Arranged Music VS Live Music

[ContinueTheEnd]

If sequenced music lacks human qualities, that's because the arrangers suck. There is nothing inherent about sequencing that *forces* music to be made in a more mechanical way. Besides, some people like me who have musical ideas that they can't translate to sound using an instrument alone (I have tendonitis and was forced to really reduce the amount of time I spent playing the piano, so my playing skills now are not what they used to be, nor will I ever hit that level again); should those good musical ideas be lost because of some idealistic, pretentious crap?

Also remember that a lot of people use things like MIDI keyboards to play their parts in, only resorting to sequencing tools like a piano roll when editing is needed. And before you say that editing is just trickery used by sequencers, you're ignorant if you don't realize the amount of editing that happens on nearly every album released in every genre, including classical and jazz.

Either way, I'll be damned if some pretentious loser comes along and says that because I don't have the skills to make top-quality recordings live and don't have a band to play with or a drum kit or piano in my apartment to record on, that I'm not making real music because I use a MIDI keyboard and a bit of editing to get good results.

Music isn't notes on a page, data on a computer, audio waves, tone colors, and anything else that someone like you would typically associate with music. Music is a language of self-expression that transcends and encompasses all of these. Maybe someday you'll realize that.

So tell me, what do you do? You play a handful of acoustic instruments and jam in a garage with your brothers. Have you accomplished anything creative? Do you fairly regularly create music that makes people with more musicality (note: this doesn't just include technical skill or even experience as a player) be impressed, not because of your tone quality or things like that, but because of what you've done? Have you taken any genre and pushed its limits? Have you re-imagined any music in such a way that would get the original composer, should he happen to hear your music, take notice? Have you tried coming up with a new sound that no one else has done before? If not, then why are you insulting those here who have?

Every new genre of music has had its critics. There will always be some narrow-minded buffoons who will hear something going in a direction they didn't imagine and try to discredit it, because they have mechanical skills and maybe even some semblance of musicality, but they do not have creative ideas. Right now, you are one of the ignorant.

First let me say that you've just convinced me to accept sequenced music as music - I guess I was being a little ignorant of others' preferred performing methods. I kinda got too obsessed with fending off all of your arguments and didn't pay attention to what I was actually implying. To everyone out there, I'm truly sorry if I said some things that got you upset. When I read Kanthos' post I realized that I really was ignoring one aspect of music: the fact that it's a "language" that everyone can express in their own way; whether it's with instruments, computers, synthesizers, etc. I shouldn't expect everyone else to create music by my own standards (which are now changed) that I inherited from my childhood - again, I'm sorry if I offended anyone. I'll gladly say that both sequenced and instrumentalized music forms have their ups and downs, and neither is in any way "superior" to the other, especially when some people have disabilities or medical conditions that prevent them from using one way over the other. I see now that everyone has the right and the choice to express themselves musically in any way that they wish.

As for myself, I do record my own music via an electric guitar and digital mixer. Most of my songs consist purely of guitar tracks; some have certain effects applied, but most are clean guitar. For some of my songs, I use temporary sequenced drum beats to help myself keep time while playing; my brother will replace these sequenced tracks later with his drum set. To be honest, I'm not sure how we can record the drums so that they sound acceptable, but I'm sure we'll find a way. As for what and how I actually play? Well, right off the bat, I'll say that I have a pretty strong bias against "mainstream" music - I don't listen to it, certainly, but I've heard enough of it in passing to make me disgusted. Most of the music I've listened to consists of OCRemixes and raw SNES game soundtracks; honestly, I think that video game music is in many ways better than the "normal" music that people listen to - and yes, it is sequenced, and I'm not afraid to say that it's just as good as instrumental music. I create music in a rather strange way. It usually involves at least an hour of tinkering around with the guitar or piano, playing with weird effects (because sometimes different sounds trigger new ideas), and then actually starting the song. Sometimes I'll play a random bunch of notes on the piano, and then sit down with the guitar and play the same notes to see what I can make of it. When the ideas come, it's dangerous to stop - if I stop, all the music I had in my head is pretty much erased, and I have a disfunctional piece of a song on my hands. I've even gone so far as to use a cheap tape recorder to record snippets of a certain melody I played on the piano so I wouldn't forget it or change it in my head. I wouldn't say that I'm "pushing to change any genres" or anything; I'm not even aware of many of the more modern musical genres that have emerged in the past few years. I was once amazed at how many different classifications of "metal" music there was - a long time ago on this site someone made a post discussing all the different types. "Black", "Death", "Melodic", "Heavy", "Dark", "Swedish", and any combination of one or more of these? Man, that's too much to keep track of. The bottom line for me is, I have to like what my music sounds like and I have to be satisfied that it doesn't sound like any "mainstream" music I've heard.

Again, to Kanthos and everyone else, I apologize for the comments I made about sequenced music. Try not to hold it against me too much, since I get carried away very easily in arguments like this. Sequenced music and instrumental music are both part of the same language, and I'll try to keep thinking of it that way.

-ContinueTheEnd

[Dhsu]

Wow, a happy ending to an Internet argument. That's something you don't see every day.

[JJT]

I kinda got too obsessed with fending off all of your arguments and didn't pay attention to what I was actually implying. To everyone out there, I'm truly sorry if I said some things that got you upset.

Wow. You got over yourself. No hard feelings over here.

[The Joker]

Yay! That's totally Keanu!

[Kanthos]

Ok, I'm impressed. You went from borderline troll to someone positively expressing some different opinions with that last post. Sorry for making my post harsher than it had to be.