Anyone who has seen The Matrix is familiar with the idea of virtual reality, the concept that all our senses can be “tricked” into perceiving a reality that is not actually there. You may have also heard of augmented reality— the idea that bits of a virtual reality can be placed over our perception of…… Continue reading How will augmented reality affect music?
I’ve been reading the book “Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy.” The author has a choice quote about the differences between classical music performance and rock concerts. Some social critics have judged the symphony orchestra to be the epitome of capitalist oppression. A strict hierarchy is observed throughout. As ruling aristocrat, the conductor leads compliant musicians,…… Continue reading Differences between classical and rock music performance
I’ve never been a big video game guy. Back when I played at all, games like Defender and Ms. Pac-Man were the big thing. Nonetheless, I’ve read a number of articles lately that make the point that video games have become incredibly immersive and realistic, in some cases creating a second reality for players. Here’s…… Continue reading Will live music performance move into virtual worlds?
Occasionally I talk about what I call “offloading the moment.” The idea here is that there are decisions that one should make while practicing music and there are decisions that one should make while playing music. For instance, what finger to use to play a particular note in a song is a decision that should…… Continue reading Offloading the moment
I thought I’d take a break from wordy articles on music instruction or computer music composition to post something a bit lighter. I was just walking to my usual coffeshop and passed a certain grocery store in my San Diego neighborhood. I recalled that it was at that store I saw Judas Priest singer Rob…… Continue reading I’m a heavy metal magnet
Amper Music, an AI music composition tool I mentioned a while back, recently announced a four million dollar investment. Forbes took the opportunity to post an article about the AI music space in general. If you’re curious about this sort of thing (as I am) it’s worth a look. In particular I was interested in this…… Continue reading Forbes on AI Music
For today’s post, I want to offer a bit of “learn from my mistakes” advice, specifically related to jazz improvising. I started working on jazz soloing about 30 years ago. I’d only been playing a year or two at that point and, frankly, I didn’t know what jazz was. I just knew that playing jazz…… Continue reading Don’t learn jazz soloing the way I learned jazz soloing
In previous posts here I’ve talked about the idea of computers and AI composing music. Today I’d like to consider the possibility of computers aiding in human composition. Specifically I ask: can we envision a software that works with humans, particularly non-musicians, to create music? One might ask, “why would we even try?” I think…… Continue reading Software that helps humans compose
In a previous post, I pointed to my “Star Wars” theory of guitar solos. This is the idea that solos should be like stories; they should offer a variety of dynamic levels, from mellow to exciting. To build the solo effectively, the first half should have more mellow sections and the last half should have…… Continue reading Creating dynamics in guitar solos
I’ve occasionally stumbled unto the advice that a guitar solo should tell a story. But what is really meant by that? Let’s take a look a great story: Star Wars. What happens in that movie? Well, Luke Skywalker stumbles across some lost droids belonging to the old nomad, Ben Kenobi. Upon receiving the droids, Ben tells…… Continue reading What can Star Wars teach us about writing a great guitar solo?
Wil Forbis Music 