My computer died.
Due to technical difficulties (i.e. a fried logic board) my computer has been retired. I’m looking in to what to do with it. Luckily, a certain someone reminded me that I ought to back up my things, and I did so just hours before my computer stopped working. I have a full backup of all my scores, patches, and programs, which is a huge relief, although it’s still a hassle to figure out times to work (or blog, as it were) when I have to be on a public computer to do so.
But while I’m on break from school, it appears I’ll also be on break from my computer. This means a couple of things:
1) No more patching. For a while. As I’ve mentioned to many people, I’m temporarily in “acoustic-land,” where all sounds are inherently complex and instruments are as expressive as their operators wish to make them.
2) All notation and composition is without the aid of a computer. For a while. This means all my scores and parts are hand-written, and all of my music is composed at a piano, glockenspiel, dobro, whatever is available. And tactile.
3) Instead of patching (practicing max/MSP) I’ll be practicing “real instruments,” like piano, bass, and trombone. This is helping me to biew things from the performer’s perspective again.
These new modes of working have brought about some interesting effects, mostly the reintroduction of musical nuance to my compositional style. I’m no longer stuck in the computer, trying to figure out the next big thing I can do in Max/MSP. I’m more focused on the instruments and how they play, and less focused on the processing and computer aspects of my music. Especially now that I can’t use my computer at home to try things out, and playing live instruments in a computer lab is usually a hindrance to others’ work. So I’ll be spending more time with a pencil and paper, and more time in the practice room instead of the lab. I look forward to the break. For a while.
In the meantime, check out this little gem.