I found a paragraph in this article about the modern music industry interesting. “We’re not in the music space,” Spotify founder Daniel Ek told the New Yorker in 2014. “We’re in the moment space.” While Ek’s statement seems counterintuitive, it’s important to remember that Spotify makes monthly payments to rights holders in exchange for the…… Continue reading Moments, not music
In the world of music psychology, you often hear discussion about our sense of aesthetics, our perception of musical beauty. People offer various theories as to why we find certain aspects of music attractive or not. Often, for instance, it’s postulated that appealing melodies duplicate the human manner of speaking. These melodies don’t just offer…… Continue reading Are music aesthetics learned or innate?
I’ve been reading a book entitled “Decomposition—A Music Manifesto” and it mentions the work of an obscure composer, Conlon Nancarrow. Nancorrow toiled away in Mexico City during the 20th century, writing eccentric music for the player piano. He did not actually play the piano, rather, he composed by cutting holes in the piano rolls by…… Continue reading The strange music of Conlon Nancarrow
Let’s face it—the blues are weird. Your standard 12 bar blues contains three major chords and yet the main scale we use to play over the blues is the minor pentatonic. A minor scale over major chords… a bit strange, no? But that’s part of what gives the blues its unique sound. Ideally, listeners of…… Continue reading Combining the Pentatonic scale with wall shapes to play the blues
While bumbling around on Twitter I came across this article. Hypercreators Own The Music Industry & You Need To Become One The article seeks to answer the question: how does one succeed in the music creation business? The short answer is: work harder (e.g create more.) The article is about all kinds of music but its…… Continue reading Hypercreators
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?
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
Wil Forbis Music 