24/10/18
This lecture extended on the technologies we started looking at last week, and ended up with us playing around with heaps of cool technologies.
We started off with Drumbit, a browser app for creating beats. We also looked at GroovePizza. The swing feature in GroovePizza is great, and the layout is interesting, but to make beats (instead of making random shapes and hearing what they would sound like), I prefer the horizontal layout.
Now onto the fun part: DJJimboHumbo
Here are a mashup of demonstrations from the techmasta himself (I included all the videos I took, so you're in for a long ride):
He demonstrated the Ableton Push to first layer down the tracks to Gotye's classic Somebody that I used to Know. After, he used the Artiphon Instrument 1 to jam along using the easy guitar mode. Finally, he tried to make a mashup using the Numark Mixdeck.
His demonstration raised questions of where the lines between performance, composition and improvisation lie and when we seek to include all forms of music making in classrooms, are these relevant?
After trying the Artiphon Instrument 1 and Novation Launchpad, I definitely see the appeal in classrooms, since not only does it make the education that students are receiving directly relevant to the music they experience in their personal lives, it allows them to arrange, compose and 'perform' music instantly. This is also great for differentiation, since the bass level is achievable by everyone, while also having huge scope for creativity, practise and imagination. That's not to say that these performance technologies should replace acoustic instruments, but it definitely has a place in the classroom.