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Looper's Delight
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Hi all, I'm new to this list but have been hanging around Loopers Delight for a few months now. As part of my undergraduate thesis (Dartington College of Arts, Devon, UK) I'm researching Looping and Live Looping and would love to get some feedback on my writings. My paper is quite short (6000) and I don't intend to get bogged down in the history of Looping, Geoff Smith has already done a great job at that. My paper will consist of an introduction to the technology for the absolute beginner followed by a look at some important artists around at the moment. Then to finish I want to cover some topics such as the "International Live Looping Movement" and Live Looping as genre. Below is something I started on today for the last section, any feedback greatly appreciated! ------------- Draft musings on the "International Live Looping Movement' and Live Looping as a Genre: From reading through discussions between Kim Flint, Rick Walker, Matthias Grob, Andre LaFosse, Geoff Smith, Richard Zvonar, Suart Wyatt and more, I've written the following as a rough draft for a section of my research paper. Please feel free to challenge anything I say, a discussion on these issues will only help me! <---------- Many people consider looping devices to be instruments in their own right, therefore the terms Looper or Live Looper refers to a musician who 'plays' a looping device. The term percussionist is widely used for anyone playing a percussion instrument regardless of the style or genre however when labeling all loop artists as such there is some amount of resistance. The image conjured by the word percussionist or guitarist is that of someone playing an instrument, the instrument makes sounds and music as the person plays it. However to say that a Looper plays a Looping device means something different because the looping device relies on sound being created independently of the device. The device then treats the sound in various ways as it is 'played'. In musical terms although there are often similarities between the way two different Loopers sound, the outcome relies heavily on the type of sound that is input into the device. Thus the looping musician's style or genre is the sum of the original input sound and the way it is altered through a looping device. The music that results from the use of Looping, however original and or complex in its creation and performance, still relies heavily on the original sounds that are used, therefore it takes an original input, as well as original use of looping technology, to create a music that would stand in an original musical genre or style. <--- This last bit may heed critical responses ---> When listening to music that utilises looping technology extracted from its live context, often the looping element can be disregarded. If unaware that a musician is using looping technology, which is quite possible if hearing the music for the first time on the radio or CD, the looping technology will be irrelevant to the listener. In this sense the looping technology can be compared to the use of sequencing or multi-track recording software packages. The main separation between this technology and looping technology is its application in live performance. This is where the looping technology is said to be played, because the performance incorporates the control of it as an integral part. The question then is a matter of precedence. Do the methods and tools used take precedence over the music produced with them? This depends entirely on what attracts a listener to a particular music. [more research into musical aesthetics and marketing...?] -----------> Thanks for reading! Darren Perry News, Sports, Entertainment and Weather on your mobile. Text MSN to 63463 Now. |