Re: why do people think looping is just for guitar?

["Michael P. Hughes, Ph.D." <pycraft@elec.gla.ac.uk>]

Kim:
>I think maybe I overemphasized the marketing of looping tools in my last
>pathetic attempt to make a point, and neglected the more musician/audience
>level of perception, acceptance, and expectation. That I think is 
>important
>too, probably more so. If people are exploring this real-time looping 
>thing
>in different musics or evolving it to another level or even pushing it in
>dramatically new directions, they will be greatly aided by a broader
>conception of "looping" in the minds of the mainstream music world. If
>people so readily associate looping as a "guitar thing" it limits the
>audience and sets expectations that may be wrong. The virtuostic loopers,
>if such beings are possible, should be appreciated for their conception,
>usage, and artistry of looping in its own right.

I'm sure they are - we all know who the best loopers are - but then we're
loopers.  Non-loopers are unlikely to care, and the vast majority of the
public don't care how or what you're playing your instrument through, as
long as they like the music.  Most don't know what guitar effects are....

>>And who tends to come to mind when the idea of a looper comes up?
>>People like Robert Fripp and David Torn.  Why?  Because they've got the
>>most high profile of any "loopists" I can think of.
>*For You!*  For a lot of people, it's totally different!

Woah!  Calm down, there, son!  :)

>That's the whole
>point of this discussion. Looping is a varied, fragmented thing, with
>numerous lines of development. I don't think any one of them has some 
>right
>to claim itself as the true looping lineage and deny all the others. Its
>absurd!

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Andre here.  Fripp/Torn (isn't he an
actor) have done huge amounts for looping by expounding at length about the
technique. Chet Atkins has a JM and it forms the core of one of his songs
(like, Chet needs _more_ playing???), but hasn't written a single article
in GP extolling the virtues of looping.  If you want associations with a
broad variety of palyers, the only way this will come about is to have
Yo-Yo Ma on the cover of Classics magazine saying "At last!  Tocata and
Fuge in Dmin on Cello!" or something of similar stature, maybe Kenny G
using it extensively on his latest album and getting it on the cover of
Jazziz.  That's the kind of profile it needs, and only in the guitar domain
does that happen.

>Actually I was just hoping to get people away from endlessly discussing
>Robert Fripp's performance behaviors and back to something more related to
>the list topic.

Makes a change from demanding playlists, kim...  ;)

Michael