6 Jul
2004
6 Jul
'04
6:56 p.m.
Hi Alastair,
--- Alastair Couper <kalepa(a)shaka.com> wrote:
The technology is interesting, to be sure. But what
does it say about the
state of artistry these days ?
The current state of artistry compared to the 1940's
and 1950's jazz scene is probably fritening for any
player that was part of the bebop jazz era. I, like
you, definitely subscribe to the school of music that
demands mastering an instrument. It can't be any other
way for me but that's my values.
In my professional reality, people pay me to make them
sound great and I do my best. Numerous drummers have
said, "Make me sound like Jon Bonham." Of course I
could respond by saying, "sit down at my kit and let
me hear you sound like him and when you do, I'll make
you sound like him." Because the truth is, you either
do or don't.
Many of us need to play an instrument for 10 years
before we begin to sound similar to anyone for whom we
aspire. Until I achieve that degree of compentency,
audio engineers can fix my slop. Why shouldn't they? I
don't want to pay good money for a studio product that
makes for a painful listening experience. And I don't
want to wait 10 years before I can record or perform
my songs.
Most of us would never perform if we had to pass a
test to recieve and carry a musician license that
proves we're on a level with David Crosby, James Brown
or whomever Tipper Gore and her church lady planning,
tea toddler friends decide we should sound like. None
of us needs any type of license to love making the
music of their choice. Frank Zappa stood up for the
right of free speech which includes our god given
rights to autotune, pitch shift and quantize. hehe Or
was Frank a hypocrite? Should I forever refrain from
expressing my stupidity?
Alastair, honestly, I share your exact sympathies.
Which is why I practice L, R, L,L, R, L, R,R and a
handful of the other 25 drum rudiments every day--I
want to be a better singer and song writer. Don't ask!
ron
I recently read an
interview with David
Crosby, decrying the rise of autotune plugins and
the like. He spent his
energies on learning to sing on pitch. These days
performers don't need to
sing at all, they just mouth tracks that were
autotuned in the studio. And
another interview has James Brown saying: don't use
a drum machine, learn
to play the drums. The best music comes from the
mastery of an instrument
or vocal skill, not from editing.
I have watched as I try various tools to bang my
playing into shape, and
am finally deciding that this is the wrong way to
go. Spitiual death is
around the corner. Live music is best. Music is
meant to be PLAYED after
all, not worked. Or worked over.
A minority opinion from a nobody. Given the state of
the "industry"
though, it's going to be like Photoshop for audio,
where there is no
physical point of reference anymore, and anything
can be morphed into
anything.
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