Klarinet Archive - Posting 001233.txt from 1998/05

From: CoolStu67 <CoolStu67@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Re: interesting article about music composition
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 23:37:38 -0400

Craig, I use a computer to compose, but I think this article is misleading.
Since I do not have a piano, perfect pitch or anything to help me get my ideas
down, I go to a computer. But my computer program doesn't spit anything out;
all it does is play the stuff I put down myself. And I haven't seen anything
that composes for you.

Stuart Meyers

>I found this article fascinating, simply because I learned a lot about a new
>concept in musical composition. It is very thought provoking, and really
gives me
>some mixed emotions.
>
>In one way, having a computer compose works to imitate Mozart and Bach is a
>good
>thing because it is a learning experience. By using the computer to help
analyze
>musical style and "signature" we can gain a greater understanding of both of
these
>composers works. Learning new things about music, or anything for that
matter, is
>a wonderful thing!
>
>However, the reason the EMI system was developed is "Cope originally
developed >EMI
>to get through his composer's block." This is what I object to. I am not a
>composer, so I cannot give the most accurate comments on this subject,
however, >as
>a listener and performer I believe that the point of composition is to
express
>your feelings and emotions. Composer's block is a natural occurrence. It
can be
>equated to writer's block. So does a writer enter what he has into a
computer and
>have it shoot out an ending? Absolutely NOT! So should a composer? No.
>
>It seems to me that using a computer to get over composer's block is nothing
more
>then taking the easy way out. And, to make the assertion that
>
>``If he (Mozart) were here today, he'd have already done what I've done, only
it
>would be six times better. Mozart would be a real geek in the 20th century.''
>-Cope, creator of EMI
>
>one loses credibility. The great modern composers have not resorted to
having
>computers do their work for them, so what makes him think Mozart would be any
>different?
>
>So really, the system is a mixed blessing. It is an excellent tool to help
>students learn about musical style. But, to rely on it too much is a
tragedy. We
>have many capable PEOPLE to compose. To use computers to do that takes out
>the
>true human element of it. In the article it says something about using the
>computer to see what would have happened if a composer went in a different
>direction. Well, the composer went in the direction he did for a reason, so
while
>exploring other possibilities isn't a horrible thing, I don't believe we
should
>put that much emphasis on it. This part of the debate seems, in my opinion,
to
>seep into the debate over "How important is what the composer intended?"
>
>All and all it was a very thought provoking article, and if you haven't read
it I
>would encourage you to.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>----------------------------------------------------------
>Craig Countryman
>cegc@-----.net
>http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/YPP/Craig.html
>http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/1711/
>
>Einstein says:
>"I sometimes ask myself how it came about that I was the
> one to develop the theory of relativity. The reason, I
> think, is that a normal adult never stops to think about
> the problems of space and time. These are things which
> he has thought of as a child. But my intellectual
> development was retarded, as a result of which I began
> to wonder about space and time only after I had grown
>up."
>----------------------------------------------------------

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