On Mon, 25 Jul 2005 15:19 , Dave Phillips <dlphillips@xxxxxxxxxx> sent:
>Jay Vaughan wrote:
>
>> i think, somewhat, that we're talking about taking a computer and
>> turning it into a musical instrument.
>
>Umm, that's exactly how I approach the thing. Ditto for guys like Paul
>Lansky and a host of other musicians who use the computer to compose,
>record, and produce music. Otherwise computers aren't really very
>interesting things for me.
>
>> when was the last time you ever required someone to read the manual
>> for their 6-string before they could play it? or their bass? or a
>> flute? or the violin?
>
>They don't usually come with extensive manuals anyway, but at the first
>lesson I do describe the instrument to the student so they know what to
>ask for or say when they take it in for repairs or even a simple
>restringing ("Which E string did you need replaced, sonny ?"). I don't
>make them memorize the details, they'll "get it" if they stay with the
>study.
>
>> sure, it takes skill to play an instrument.. but its the doing that
>> makes the skill, not the reading.
>
<snip>
>> users should -never- be -required- to get trained before the
>> instrument will work. the instrument should work, by itself, by
>> default, anyway..
>
>I'll speak here as a professional instrumental teacher.
>
>The only context in which "the instrument should work, by itself"
>applies is whether it's actually playable, i.e., it isn't a broken or
>otherwise flawed or unplayable instrument.
>
>The statement that "users should -never- be -required- to get trained
>before the instrument will work" is too weird for me to comprehend. How
>exactly does a guitar "work" by itself ? It can sit there, look good,
>and do nothing, and that's all it can do before someone who knows how to
>play it (i.e., they are trained, either by self or other) picks it up
>and plays it.
>
Yeah, here's the scenario I envision - you give someone a guitar and say "You
can't ask any questions about it from anyone who knows how to play, you can't
read your friendly Mel Bay chord book, you can't download tab from the internet".
Then you sit back for a few years and wait for the poor schlep to become the
next Segovia. Everybody gets some training one way or the other.
>Much of my discomfort for the "it should just work" mantra comes from
>knowing that it takes real effort to acquire any degree of performance
>skill. I happen to like the fact that the arts are still non-democratic,
>i.e., you *must* be able to put up, or you should shut up. Don't get me
>wrong, I'm most happy that the arts are open for anyone's involvement,
>and computers have made it possible for more people to try their hands
>at making music *without having to master an instrument*.
>
I agree with both points. As I get older (and hopefully wiser :) I think
that it's a really good thing that someone with no mastery of an instrument can
make interesting music. Who knows, the greatest as yet unknown song writer in
the world may actually not know how to play anything. He/she may just hear it in
their head and use a computer to play it out.
Jan
