Re: the perils of live looping (addition question)

[Andre LaFosse <altruist@altruistmusic.com>]

Aaron Schindler wrote:
> I was in the "noise sculpture" mode. i.e.
> agressive, textural, "soundscapes". not alot (or
> really any) of lead melody for listeners to grab on
> to.
> I suppose i could have said - please don't watch me -
> go about your business! : )
> 
> perhaps I'll try a somewhat more traditional songlike
> piece next time.

Well, I don't know that you have to have a hooky melody in order for an
audience to dig what you're doing.  There are tons of hip-hop acts,
electronic artists, and DJs who aren't working with any significant
melodic content, and they're able to capture and hold listener's
attention (and I don't just mean on a dancefloor).  There are folks like
Nels Cline who can play very angular, confrontational, noisy stuff and
keep audiences utterly focused.  

And there are also lots of singer/songwriters who perform melodic songs
at open mics who get forgotten by the audience before they've even
finished with the first verse.

So it's a hard thing to quantify in the sense of "Melody=listeners, no
melody=being ignored"...

Miroslav Tadic had a great remark about this a few years ago.  He
basically said that if the performer has a clear idea of what they're
trying to do, and how to go about doing it, then they can play some very
flipped out stuff, and they can bring the audience along with them.  But
if the performer isn't tuned in to what's happening, or can't find a way
to bring the music somewhere, then how is anyone else going to follow
along?  

I guess my feeling is that holding an audience, and creating interest,
is a technique and a skill that almost crosses distinctions of style and
content (or presence of looping, for that matter).  And I think that
ties into my earlier comment about trying to develop the right sorts of
techniques and approaches, and to be facile enough in whatever tools
you're using so that you can capture and hold a listener.  

I don't mean to suggest that what you played at the gig wasn't worth
following along with; these sorts of (rhetorical) questions and issues
are good ones for everyone to be asking themselves from time to time, I 
think.

Anyway...

--Andre LaFosse
http://www.altruistmusic.com