When does noise become music or vica versa??
I've had my Tyros3 for almost a year and have marveled at all it's voices. I have always made the assumption that everything it produces is musical................
Lately I have purchased FL Studio9 and have indulged into the world of VST instruments and effects. I've been reading about sound synthesis and experimenting creating new voices. Many of these voices do not occur in nature and are 100% synthesized, yet they can be musical. This got me thinking............. So many voices today are sampled recordings of real instruments and the keyboard playing them doesn't really synthesize them. Its processing power is capable of playing back these samples as such to emulate the real thing. Even "real" instruments that are synthesized can sound live. A program called Pianoteq uses modeling technology instead of samples and sounds very impressive! I create sounds with Nexus and Morphine that are completely synthesized. Many have full harmonic structures and can sound orchestral, but are clearly not. I've made sounds that have very long attack and decay settings. I guess these might be called "industrial" and they make excellent background for a synthy lead. I consider all these sounds to have musical qualities.
I've run into several "purists" who play electronic keyboards as well as real pianos and organs (pipe and electric) and they poo poo my VST and other sound creations as being "not real". I can somewhat understand this attitude coming from the acoustic piano and pipe organ players. Their sounds are made physically within their instruments. But what about the others? Is a Hammond or other electric organ any different than a computer VST instrument? I'm interested in your thoughts. I believe I create so much more than noise! -charley

Charley-interesting topic. I'm old enough to remember using synths that were not designed to be able to emulate traditional instruments at all. Were they "real" instruments and could you make legitimate music with them? Absolutely! Think of old Emerson Lake and Palmer and more traditional players; the Chick Corea electric efforts of the 70's, for instance.

Is there a place for original sounds created not to emulate traditional instruments? Yes!

I often use an old Moog or my new SH-201 Roland on studio sessions specifically for the purpose of creating great sounds that are original.And, as soon as I get some time to "woodshed" on it, I'm going to use the SH-201 on gigs; especially since someone here just provided a link to a source for lots more patches.


Keep up the work you're doing and share some of it! I'd be interested, and others here would be too...


Russ

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 10-14-2009).]

Ah, the venerable old MiniMoog.

I've still got mine, too, Russ.

After going inside many yarin ago and modifying the regulator *by actually building a real regulator into the thing* so that it would hold pitch, it became one of my all time favorites.

A REAL instrument, analog, with a feel. Right down to those wood panels on the sides.

I place the MiniMoog right up there with the "classic" keyboards of all time, the Hammonds, the Wurlitzer piano, the Hohner Clavinet and the Rhodes piano.

As for noise being musical, music has been changing ever since the first note was struck in performance or the first song was sung.

Music is *perception* on our parts.

The listeners decide if they are ready to hear something "new" or "different" -- or not.

A study of the subject can be fascinating and also can take a lot of time to do properly.

There was once a time when the Tritone was considered the "devil's interval" and disallowed in Europe. Today it is part and parcel of the blues and its grandchildren, taken for granted now. And yet there are still some classical schools teaching the nonexistent existance of the so-called, "Tritone paradox". Guess they never tested that one on a jazz hammond organ player.

But as usual, I digress. Back on topic, I think Duke Ellington stated it best when he said, "If it sounds good, it IS good."

You will find out that what sounds good to one generation will likely not sound so good to generations that precede it. That is as it should be, considering he nature of the phenomenon as described and defined here.

There's your criteria.

Go for it.


--Mac

Mac-Hammonds, Wurlitzer, Clavinets and Rhodes...got several of each all of them on a regular house job at a country club (Wurlitzer on top of the B, Clavinet on top of the suitcase, on my right hand). Great old classic keys.

Made some sweet "noise" on these bad old boys in my time!


Russ

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 10-19-2009).]