Re: what a loop has to say

["Kris Hartung" <khartung@cableone.net>]

I lied.

> When you say 'use gear to compensate', that's where you lose me.

I'll provide a simple illustration. As you guitar players know, playing a 
clean and articulate arpeggio in 8th or 16th notes takes some time to 
"master". If you can't do it, it's just as easy to program your processor 
to 
arpeggiate a single note you play, and do so in a particular key.  Some 
may 
say that's just using a processor like an instrument.  That's a nice 
blanket 
statement that can mean a million things. I call it a cop out, BUT only 
relative to intent. If I intend an desire to play somehting, but can't do 
it 
because I need  few more years of practice to do it...so I resort to the 
gear, I am compensasting for my lack of technical ability. If I can play 
something, but choose to use the gear to do it for me to allow me to focus 
on something else artistically, I think that is a different situation.  It 
don't think it is compensating for lack of skill, but making a consious 
choice to focus skill elsewhere. I know this will not go over will with 
some 
folks, especially if they are using gear to compensate for skills, but are 
not comfortable admitting this. I'll fully admit here, I can't play 
fingersyle jazz like Joe Pass, playing both bass lines and melody. I am 
certain I could if I  focused on just that for a year or so, but I can't 
right now. But I can use my looping gear to produce similar output. Am I 
compensating for lack of skill? Yes. I believe so, and I'll fully admit 
this...if I could do otherwise, I'd do it, as part of being evolving as a 
musician.

> I do agree that if you remove all gear from the equation, and sit 2 
>peopel
> down head to head on acoustic guitars, you will be able to better tell 
>who
> is the technically superior guitar player- but IMO, this has *zero* to do
> with who is the superior musician.  : )

That's a good point. How fast you can play, how many chords and scales you 
know, for instance, may have nothing to do with artistic merit as a 
musician. Because remember, not everyone can be a driftwood artist. It 
takes 
a special person with incredible artistic vision to identify the 
appropriate 
piece of driftwood on the beach and claim it as art.  That transcends 
technical ability. :)

Kris


Kris