Just a few comments regarding this thread.
Someone suggested that the players being put out of work by samplers should develop other skills. I'm one of those players who, I suppose, saw the writing on the wall with the advent of MIDI, and learned how to use a computer as a tool for making music.
For more than 20 years I made a living as a player, but now playing is generating a relatively small part of my income. But playing is still very important to me. I used to have to take every gig that came along, just to survive, but I can now be somewhat more selective about what playing jobs I take. It's no longer just about the money. I really enjoy recording work, because it's a controlled environment--no need to deal with rude, noisy crowds, and you get access to the best audio equipment available. Playing live can be very frustrating, especially here in L.A., where people go out to clubs to "network," and it often seems that literally no one in the audience is really listening. Yeah, a lot can get in the way of a live performance--a bad P.A. system, an inattentive crowd, or maybe no crowd at all, and yeah, the players, myself included, are not always in top form. But I feel the need to at least try to communicate with an audience--it's too big a part of who I am as a musician to ever want to walk away from that experience. On the rare occasion when everything clicks and magic happens in a live setting, well, for me, there's nothing like it. But that's just me.
I'm surprised at the attitudes taken by some people who have responded to this thread. Virtually all of the music that I do on my computer is directly related to getting a group of real live human beings to play primarily acoustic instruments. I don't really know why someone would need a notation program like Finale if he does not intend to have his music played by others.
Dennis made this comment:
>If only I had time to tell all the mis-hearings my music has gotten over the
>years ... as a composer, I certainly don't need another layer of performer
>quirks being interposed! I'll pass on the deep, rich, emotional, vivid,
>lustrous, personal, powerful (etc.) performances. Plain is good, clean is
>good, nicely recorded is good. Correct is best. If I feel like getting
>emotional over one of my pieces, I'll do it no matter who is playing. :)
This is the attitude of the modern composer, who feels that the players are incapable of ever getting his/her composition right. For this composer the virtual orchestra is the perfect solution, because he gets absolute control over every part--gone is the worry over the violas getting lost, the horns missing high notes, the clarinets squeaking, the tuba player getting stuck in traffic on the way to the hall, etc. The composition is produced by the composer exactly the way he envisioned it. The modern composer cares little about his work being accepted by a public who is so far beneath him intellectually that acceptance by them would be an insult. Therefore there is never a need to assemble an ensemble of musicians who would then make a pitiful attempt at imitating the perfect performance already created by the composer himself through the use of this wonderful tool. The modern composer does not want his music tainted by any display of emotion, either by a player or the audience. His music is purely an intellectual piece of work, and is not meant to make anyone "feel" any certain way. But that's decidedly NOT me. I have yet to reach such a lofty intellectual plane.
I want my music played by others. Sure, I've been disappointed by the performance of my work, and it's a hard thing to deal with. When you're sitting in the audience listening to a performance that at this point is completely out of your hands, under the control of a conductor you've only just met, who you must trust to get the best performance possible out of the musicians, most of whom you've never met. The first time I had an orchestral piece performed was probably one of the most frightening evenings of my life, and yes, I was somewhat disappointed in the performance, because the orchestra failed to play my piece with the precision that I was able to achieve in my mock-up, using my sequencing software. But I would never play my sequenced version for anyone, because, as a performance, it has no real life. I'll take all of the problems related to a live performance over a sequence any day. There were 83 people on the stage that night, playing my music. As frightened as I was, I was equally exhilarated by the experience.
It seems to me that the narcissism of our age is very much in evidence among many modern composers--one person doing all of the work in a home studio. A movie or TV composer can do it all himself, start to finish, and never even have to come in physical contact with another person. When the work is done he can email or messenger his work to the production office. A so-called "serious" composer can create a body of work which is not tainted by the influence of another human being. He can then package it himself and sell it online, if he even cares about such mundane matters. Smooth jazz artists have being doing this very thing for a number of years. Get a nice drum loop going, add keys and bass, playing a nice vamp, preferably in the dorian mode, blow some tasty horn or guitar over the top. Multiply by ten, and you've got product, man! Package it up and list it on Amazon and iTunes, and sit back and wait for the money to roll in. But that's not me. I need to interact with other players. I value and respect what others bring to the performance. But again, that's just me, and I'm feeling more and more among the minority every day.
Best to all,
Lon ******************************************** Lon Price, Los Angeles <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://hometown.aol.com/txstnr/>
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