[Harp-L] (no subject)

[Music Cal <macaroni9999@xxxxxxxxx>]

Richard wrote:

"By the end of this century it's possible that a musician will be able
to hear a sound in her head and translate it directly to a sound in
the real
world without touching an instrument."


At risk of sounding like a smart aleck, but with a real desire to shed
a little perspective: Don't we already have such an ability in our
voices?

I see clearly how somewhat affordable technology will be able to take
our voices as input and output a different sound quickly enough
and with enough nuance that improvisational music with emotional
content could be created. But will it be any more pleasing than the
voice?
Furthermore developing one's inner ear is usually the rate limiting
step in becoming a great musician. So IMO it does little good to make
the
process of translating sound within one's head to sound in the real
world if there is nothing worth translating in one's head.

IMO the path to the musical future will be through better developed
ears and the technology that can help that development.

I also think that if one is interested in making the connection
between musician and instrument tighter then there are less costly
ways of doing
so with relatively expensive technology. For example, most instruments
have screwy pitch layouts that make it difficult to map what we hear
directly
to what we play. Relatively low tech changes in pitch layouts could
decrease the amount of time dedicated to making that tight connection.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

MusiCal