we use, it may become us 
less
to discuss what it 'is' than to investigate and our methods of using it.

I suspect that since there are so many ways and uses of looping represented
here, most of us hesitate to broadly define the Process, lest we enforce
some potentially unsuitable standard upon someone with no use for it
whatsoever.  Some recent evidences of this consideration for each other's
"thing", would include the spirited discussion on "looping vs.
techno-slavery" we all seemed to survive. :)

Generally I find that, in the organic nature of looping process, there are
enough elements of true or apparent chaos to make things interesting, but
this in itself does not mean that all my work must follow this paradigm.
Sometimes I like a good raga-like drone that goes on for hours and hours.

I think that, with the exception of repeated performance of works some 
might
be coming just to see/hear, the piece takes on an I-Ching type of quality,
that reflects something in me at the time of execution.  This opens a can 
of
even more interesting worms in terms of the nature of performance that
should best be left for a less-complex discussion, but I find that, the 
more
I become transparent - that is, without preconception - to the piece, and
whatever it is of myself that goes into it, the more interesting it seems 
to
others.

So it's a multi-faceted appeal for me, and apparently for others, who for
some reason I've not investigated, enjoy watching the pieces being created
live.  :)  And, in many ways, a frigging Gift Horse of monumental
proporttons, whose dental work I'm not sure I care to observe too closely.

Stephen
EarthLight Studios    * http://www.earthlight.net/Studios