Re: midi controlled looping video on itunes

[info at zoekeating <info@zoekeating.com>]

hmmm...it should work everywhere since there are no right issues. did  
the link wrap at all? sorry about that!

i think when i saw you in italy per, that was the very first time i'd  
used ableton onstage (or even a computer for that matter!). it was so  
recent that i hadn't had time to re-map my songs from foot control.  
but that is why i bought ableton. i tend to do things  
gradually...change one or two things for each performance. so first i  
incorporated the computer, using it as an expensive mixer. then i got  
used to that and starting mapping the midi of some of my songs  
through ableton. i did the transition  gradually song by song, so  
that if something went really wrong onstage, i could still do things  
the old way.

i think one of the pieces i performed at loopfest 2006 was performed  
with midi sequencing through ableton (i remember chatting in the  
hallway with bill walker about how i did it). but the last few months  
is the first time i've almost completely taken the foot controller  
out of the picture for new pieces... i only use it to let the  
computer know when to start the next musical section, or if things go  
wrong (half way through the first piece in that video, something did  
go wrong. i think midipipe, the weakest link in my chain, did not  
translate a midi command going from ableton to one of the repeaters,  
so i took over and went into manual mode with my feet). i like this  
new mode of working because i don't have to spend so much time  
practicing what button to press when, now i can just play the goddamn  
cello (although have to keep tabs on the status of things out of the  
corner of my eye).

it's interesting that now, i have to make sure that i arrange the  
pieces to create "believability". i could easily set ableton to  
record everything i'm doing and then fire those parts back, with any  
other part, at any time. but i've noticed that with my music, it is  
important for the audience to be able to follow what part i'm  
recording when. their experience is different if they are confused or  
if they think parts are pre-recorded. and with midi sequenced  
looping, it is a bit too easy to create an "unbelievable"  
arrangement. so i build in a few into the piece pauses for them to  
hear each phrase repeat after i've recorded it. i expect that as  
audiences get more accustomed to non-linear looping, their perception  
will change. i've noticed a huge difference in the audience's  
knowledge of "how stuff works" just from early 2006 to today.

interesting musical times these are! augustus loop i like, but i find  
the interface hard to monitor. i've got my hopes pinned on the  
repeater software, but i'm already wondering how i'll monitor the  
status of that while i've got ableton going on. with ableton +  
hardware, i can quickly see the status of both. but there is only so  
much screen real-estate. we'll see how it pans out.

what is EWI??


On Dec 15, 2007, at 12:38 PM, Per Boysen wrote:

> On 15 dec 2007, at 20.38, info at zoekeating wrote:
>
>> i'm using my new looping technique, which involves sequenced midi  
>> triggering through ableton live and less foot tapping. er...i  
>> think you might be the only people who understand that...
>
> He, he... didn't I suggest that method to you last year? ;-)
> I used it a lot on Mac with Augustus Loop inside Ableton Live. But  
> that was in pre Mobius time - another universe.
>
>> i'm looking forward to the software version of the electrix  
>> repeater, so i can ditch hardware altogether and just travel with  
>> a cello and computer! ahh...dream on girl.
>
> Yes. I'm so excited about that too. I don't think any looper can  
> get better than Mobius, but on a Mac I'm able to get way better  
> sound for EWI playing.
>
> I'd love to see that iTunes thing you mentioned, but it doesn't  
> load. Maybe some territorial music and market rights issue because  
> I'm in Europe? ;-(
>
> Greetings from Sweden
>
> Per Boysen
> www.ilike.com/artist/Per+Boysen
>
>
>