| My Approach to Electronic Performance | by Phil Curtis |
| When one is observing a performance of electronic music, particularly when that music is performed via laptop computer, it is typically difficult or impossible to determine just what the performer is doing. Among the various possibilities are: | |
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(a) the sound is computed at the moment of performance, and many sound-changing parameters (some subtle, some not) are being manipulated by the performer in real time, using many physical objects such as faders, knobs, keyboards, pedals, graphics (Wacom) tablets, etc.
(b) the sound is computed at the moment of performance, but the performance demands have been simplified by having a small number of physical objects, perhaps only a single fader, altering in real time many parameters with a single gesture. (c) the sound is made up of prerecorded samples and the only parameters that are being altered in real time are the most important ones, for example those having to do with the volume levels of the various sounds (the mix), and possibly additional effects that are computed in real time, such as time-stretches or delays. or: (d) the sound is completely prerecorded and premixed, and is being played back with no intervention by the performer. | |
| Although this may seem to be a hierarchy going from most difficult to least difficult, with all the value judgements on the performance that this may imply, this may not be a fair judgement. For example, although it might seem to be best to always compute sounds in realtime, as this usually provides the greatest flexibility, it may not be practical in terms of the computational demands. By using sounds that are prerecorded as part of the particular performance setup, CPU resources might be freed that will allow additional processes to take place simultaneously. Prerecording may also open up new possibilities, in that new types of manipulation may be possible that apply specifically to samples. Mapping many parameters to a single physical controller (a fader or Wacom pen) may make transformations possible that would be impossible if each of those individual parameters had its own fader assignment (in that only a few knobs or faders may be controlled at a time with just two hands). Having a portion of the sound already prerecorded and premixed may be necessary to facilitate the performer moving from one performance configuration to another without a break in the sound. In a typical performance I use all of these strategies, and the preparation of the music I perform requires that I preconceive and preconfigure my setups in light of these considerations. At the same time, I need to leave a large enough range of sound possibilities in my configuration to allow for the improvisation which is a part of the music I perform. The difficulty of improvising with electronics can be analogized to improvisation on a piano. Improvising pianists have access at all times to all of the techniques and music that can be played in a conventional manner at the keyboard; they merely move their fingers to the keys they need to play. However, if the pianist wishes to change the tone of the piano by inserting objects into the strings, it will take time to prepare the piano, and during this time the ability to perform on the keyboard conventionally will be limited or non-existant. Performing electronic music is a lot like that: configuring the electronics to perform a certain action may require time and may preclude the possibility of doing other things during that time. And in an improvising situation, this delay may mean that the appropriate moment to play a sound has passed before the musician has been able to set up the sound. The pianist may be able to have prepared piano sounds available during the improvisation if the piano is prepared in advance, but this precludes the possibility of playing the strings that have been prepared without the preparation, or at least presents an obstacle (he or she could quickly remove the preparation during the performance). Similarly, having electronics set up to do one thing will often preclude the possibility of doing another thing with them. There are two basic approaches to addressing these problems that an improvising electronic musician may take. The first is he or she may create a powerful setup that has a wide-ranging sound and is as flexible as the musician can make it, and the musician can devote a lot of time and energy to mastering that setup. The system can be customized a bit depending on the project, but the setup will tend to do the same types of things from piece to piece, and a certain sameness in approach will be evident. The second approach is to design a new and different setup for each piece that is performed, and this is currently the path that I prefer. Each new composition/improvisation that I perform will therefore have a new approach, although the preparation time for each may be great. | |