The Essay ....

Why Learn To Play An Instrument
When Your Computer Can?
Jimmy Russell

With the advancement of technology, digital media put the tools of production into the hands of the everyday computer, thus making it incredibly easy to produce a fair standard within a relativity short period of time. So with these creative tools simply placed into the lap of what most would call “amateurs” what will the future bring? What exactly is computer generated music and who are some of the artists that have used this technique to make it big and how? How has the internet and social networking websites helped influence artists and what will happen to the professionals and highly skilled artists in the business.

It is not until we examine Computer Music, which since the creation of the personal computer and growth of home recording has helped, that we can find this technique is sometimes used to describe any music that has been created using computing technology (Encyclopaedia, 2009). Commonly penned as Computer Music, the term that describes a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition also includes the theory and application of new and existing technologies into the music production. This includes, sound synthesis, acoustics and sound design. As this term can be traced back to the early origins of electronic music, the very first experiments and innovations with electronic instruments were not noticed until the 20th century. However, it is not until examine both groups that we can distinguish the differences. .

Computer generated music, which we will be discussed, is music composed by, and or with the extensive aid of, a computer and programs. Although most music requires a computer for editing and added details, the exact phase does not relate to this but more the music which has been created solely from a computer. To further go into detail, this generated music can then be seen in two groups, created on a computer for human performance and music composed and performed by computers. But for this essay, the human interaction side will be examined.

The world famous Scottish dance god that is Calvin Harris is a fine example of one who was once seen as an amateur, simply creating beats in his bedroom, and has taken the world by storm. Quite obviously he has upgraded his programs since 2007, but during an interview, the man promoted the use of the widely popular, all round dj computer that is the Mac, with Logic running to create his floor fillers (Slomowicz, 2007). However, originally when Mr. Harris was in the process of getting his name out, the self pronounced nerd wrote, recorded and produced the entire album on an Amiga computer in his bedroom. (Harris, 2009) Harris jokingly admits, when working with big names in the industry, “it's not practical to invite a multimillion-selling pop star into my bedroom and say, 'Do you want to write a song from scratch?” (Slomowicz, 2007).

Unlike other computer generated artists, when a live performance is conducted, Calvin does not simply hide behind his decks. A full complete band is displayed on the stage. “Compared to going to go on as a DJ, I think we're a lot louder and a lot more danceable than it would be if it was me in front of the machinery, and obviously it's a more interesting spectacle for the people watching rather than just me behind some decks, because everyone's seen that a million times before.” (Slomowicz, 2007) This highlights the fact that though he has created computer generated music, he still produces live, highly intense and energetic live show, a rarity with modern day “DJ’s”

With a similar history to Disco Creator, the Swedish singer, producer and Bass Creator Basshunter is another big name in the field of computer generated music. With a completely different genre to promote, Jonas Altberg created his own MySpace and website eight years ago simply to show off his talents using the Fruity Loops program. With hundreds of songs, taking years to create, the unknown Basshunter exploded in the Eurodance scene and was instantly signed to a record label and has since toured the world (Basshunter.eu, 2008) While using his Mac book with Logic and Fruity Loops installed, changing his sound is the last thing he wishes to do.

“Today it’s so easy to produce music, anyone can, actually. There is, for example, the Nexus VST plug-in, pre-made sounds, you don’t have to touch it, it just sounds perfect from the beginning. The only thing you need is to know how to use the program and produce some beats. You need to have an ear as well. To be honest the best thing to do is to try and make something that no one else has done before. Make it as simple as possible and as catchy as possible. If you do that, and do it in a good way of course, everyone will be able to sing along” – Basshunter

As bedroom masters and garage bands can now host their music for the world to hear on MySpace, the act of self promotion has cancelled out the original, once impossible, and tedious act of gaining public attention the old fashion way. With over eight million artists and bands online, it is obvious that major record companies are watching the unsigned musicians and sifting through the talent (Owyang, 2008)

Both artists openly admit to using programs to create music, unlike “real” musicians who use instruments, one of the main highlighting reasons they have excelled is simply due to the fact that they had been discovered on social networking sites and personal home pages. The certified gold album that is I Created Disco would possibly not be where it was however without the then added influence of social networking websites. “I like to think that there was some way that I could have been heard by someone if it hadn't been through MySpace but, you know, maybe not” (Slomowicz, 2007). Basshunter further adds to this thought by claiming “Look at me; without the internet and downloads I would be a fart in the wind” (Dolphin, 2009)

So does that mean that one day computer generated music will became the norm as music with actual instruments are becoming less popular? In my opinion, I’d stand by a strong no. With electronic dance music (widely created on computers – see artists above) mainly created for the purpose to be used in an environment that is centred upon dance based entertainment, this genre has vast and unreal strength and popularity behind it, but only from its targeted audience. To the ones that appreciate this genre, the electronic scene will never die, but as everyone holds a different taste and personality, the uprising of computer generated music will not be as powerful as expected.

It is estimated that…
•20 million people can play guitar in the USA
• 43% of adults can play an instrument
• Young adults aged between 18 and 34 are more likely to play an instrument than any other age.
• A staggering 43% of guitar players are aspiring professionals
• 41% are just hobbyists
• And, 54% of households hold at least one member who can play an instrument
Source: Google Answers - http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/720968.html (20th May 2006)

In conclusion, computer generated music is here to stay, but for the “real” musicians out there, don’t be afraid. Of course you will have competition, and yes eventually every piece of music will be altered on a computer for some reason or other, but the insatiable human urge to create and mould a piece of art with nothing but your mind, a hand made instrument, and your soul, is something that, coupled with the purity and raw power of a inspiration live performance is something which can never be replicated by any form of technology. Human passion, is what drives all music, the minute we lose the passion in music, is the day that music, will cease to be.

Just as Jesus created wine from water,
we humans are capable of transmuting
emotion into music."
~ Carlos Santana ~

Bibliography

Basshunter. (2008). Biography. Retrieved October 2009, from Basshunter.Eu: http://www.basshunter.eu/biography

Calvin Harris. (2009). Biography. Retrieved October 2009, from Calvin Harris: http://calvinharris.co.uk

Dolphin, D. (2009, May 3). Jonas Erik Altberg (Basshunter) Interview. Retrieved October 2009, from Skynet Blogs: http://pf.skynet.ie/blog/63/jonas-erik-altber-basshunter-interview/

Google Answers. (2006, May 20). How Many People In The United States Play Guitar. Retrieved October 2009, from Google Answers: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/720968.html

Owyang, J. (2008, January). Social Network Stats. Retrieved October 2009, from Web Stategist: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/01/09/social-network-stats-facebook-myspace0reunion-jan-2008/

Slomowicz, D. R. (2007, January 14th). Calvin Harris Interview. Retrieved October 2009, from About.Com: http://dancemusic.about.com/ob/remixersproducers/a/CalvinHarrisInt.htm

The Free Dictionary. (2009). Computer Music Definiton. Retrieved October 2009, from The Free Dictionary: http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/computer+music

if we canteloup lettuce marry!

vasssssup.....

so this week you want us to show off our artwork. ughhhhhhh ummm ughhh umm ok???
i like money but i cant do art for shizzz. well i can...but when i was younger i made better things. i think as i grew up not only did i lose all abilities to do things but i gained this thing called "lazy". its a bad bad problem.

but you see....this is where im differnt. instead of drawing, i went through a phase where i took photos of things. anything from concerts to parties, i always had a camera on me. so technically yes it is art but if u were expecting a drawn apple.....piss off
haahah

now all these photos have been edited with photo editing programs....you'll read in the discriptions. considering im not a photo editor wizz....i rekon i did alright haha

check these out...i took em (seriously)

ok so this is not fake. i took this photo for real. how close was i!! hahaha. but ok so this is a photo from coldplays brisbane leg of their Viva La Vida Tour earlier this year. i actually met chris martin and got his pick after the show. good shit. but this picture never looked like this. i have changed the colour scheme and made it quite darker and reder. i also sharpened the picture just a tad and blured it as well

this one, of evermore's front man Jon Hum, is a great picture. i was practically on the stage taking photos and this was one of the craziest as he stood infront of me...the show off haha. i have changed it to greyscale and blured it just a tad

matthew bellamy...i guy crush. muse is the greatest band on earth and some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. during a solo at their brisbane show, the front man lent over the large stage for me to get this shot. not a good one...i can admit but i have edited it so its metalic and darker...just like their music.

the prodigy...ahhh the prodigy. great chaps. very friendly. and ugly. during their brisbane gig i got this great up and close photo which i have serpered (or how ever u spell it) and zoomed in just a tad. while makin the picture darker as well....i think this makes it look WORSE than the original ahah. but ahh well we had to change them for this task


THANK YOU :D!

soldiers in plays like to shakespeares

vassupp....


look ma' im on tv
wooo

ok so this week we had to make a "fake video" or a "mockumentary" which i then uploaded on to the user based news website iReport. illegal? most probably...fun? ohhh baby yes

watch bellow.... u rekon it looks legit?

setting: simple school yard
actors: a large group of grade 11 boys, out to have some fun and create a very large human triangle....as boys do
problem: a teacher, one of the most nastiest and vicious little kidder killer sees from a distance, and turns from the balding smile bag he was into a lean mean zombie teenage eating machine
outcome: BAAAAAAAAAIL!

ok slight problem, i couldnt get into ireport. i had written down like 8 differnt things and none worked. so after freaking out something chronic, i used the embeded code thats on my facebook account and placed it here. then once i got into ireport, i realized i dont have the real file hahaha. ah well...enjoy :)

a student drove himself so hard that he missed the learning curve

vassup

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME LONG....HARD....WET.....MOIST.....KEEN.....EROTIC....AND NAUGHTY NOTES???

woooooooo go lecture notes!!!



lecture 4 notes:

in week 4, we examined and watched the timeline of cinemas and how it was changed over time. it was very interesting and most actually learnt quite alot on a subject they would have had no idea originally about. you can scroll down below to see the time line that i have created with what i found the most important moments. to quite fat boy slim, 'weve come along long way together, through the hard times and the good' so i would love to say embrace the new technology!
wooo


lecture 5:
movies movies movies movies movies
this week we learnt all about short films and shizz. we watched a few little short videos like the 28 months later one and the video about some guy losing his luggage. a short film is jsut like a normal film...however instead of the hole snooze fest that is the 1 hour...imagine titanic in 10 mins. poor guy meets rich skank, roots in some car, naked art then BOOM hello iceberg ....all dead. dosnt that just scream "oscar"?? i no it does with me. so yeah jason wants us to find some short films...and of course mine HAVE to be funny....serious is not really in my vocabulary son!

lecture 6 notes:

week 6's lecture realied highly on the terms consumption and production and how they effect us within technlogy. Yes, televsion and film were examined first, but then the new range of advanced technology was viewn, such as social networking and mobile phones. Once this was done in bullet format... merging and blurring of the lines between the two catagories were seen, with some simularities and differences.

just a small list includes:

consume:
big screen includes -
* CINEMA (Private or Shared)
* TV (Private or Shared)
* COMPUTER (Private or Shared)

worlds biggest HD tv ------------>

(Cowboys Stadium USA Television Screen: 49x22)

I WANT IT!!!!!!!!


while small screen includes:
* MOBILE PHONE (Smart Phones & iPhones)
* PERSONAL MP3 PLAYERS (iPods and such)

consuming is becoming more and more private these days compared to its shared nature in previous decades.

ooooooo a gold ipod....puuuurdy. shame its a shuffle but

while produce is more along the lines of what WE do and what WE share. this includes:
* MASHUPS (song, movie, video...anything really)
* FAN FILMS (fans remaking famous movies or cult classics)







a brillant movie i watched earlier this year followed the journey of "fan boys" of the movie Star Wars attempt to gain an advanced copy of the new star wars movie THE PHANTOM MENECE
now im not a big fan of star wars...kinda bores me...no offence... but i loved this movie as it was seen as a fan film kinda thing. the nerds who dressed up and pretended their life was this movie...made a movie about getting the movie....if you can follow me haha

this video bellow shows Trekies and Fanboys fight over 'who would win in a fight?'




lecture 7:

jason is cool. he makes us all laugh. i like to laugh. i also like money. i like money
so this week jason made us download some grand freeware software for free...ware :)
websites such as portableapps.com and freewaregenius, even sourceforge allow you...YES YOU! to download CRAAAAAAAAAZY crap so it can be used on your compie-uter.
he showed us these three websites and how they work and such while also discussing issues such as
* viruses
* people paying for downloads and people who DONT pay for downloads....wassupwassup! ahah

there is even some crazy software out there than traces your deletde files...so even when you think u deleted it...you didnt. WHOOOOPS. so the naked miley cyrus photos are still on my comp? i guess thats not such a bad thing



lecture 8:
this lecture was all about political participation and government involvement and so on and so forth and etc...etc and ya get the drift. all the questions that were posed for us to answer can be found below. in my opinion.....no internet censoring, just chill k.rudd...its a party baby


lecture 9 notes:
jason took todays lecture and it was all about flash and stuffffffff

* think about what you want to do before you start. no need to download crazy out there software just to re-size a picture or what not.
* good software is deep, takes years to learn how to be a pro at it
* start playing around, learn the basics, common features
* save every time you do something under different names, do not write over the same file.
* help is NOT helpful for real help go to a specific site that is about the program, then search on that
* ironically, the moment you learn the software, a new package or new version will replace it
* the most easiest things to do on the software are usually the most boring....explore around
* have fun!

lecture 10:
WE WERE ON A BREAK WOOOOO buuuuuuuuuuut the evil men decided that we must add our own art work to our page....i chose photos i had taken. i coulda uploaded hundreds but i chose the few that made me happy to look at, the ones i apperciated more and respected. check it out loserrsss

lecture 11:
ok so its really number 10 but hey...shuddddup!
this week was about gaming. im mutual about this. i dont hate or love it. im just chilled. im in the middle. when i was younger i use to LOVE games. but more sports and shooting. so if it involved a footy and a snipper, i was sold. but as i grew up i found less and less time to play and it became harder. the only thing i actually can admit i love now is guitar hero. yep...drunken drums at 2 in the morning with ur mate thinkin he can sing the joker is gold. then u realize the one of guitar has it upside down and your bass player has gone to the toilet to vomit.

this week however josh spoke about differnt mediums and generes of games. a few of my mates are quiet nerdy and love their fps (first person shooter) and rpg (role playing games) games. me myself hate the likes of world of war craft and all that shit but if i go to andrews house and im bored...i wont mind hitting up counter strike for the fun of it. consoles games, compared to computer games, are a little less nerdy but can still hold severe social problems.

but the hole games taking over your life thing...nah son that aint cool. when stuff like thathappens you no you got a problem. i no a few chaps that spend days and night on their computer playing games. sadly i think the only way they can communicate is with a keyboard and hidden in the dark. its quiet a shame actually. ah well...their choices

old programmers never die .. they just lose their memory.

vassupp...

this post is all about jason...because hes got some issues
but hey.....we all do
haha
i kid

but seriosuly he wanted us to download some freeware. just to get our virus checkers working and to see how we like some free stuff......who can say no to free stuff!! :O

use abuse and rate was his orders and so i chose to download....

BITCOMET

ok so thats a lie...iv had that for ages....but i love it
i really do. its illegal and completly unfair towards every industry due to its file sharing ways...but its completely amazing. i wont go into detail why i use....OR EVEN IF I USE IT....but you can download anthing you want.

easily easily easily 1,000,000 outa 10

if ur a fan of obtaining movies music art programs and or anything for free...this piece of free ware file sharing is to die for.

imagine having the power to download the entire discography of Radiohead in a single click...if that dosnt tickle ya fancy imagine having the power to download the new Harry Potter movie at the same time....and even Photoshop for all you artsie fartsie people. well bit comet lets ya. its brilliant. i love it

well for me to exaplin bit comet is kinda annoying. no offensive, but i had explained it to SOOO many of my friends and now they have to explain it to all their friends. im just helping the battle FOR illegal piracy hahaha. but what you do is go to a website such as IsoHunt or (if your very lucky) Demoniod (u need an account hence the luck side...its a random ballot if u get it or not) and u type in what you wont...then once u find the object your desire...download the download format....itll open in bit comet, click which files u want and where u want to save it then depending on ur internet speed...ur wished item is on your computer.....it dosnt sound simple but after a few goes youll be a pro and will start changing your download and upload speeds and seeders and such.

Russia was slow to recover after WW2 because it kept Stalin around

vasssssup...

so this week the topic at hand is along the lovely lines of...
THE INTERNET AND GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT + some random material...ya no how griffith does...
i dont really see the point of censoring like the hole internet to "help us", like common, itll slow down the internet and theres no point. if ur looking up effed up things thats YOUR FAULT not the governments. just chill...its a party

but so this weeks theres a few tasks, so ill do em now YO!

1) sign an e-petition
GetUp!
(click on picture to read it much better)
2) respond to a professional blogger
ahh lily allen....you are soooo hot...oh my god, katy perry!!! ohhh my godddd!
(click on picture to read her 'rant' and my BRILLIANT reply haha)




3) what is Barak Obama up to today??
calling Kanye West a 'Jackass' like most of the world?




4) local state and federal respresentatives?
for my area, helensvale, the closet state government representative member is Michael John Crandon of Coomera
WHILE
the local federal government member is Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig & Anna Bligh

5) last time the people from question 4 spoke in parliment?
Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig last spoke on the 17th of september 2009 about child pornography
Hansard 17th September 2009 - page 68 of 111
and as for Michael John Crandon.... he wasnt located in this hansard
and bligh woulda talked about anythin at anything at the drop of a hat. that woman never shuts up

6) Let your local member know what you think about their speech


im so funny rnt i?

7) Read the lecture and the readings, pursue a couple of the topics that you find most interesting and then post your blog with your well-considered thoughts about the theory and practice of politics.

ok?? so wait...what?


8) What do you think of the Australian Government's plans to censor the internet (the so-called "Clean Feed")???



"Australia Joins China In Censoring - Tech Crunch"

The Australian Government has announced that they will be joining China as one of the few countries globally that broadly censor the internet.As recently as the week prior to the election, Labor Party candidates were telling those concerned about the proposed law that the censorship wouldn’t be compulsory, and that the “clean feed” would be opt-in, not opt-out. Today’s announcement by Telecommunications Minister Stephen Conroy states that the censorship regime will be mandatory, although people will be able to opt-out of it. The problem of course then becomes if you opt-out questions will be asked as to why you want out, which in itself may lead to Government monitoring.To be censored by the Australian Government is “pornography and inappropriate material.” X rated pornography is illegal online in Australia, as are casino style internet gambling, certain forms of “hate” speech and R rated computer games. BitTorrent would be a possibility, even if certain downloads for personal use may be legal under Australian law, sharing those downloads would not be.


I, in all honesty, hate this idea. its horrible. not only will it slow down our internet speeds and accounts, but as the government may charge us to use this un-needed censorship, australia will pay more for usage of internet. At this time, we already pay some of the highest internet access costs in the Western world for on average slow services.

also, once they start blocking content it doesn’t stop, and certainly every do-gooder group and special interest lobbyist will be wanting the Government to add to the list. and of course, k-rudd will listen and be like "twitter time, i look like tin-tin, lets ban some shit" and then we will suffer

major fail boys....major fail

9) What place does censorship have in a democracy?

Self regulation is the key to avoid government interference in private media. A national debate is needed on issues like these as otherwise it gets misinterpreted as censorship. In the 21st century and in the our democracy, censorship is not the right path for the educated. And as far as a content code is concerned, only when it is accepted would there be a debate on who will implement the same.

i hear the Sylvester Stallone Film Festival got off to a rocky start

vassup....

short flims....flims that are short. a short film is just like a normal film, however instead of consisting of like ya no 1 1/2 hours its only lik 10-20 mins. HOLY COW. but thats cool cause sometimes short things are rad...its not the size...its how you use it all my girlfriends say....urghhh?? hahaha
but so this week iv totally found three short films, keeping on the topic of love and relationship, and below are the three i giggled the most to.

Phone Tag

Nick Thune "Phone Tag Video" - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Phone Tag is a short film that deals with a young man who struggles with accepting heart break. directed by ruben fleischer staring nick thune and olivia munn, this hilarious little skit shows an over bearing and clingy EX-boyfriend who does not take the "breakup" well. this is a light-hearted and great little film to laugh to and...to be honest....comon everyone....you have all at one stage done at least ONE of these things this guy does...maybe not the underwear bit but.... ?? its more of a second person dialogue showing how he is coping and follows him for most of the journey. it its not until the final scene were both characters are actually in the room together. it holds a very ironic feel throughout as we all know the girll will not pick up the phone.


Love Corner

WE WITNESSED LOVE...WE WITNESSED LOVE HAPPENING!!
oh wait...that might not be a love corner...it might be a stab corner?
excuse me but we are having a love bbq here and your all up in our grill...

hahahaha this made me laugh. taking a differnt approach to love, Love Corner mocks the act that films take in which "two people walk into each other and fall in-love instantly". in this case two guys watch civilians walk through some sort of "love dimension" where once they met they are ment to be. HOWEVER in MOST cases, this is not the answer. another light-hearted comedy, this short film is another great little giggle. shot from he two guys percpective...playing god almost....this short flim implamented comedy and romance with tounge and check and produced a great view. it did remain simple throughout but sometimes simple is all you need. there was no special effects of outragous events, just good humour.


Sweet Night Good Heart



this ones a bit long...but still quite classic. along the same lines as the previous 3, this is a story about a guy TRYING to break up with a girl. this short film, which stars david tennant and the chick from shaun of the dead, everything goes wrong at the exact same time as he tries to break up. i liked this....twas funny. IT NICE! shot from the main stars percpective, we see him and all the events the unfold infront of his eyes. as no one else see's everything crumble, the audience shares the pain and horror as our main star becomes a walking disaster. a larger budget and music and such was all used to help create this short film and transform it into somewhat of a piece of "ad break refersher" gold.