I spend a lot of time on many of the various iPad Music
forums, one of the things I encounter a lot is people finding solutions to get
away from the issue of using the touch screen, and in some situations I can
wholly sympathise, but at the same time, I LOVE THE TOUCH
SCREEN.
I am NOT a drummer, but as a human who listens to music,
I have spent my lifetime drumming my fingers on tables and the steering wheel,
so, for me, drumming on the touch screen is one of the best things that's ever
happened to me.
As for synths, I can see the problem with "traditional"
keyboard layouts, but I think that's a limit of imagination, not a limit of the
touch screen...if traditional instrument makers could have come up with the
option of making instruments that actuators had NO GAPS and offered response
along multiple dimensions for control of timbre or tonal differences, I think
they would have JUMPED at the chance. I do concede the lack of "bio-feedback"
but, once you know where your fingers are going, I find I can be so creative
using this instrument that only needs light touches and reacts to slides and
tilts.
My final thought it that it seems IOS is making an actual
change to the WAY that music is composed, this is due to the amount of apps
offering "scales" layouts that allow for diatonic play that can be quickly set
and re-set...to me this presents one of the most significant evolutions to how
music can be taught/learnt and experienced. By simply confining the "rules" of
music making to smaller subsets that take away some of the "wrong" notes, I
think the idea of music creation can become a viable form of entertainment and
enjoyment to a whole new set of people that previously lacked the
time/money/determination or confidence to begin to learn a traditional
instrument.
I really think that with these new parameters becoming
available in a package that will keep becoming more and more accessible ( I got
my iPad second hand for under £200, less than my first guitar), I think we may
see a whole new type of culture of engagement with music emerge.
forums, one of the things I encounter a lot is people finding solutions to get
away from the issue of using the touch screen, and in some situations I can
wholly sympathise, but at the same time, I LOVE THE TOUCH
SCREEN.
I am NOT a drummer, but as a human who listens to music,
I have spent my lifetime drumming my fingers on tables and the steering wheel,
so, for me, drumming on the touch screen is one of the best things that's ever
happened to me.
As for synths, I can see the problem with "traditional"
keyboard layouts, but I think that's a limit of imagination, not a limit of the
touch screen...if traditional instrument makers could have come up with the
option of making instruments that actuators had NO GAPS and offered response
along multiple dimensions for control of timbre or tonal differences, I think
they would have JUMPED at the chance. I do concede the lack of "bio-feedback"
but, once you know where your fingers are going, I find I can be so creative
using this instrument that only needs light touches and reacts to slides and
tilts.
My final thought it that it seems IOS is making an actual
change to the WAY that music is composed, this is due to the amount of apps
offering "scales" layouts that allow for diatonic play that can be quickly set
and re-set...to me this presents one of the most significant evolutions to how
music can be taught/learnt and experienced. By simply confining the "rules" of
music making to smaller subsets that take away some of the "wrong" notes, I
think the idea of music creation can become a viable form of entertainment and
enjoyment to a whole new set of people that previously lacked the
time/money/determination or confidence to begin to learn a traditional
instrument.
I really think that with these new parameters becoming
available in a package that will keep becoming more and more accessible ( I got
my iPad second hand for under £200, less than my first guitar), I think we may
see a whole new type of culture of engagement with music emerge.
RSS Feed