Subject: [linux-audio-user] Re: [ardour-dev] eno tells me to give up
From: Patrick Shirkey (pshirkey_AT_boosthardware.com)
Date: Mon Nov 05 2001 - 11:18:12 EET
To the ardour users:
Don't you think it is a bit rash to instantly dismiss Brian Eno?
What particularly interests me is the paragraph about how the Koan works
(see below). The idea that one piece of music could be infinitely
transforming is very zen. Throw in a bit of chaos theory for good
measure. Eno IMO is taking the stance that digital music as art is not
cutting the mustard.
In that sense I agree. I am much more interested in evolving digital
music that static copies of someones headspace. We have all this power
at our fingertips and so many great thinkers around but at the moment it
seems the best most of us can do is come up with a way of capturing a
moment.
I can see how someone as experienced as Eno has become bored of
listening to recorded history. How many years has he been essentially
recording the past for people to sell and call "new music"? Everyone
who has ever cut an album will know that the final product is never
truely representative of where they are at musically and artistically
once it is finished. The whole process of doing an album leads to
greater understanding of the artform and growth as an artist.
Then after all that many people buy into the concept of going on the
road and performing exact replicas of the cd/score so that people can
hear what it sounds like through a really big sound system.
To put it frankly that process is pretty boring for the majority of
music.
However that is the traditional approach.
-----------
I have sent this to LAU because it could form an interesting discussion.
The thread is from the ardour list. It is about an interview Brian Eno
gave in which he states that current composing techniques (where the
result is that the music is the same every time you listen to it) and
tools (eg. protools, soundforge...) have produced soulless unfunky music
and we will look back on this era with boredom.
This is the url to the article:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,47670,00.html
This is an excerpt from the Koan website describing their "tool"
--------
The SSEYO Koan Music Engine (SKME)
Playback system and generative music, real-time event generator
A powerful music engine is a key component of an interactive audio
platform. It has specific application whenever there is a requirement
to:
generate music in response to external events (i.e. context sensitive
music /audio for games)
deliver non-looping rule-based backing tracks or sound effects (i.e.
games or webpages)
allow users to personalise or create audio or music without requiring a
high degree of musical skill
describe entire pieces of music in an ultra-compressed format
The SKME is fully real-time programmable rule-based musical event
generator. It creates fully polyphonic harmonized audio output from a
parametric description of music and sequence structures. It can be
considered an ?expansion? technology in that it can generate on-the-fly
a wealth of music and audio content from settings of the relevant Koan
parameters and rules. These parameters are supported within the Koan
audio vector format.
With its tight coupling to the SKSE (which ensures that performances are
consistent across all platforms that use the SKME), the SKME can provide
even greater leverage to deliver music and audio over low-bandwidth
connections. It also delivers enhanced creativity solutions for e.g.
remixing or augmenting artist?s sample based audio tracks.
How it works
Whenever a rule-based Koan track is played, the SKME interprets the
parameter settings contained within the Koan file or audio vector to
"compose" in real-time the audio
track. The audio ?occurs? as the SKME sends information, which is
rendered either through the SKSE or through any supported MIDI device.
The audio tracks created can span the complete range from being
completely fixed (like a music score) through to being completely
free-composed.
The SKME can be manipulated in real-time by an host application to
accommodate or reflect changes in the state of the host application.
This facility means that enriched
audio environments can be built and customized on the fly, through
manipulation of the rules and parameters on which the content is based.
This is an essential feature when creating personalised (and potentially
database driven) audio experiences. It would be simply impossible to
pre-record the material required, where the outcome space
is effectively infinite.
Additionally, as the Koan engine supports sequencing of patterns, it can
be used effectively to deliver structured non-musical events. These can
be "built" from audio
fragments or triggered as discrete events - this has applications in the
area of delivering speech-related effects.
The 4 key areas surrounding the creation of Koan music (Koan supports
over 200 parameters) are the sound palette, the music rules, any 'seed'
patterns used and the
interrelationships between the various components in the Koan piece.
-----------
-- Patrick Shirkey - Boost Hardware Ltd. http://www.boosthardware.com - For the discerning hardware connoisseur. http://www.boosthardware.com/LAU/Linux_Audio_Users_Guide/ =======================================================================
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b28 : Mon Nov 05 2001 - 11:03:03 EET