========================================================================= Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 07:56:04 +0100 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Kai Schwirzke Subject: VL-1 survey Comments: cc: synth-l@AMERICAN.EDU Hello everybody, I'm working as an editor for a German music(ian's) magazine, the SOLO. The SOLO is an allround-mag, covering all instruments from guitar to brass - and keyboards of course (try our homepage: http://www.musik-produktiv.de/SOLO.html). Currently I'm preparing an article on Yamaha's VL-1, in which Vl-1 users will be given the opportunity to have their opinion about this piece of high-tech gear published. What we are interested in is: Did the VL-1 fullfill your expectations in terms of your musical approach, where do you see its weak points, in which way did it dissapoint you, why do you like it so much, would you go and buy one again etc. If you own a VL-1 and would like to participate in our little survey, I'd be very happy to receive your answers via private e-mail. Thanks you very much for your cooperation, Kai ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 22:08:23 +0000 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Re: Don Quixote, Nick, Harry, David >> Oh: We don't do multimedia or mixed-media. >Don;t you ever have music _and_ dance in the same show!? ;-) I thought I was going to get away with that one. There's dance, there's music/sound, there's lighting, there's costuming, there's set design. But the dance is the focus; the other media are contributing to that in various ways to form a composite performance. (In fact, I would argue that the dance isn't the focus, the *imagery* of the dance is the focus; however, Merce Cunningham would disagree with me for a start.) A problem I have with multimedia is that it generally means multi-focus, and that is *very* hard to do well. The other problem I have with it, in terms of funding and categorisation, is that it emphasises style and method over content, and I've just delivered a long rant over that one. Nick Rothwell, CASSIEL http://www.cassiel.com years, passing by, VCO, VCF, and again, and again ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 22:08:55 +0000 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Re: Creative Frameworks >That's the way I feel about the process, too. For some lucky sots, >they're more like a conduit that's mostly in the "ON" position. For the rest of us, it's usually "OFF." The process is a combination of things, I feel: some of it is pure play (which is why we're all gearheads in the first place), while looking for new things; but once a new thing is found, it's a case of teasing it out. Then there's all the displacement activity... >thought you >might've seen the movie back in '76...it may not have made it to your neck of >the planet, though. It probably did. The stage show is currently on in London. Sigh. >>My rig is really just the UltraProteus, Wavestation A/D's and Micro-Wave, >>plus effects. That's plenty powerful enough to do what I need, though. > >Sounds like that would give you lots of permutations. Oh, it does, and yet the rig is small enough to fit inside my brain, and I know how it all works. This is very important. >There you go! I can't imagine that this piece would have too many >tired-out I-IV-V-I progressions in it ;-) True, but if you loop arbitrary bits of the ROM you tend to run across successive multisamples, which seem to be tuned in intervals of thirds or similar, so there are some interesting harmonics there. Here's a weirdness tip for Proteus users. The Morpheus at least has separate parameters for transpose and raw sample tuning; I guess the Protei are the same. if you get bored with the usual piano or strings, try whapping the transpose up three octaves and the sample tune down the same amount. Or vice versa. Result: same basic sound in same pitch, but with all the wrong multisamples. As a seriously nontrendy actress friend of mine would say, "Mega!" Nick Rothwell, CASSIEL http://www.cassiel.com years, passing by, VCO, VCF, and again, and again ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 22:08:29 +0000 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Re: Billboard, Don Quixote, and Nick >> I just got a "customer satisfaction" questionnaire from the Scottish Arts >> Council. I'm going to enjoy filling it in. > >Do you _ever_ want funding from them again? ;-) I don't think that was one of the questions. (What do you mean, "again"?) Fortunately, it is anonymous. Nick Rothwell, CASSIEL http://www.cassiel.com years, passing by, VCO, VCF, and again, and again ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 11:14:01 EST Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: "william.b.fox" Subject: Cassiel Overview > Subject: EMUSIC-L Digest - 27 Mar 1996 to 28 Mar 1996 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 09:02:30 -0500 > From: "Alan M. Bookmiller" > Subject: Re: Don Quixote, Nick, Harry, David, and choreographers > > Nick: Thanks for the overview of CASSIEL. Not having worked with > ------------------------------ > End of EMUSIC-L Digest - 27 Mar 1996 to 28 Mar 1996 > *************************************************** I never received yesterday's digests for emusic or synth. Nick, please send me the Cassiel overview. Thanks. Bill Fox wbf@aloft.att.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 22:08:09 +0000 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Re: Don Quixote, Nick, Harry, David, and choreographers >Not having worked with >choreographers, when you say collaboration, how does the choreographer >communicate what he wants - does he describe a setting, an image, a theme? Could be any of these, although there are also more abstract and process-based criteria: energy, pulse, space, whatever - which I prefer. >Do you, as musician, provide a number of samples for the choreographer to >choose from, or is it done more as a work-in-progress with changes in >direction as suggested by the choreograher? I've done the former, but consider it much more interesting for dance and sound score to be developed interactively. (Mainly because nobody else seems to do this.) >Do you have a hand in the choreography? In terms of critique mostly. If I have any suggestions they are broad structural ones ("the energy should do such-and-such, the development here appears too slow, the use of space for that bit doesn't seem to capture the attention properly, the imagery here comes across as too brutal, ..."). It also depends on whether the choreographer is open to suggestions at all, of course; in my experience, most of them are, to their credit. (Then again, they can be very demanding about the music, which is also good.) >Also, what do you mean by installation-specific? That means different things to different people. What I mean by it is "non-theatrical". I dislike any kind of dance performance being presented on a classical theatre stage with the audience seeing it as if watching a film. They might just as well be watching a film. Most theatres allow for some imagination in staging; I like promenade-style performances (audience can walk round the dance action) but there are many other possibilities. Or you can go for site-specific, and take things out of the theatre altogether; I have no problem with this but haven't felt drawn to it that much - yet. >When you say >"the dancers have finally got me down," are you saying they are have worn >you down and you desire to do something on your own - to get away from >their influence (or BS)? Dancers are always getting me down. It's their physically-based intellect which I find tiring... >Innovation always has something to say...at least it will always spawn >debate as to what it is saying if nothing else. Content is more important >than style? You sound like a choreographer here Nick. Can't style generate >content? In my experience: no. (And this is partially a follow-up to a message from Peter Mueller.) Thank you for pinpointing something central about what I'm trying to do with CASSIEL. One the one hand, I'm sitting here with a couple of Wavestations, a laptop computer for MAX, a DMP7 on my left, two fader boxes on my right, and an order outstanding for a Buchla Thunder. Yet I'm just a musician, and CASSIEL is really intended to be little else that a contemporary dance company, albeit one which works with technology and process in a novel way. My sly comment about "going Californian" was with reference to the various CyberArts things, where acts seem to present themselves as the technology they're using. A performance will generally be presented as something like "an interaction between dancer and infrared motion sensors" rather than a piece *about* something or *saying* something. This is not a technology issue per se; I am led to recall dance works by Maria Voortman, which are hard-hitting contemporary works where dancers wear pointe shoes. Or sometimes, each dancer will wear one pointe shoe. It's a very distinct style, and leads to a particular kind of performance, but the content is something totally different and quite considerable. (I have a URL for Voortman's work with a rather nice picture but I can't remember it: have a look at http://www.cassiel.com/dance/reviews/ and there's a link to it there somewhere.) Of course, the media, with a collective intelligence barely into double figures, wants sound-bite information, so Voortman's press releases mention the pointe shoe work. It's certainly a good bullet-point, but doesn't characterise the art; only the form. Similarly, when I start using a Buchla Thunder later this year, it'll be mentioned in the press releases (and I'll probably arrange photo sessions with it, for visual appeal), but the text will be small and at the bottom, as is any mention of MAX in projects I've done in the past. It's what I'm doing that's important to the art; how I do it is craft. To backtrack a little, I'd say that style acts as a filter, or possibly a forge, for content; it is not content itself. Innovation is important, crucial in fact, but you have to have something to say wherever it ends up taking you. >Have you ever noticed that in some cases when an >established artist, or practitioner is given the boot, that they will come >back with something totally new and refreshing. In the dance scene, established practitioners don't get booted that often. Whether they do probably depends on how powerful their allies are, which is political again. Until a couple of years ago, The Kosh was a high-profile London physical theatre company until a rather spectacular fall from grace (and funding), but I suspect that was due to Michael Merwitzer being a little too forthright with his views on the public funding bodies. He has had little chance to "come back" and has had to concentrate on directing small solo works. On the other hand, the more politically astute (and media-aware) practitioners like Lea Anderson can turn out very lukewarm material year after year; she *needs* to be focussed back to basics, in my humble opinion. Then again, Dundee Rep. Dance Co. had a financial shake-up and did the bounce back thing with a newly appointed choreographer/artistic director, who came up with a dreadful show which went down the tubes. The Arts Council were *not* amused. (Hey, I was cheesed off paying $10 for my ticket. They gave him $200,000.) Personally, I felt sorry for the dancers. >But aren't they a little self-serving. Who do they answer to - Answer to? Accountability in the arts funding bodies? Oo-er. Well, the Scottish Arts Council's aim is "To create a climate in which arts of quality flourish and are enjoyed by a wide range of people throughout Scotland." ...it says here in their corporate plan. The second paragraph mentions the word "innovation". But the first paragraph (line 2) states the major aim of supporting Scottish Ballet. >How can spontaneity be determined dogmatic? I was saying, throw away that >which is dogmatic concerning the dance/music arts, improvise in real-time >and create on the fly. Any call to throw away a working process in favour of realtime improvisation is a dogmatic approach. I think you're confusing two issues here: innovation versus improvisation. >Best wishes to you Nick - you, as do many on this list, have many great >thoughts and good points. And I spend far too much time here. Must go: got a Rosemary Butcher dance video to study... Nick Rothwell, CASSIEL http://www.cassiel.com years, passing by, VCO, VCF, and again, and again ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 07:09:52 CST Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: harry haecker Subject: Re[2]: Billboard, Don Quixote, and Nick > I just got a "customer satisfaction" questionnaire from the Scottish Arts >Council. I'm going to enjoy filling it in. [...] >Fortunately, it is anonymous. Hell, they'll know it's from you when they see that the answers have been written in blood, sweat, and tears! :)) Harry Haecker (haeckerh@nwrc.gov) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 09:54:31 -0500 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Joe McMahon Subject: Re: VL-1 survey In-Reply-To: <1.5.4b12.32.19960328065604.00677d18@carina.rz.uni-osnabrueck.de> from "Kai Schwirzke" at Mar 28, 96 07:56:04 am > I'm working as an editor for a German music(ian's) magazine, the SOLO. The > SOLO is an allround-mag, covering all instruments from guitar to brass - and > keyboards of course (try our homepage: > http://www.musik-produktiv.de/SOLO.html). Currently I'm preparing an article > on Yamaha's VL-1, in which Vl-1 users will be given the opportunity to have > their opinion about this piece of high-tech gear published. What we are > interested in is: Did the VL-1 fullfill your expectations in terms of your > musical approach, where do you see its weak points, in which way did it > dissapoint you, why do you like it so much, would you go and buy one again etc. I highly recommend that you talk to the folks on the WIND list. There are a lot of people who have the VL-1m rack module and love it. --- Joe M. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 30 Mar 1996 01:37:28 +0100 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Kai Schwirzke Subject: Re: VL-1 survey At 09:54 29.03.1996 -0500, you wrote: >I highly recommend that you talk to the folks on the WIND list. There are a >lot of people who have the VL-1m rack module and love it. > > --- Joe M. Hi Joe, thanks for the hint. Is it just wind-l@american.edu? Kai ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 20:25:23 -0800 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Gerry Pawluk Subject: Revisted : BBE Sonic Maximizer Thanks to everyone who responded to my question "if anyone had used the BBE Sonic Maximizer". For home recording, it seems to be used mainly for mixdowns to a final tape. I have a Carver Sonic Hologram Generator Model C-9 that I picked up about 10 years ago for cassette playback. Based on your responses on the effect of the BBE on mixdowns, I seem to get a similar effect with the Carver for mixdowns. Any comments? ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 30 Mar 1996 08:32:55 -0500 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: "Julian C. Toler" Subject: Musical Insects I would be interested to know if anyone has seen or heard of this musical creation system developed by a ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 30 Mar 1996 08:27:54 CST Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: harry haecker Subject: Re: Musical Insects >I would be interested to know if anyone has seen or heard of this musical >creation system developed by a I don't know if you have your listserv settings to "repro on", so I just want to alert you that your message didn't get fully sent. Started out in an intriguing manner, however! Harry Haecker (haeckerh@nwrc.gov) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 16:11:10 -0800 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Gerry Pawluk Subject: Commpressor/Limiter for Recording Electronic Music Would a compressor/limiter help in 4 Track sound quality for non-vocal compositions? If so, any recommendations? ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 31 Mar 1996 10:35:20 +1000 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: David Rodger Subject: Re: Commpressor/Limiter for Recording Electronic Music Hi Gerry, you asked... > Would a compressor/limiter help in 4 Track sound quality for non-vocal > compositions? If so, any recommendations? Depends what you want. Remember that a compressor will help to make soft sounds louder and loud sounds softer. Ever listened to a Mariah Carey record (sorry, it's the most obvious example I can think of) ? Her whispering, breathy, soft vocals are not much softer in actual level than her squealing, loud vocals. If you have sounds with a large dynamic range, youmight use a compressor to reduce that range but essentially keep the 'softness' and 'loudness' of them. Be careful, because sometimes compressors can roll out the high frequencies (sorry, make that 'roll off'!). SOme are better than others in this respect and some, like a few f of the Aphex units, have circuitry to allow the transient material to pass through before compression starts or will vary the amount of compression depending on the material. Try out a few models and get the one that sounds the best for your music. Regards, David musdr@lure.latrobe.edu.au ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 00:11:22 +0100 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Piet van Oostrum Subject: Computer Music bibliography There is a bibliography on synthesizers, midi, computer and electronic music that I have collected from various sources. I have tried to bring some structure into it, but not all books will fit into a single subject. NOTE: I haven't read these books, and the comments are from other people. The latest version of this file can be obtained by ftp from ftp.cs.ruu.nl [131.211.80.17] in pub/MIDI/DOC/bibliography, on the WWW by http://www.cs.ruu.nl/pub/MIDI/DOC/bibliography or by e-mail from mail-server@cs.ruu.nl (send a message with HELP in the body). The latest monthly version is also available in the various news.answers archives around the world, in music/midi/bibliography. Version: $Id: bibliography,v 1.39 1996/02/05 14:36:15 piet Exp $ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 00:11:22 +0100 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Piet van Oostrum Subject: Midi files/software archives on the Internet There is a list of ftp and mail server archives with MIDI documentation, programs and music on the Internet. Also enclosed is a list of MIDI and electronic music related mailing lists. The latest version of this file can be obtained by ftp from ftp.cs.ruu.nl [131.211.80.17] in pub/MIDI/DOC/archives, on the WWW by http://www.cs.ruu.nl/pub/MIDI/DOC/archives or by e-mail from mail-server@cs.ruu.nl (send a message with HELP in the body). The latest monthly version is also available in the various news.answers archives around the world, in music/midi/archives. Version: $Id: archives,v 1.157 1996/03/08 09:19:46 piet Exp $ ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 31 Mar 1996 15:16:18 -0800 Reply-To: Electronic Music Discussion List Sender: Electronic Music Discussion List From: Timothy Kelly Subject: Re: Commpressor/Limiter for Recording Electronic Music >Would a compressor/limiter help in 4 Track sound quality for non-vocal >compositions? If so, any recommendations? > > Hi, If you find you record tracks where often some notes are just too soft and others too loud, then a compressor/limiter may help. Basicly they are overused, in todays music, to get that middle of the road boom box heard down the street lack of dynamics mix. If most of your nonvocal tracks are midi, using midi dynamics tools works better. Compressor/limiters are pretty useless for midi tracks, unless you just want the sound of the compressor pumping it up. You may find them very helpful for vocal and guitar tracks. Especially with players and singers who cant perform with any degree of dynamic control. Something like a DP/2 would add a lot of effects variety and power to any 4 track setup. If you have never played a guitar part or sang into one of todays multieffects units, do so asap. They are fun, fun, fun, and very musicly useful. Happy Emusic. Timothy Kelly MidiVox MidiVox. Real Time Voice to Midi. Hum, Scat, Talk, Rap, Sing. Become a Human Sequencer, Human Vocoder, Human Breath Controller. 'MidiVox Roars.' Keyboard. AES 'Best in Show.' EM 'Editors Choice.' Can You Hum a Bass Line? Scat a Horn? Sing a Cello? Rap Some Drums?