#15

Performance, to me, is a two way street. Some performances benefit from, or even require, feedback from the audience. Others don’t in the same way. Some performances are meant to be heard, others seen, many are both. I tend to enjoy watching artists who enjoy performing - this can be very subtle or overt but I doubt I would enjoy or appreciate watching someone sit behind a computer screen or remain otherwise hidden as much, even if the music itself was very enjoyable.

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#16

I loved the “tape performances” almost as much as the live performances at Don Buchla’s memorial. I lied back on the floor and closed my eyes and let the massive 8 speaker surround PA envelope me with its heavy vibrations. There was no human performer (though I believe the sound board person may have been working the spatialization of some pieces to some degree). It wasn’t “the same” as the live performances. But was it “worse”? I can’t say that it was.

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#17

That’s an interesting approach and probably something that could be further developed as well. Maybe trying to mimic other instruments (guitars have been mentioned a few time) is just not the best way to solve the problem, while making the instrument do something that is more in its nature might be the better direction to take. Though I guess that’s exactly what grid controllers with their lights do somehow…

I’m not a guitar player… but maybe the way people play guitars/bass guitars is just the most ergonomic way to play those instruments. I don’t think that putting them on a table would be more ergonomic… though there’s lap steel guitars of course. But the impact sure is there! That’s probably where the urge to get a similar impact with controllers or electronic instruments comes from.

That’s what I usually try to do as well. Though of course when you have a lot of stuff, it’s still hard to follow what you’re doing, so I quite a bit of an improvement potential there.

Interesting! Strapped on like that it’s kind of more interesting than tilted on the table. Since you can actually move around with it. Cool song btw!

A certain amount of theatre is what every performance is about, isn’t it? And it can be loud, with people dancing and jumping and doing silly stuff, or it can be silent and minimalistic… I guess they’re just to sides of the same coin
And then there’s another thing I guess: if the music is great, it only matters to a certain extend.

Maybe I am, though I didn’t want it to be so broad. Because if we start do discuss fundamental principles like that… it’s likely we’ll all get lost in it. :slight_smile:
I really was just curios to know if this “tilted controller” thing was something people respond to (it seems like they do). But I really enjoy how the discussion developed from there!

Went to a couple of similar live shows. One even had a small orchestra and they were playing contemporary music in an industrial hall. The thing went on for several hours (not like a sleep concert, but still pretty long) and we were all lying on the floor mostly with our eyes closed, the light was very dim to make it easier to not try and look too much around. It was a great experience, very deep.

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#18

On the flip side, Suzanne Ciani projected her hands very large on the screen behind her during her performance that same weekend. And this was much appreciated.

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#19

On the subject of guitar ergonomics:

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#21

Rather than reiterate, just going to cross streams:

Took three posts to get to similar ground. What an excellent and important topic.

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#22

On the subject of guitar ergonomics:

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#23

It’s interesting to notice that my own attitude was changed by that thread, in hindsight. Well, by @Simeon’s Sleaford Mods post, mainly.

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#24

…And once again incase anyone missed it:

#25

I’m glad someone mention Sleaford Mods. An amazingly engaging live show. Although what makes them especially fun to watch is the dichotomy between the singer’s intensity and the musician’s lethargy.

As I’ve gotten into modular performance this has been top of mind. Coming from mainly performing as a guitarist in an experimental post-punk band and a computer musician before that the modular feels right in the middle. It’s not as isolating or inward facing as a laptop, but it’s certainly not as physically expressive as a guitar. It feels sort of like piano performance. You can move expressively, but the audience isn’t really following the details of your hands.

… maybe that’s just my interpretation though since I don’t seriously play piano :slight_smile:

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#26

I think it might be. I definitely learned some things about how to patch a Buchla from watching Suzanne.

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#27

careful, that way Chapman Sticks lie

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#28

a slippery slope for sure…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz3JhKXJDTM

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#29

Nitro knew the score back in the day.

https://youtu.be/Xzx9NTHUkeE

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#30

In this particular case, it seems to me the “performer” is the sound system (and to some extent the sound engineer) and that’s what you’re here for. I think there’s really no book saying the performance has to be executed by a human, I think what people come for (ideally!) when they go to see a performance is a context. What I’m looking for is something that wouldn’t happen elsewhere. Sometimes the sound system is that thing, sometimes the musician is that thing, sometimes the visuals are that thing. After that it’s a matter of how well executed it is, no matter what “it” is, and how relevant it can be regarding the goals that were initially set for the performance.

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#31

Ergonomics, continued:

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#32

Yes but it’s obviously irrelevant here because the cymbal is clearly tilted towards the musician.

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#33

interestingly, in this one, i think the audience might be 360 around the band (at least it was when i saw them years and years and years a go)

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#34

The motivation behind this seems to be it’s inherent lack of ergonomics (also looks cool).

John: I didn’t want any cymbals but the hi-hats at first. Then I was like, “Okay, I’ll use one,” but I didn’t want it near me because I’d use it too much. So I set it high so I’d have to work to get to it. I wanted it to be significant; I use it as a marker. It’s like a master reset button when I go to the cymbal. Plus, it looks cool.

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#35

That’s why I played my drone modular set a couple of weeks ago like this:

IMG_2684.JPG1080×1080 173 KB

The photo is taken from the point of view of the audience.

At least if someone can’t figure out what I’m doing, they can at least see I’m doing something.

I also recall seeing @analogue01 play a show a few years ago where he just had a modular on the table and the audience was free to walk around from all sides and watch him play it. I thought that was pretty effective and engaging as well.

Ideally I’d like to get electronic music performance to more of this level: https://youtu.be/UPBSWWoxfWY

(that’s me in the back middle).

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