Barking Spiders Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 is a common whinge among many music fans on Internet forums viz techno, hip hop, House etc. Personally I don't care how music is made just as long as it sounds good to my ears and feet. But I've come across many posters who can get quite worked up about 'electronica' and the use of laptops sequencers, samplers etc saying these genres aren't proper music. That said a lot of so-called dance/electronica combos do use real instruments live and sometimes in the studio. Just wondrin' what basschatters think. Feel free to vent your spleen if the mood takes you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 (edited) As far as I'm concerned anything that can be used to create music is a 'real' instrument, be it turntables, sequencers or even a program on a laptop. Edited February 27, 2017 by Cato Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROConnell Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I agree, even to the extent that a lot of the music in the charts is real music, even if I don't like it. Maybe the charts aren't credible but to get up there they must be tickin someones boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I remember having similar conversations about whether UB40 is "real" Reggae... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I've been involved in the house scene and TV advertising and using virtual instruments in no way frees you from the obligation to come up with good ideas and record and produce them in a creative way. I like playing bass in a 'real' band, but anyone who says producing electronic music is in some way 'easier' or 'unreal' is talking out of their arse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harryburke14 Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 There are a number of tunes without "proper instruments" that I like. That being said there are many more that I dislike. For me there has to be some level of talent involved in the making of the music, so if someone's talented with the use of a laptop and keyboard so be it. I'd rather listen to that than a really bad guitar group down the pub that calls themselves a band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
project_c Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 (edited) It's all about context. If I had to listen to a Wayne Shorter tune at 3am in a sweaty club full of ravers I would start crying and go home. But I would happily jam over the same tune at band rehearsal for 4 hours straight. Everything has its place. If you don't like electronic music, turn it off. If you don't like live music, don't go to gigs. Personally speaking, i've just silenced two massively annoying shouting children next door by blasting out the tune below into their bedroom wall, so as far as i'm concerned electronic music is a godsend. https://soundcloud.com/divisionrecordings/all-mode-insight Edited February 27, 2017 by project_c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I'm not into automation or sequencing (although somewhat bizarrely overdubs don't worry me) but apart from that anything goes... But I think you need to decide whether you're a DJ or a musician.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon. Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I went to see the Pet Shop Boys last week, and I would challenge anyone who would say it wasn't a 'proper' gig. Great tunes, fantastic light show & sound, and 3000-ish very, very happy punters. In fact, I would say that the only weak link in the show was actually the use of two live musicians! They had a pair of percussionists on stage, who, aside from providing backing vocals, could very easily have been replaced by a single competent drummer, and who would have given a better feel, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luulox Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I think the new wave of electronic music is the new punk! Delta heavy, calyx & teebee, crystal castles, flux pavilion, and skrillex to name just a few are producing genuinely exciting stuff. Daws and soft instruments open up a world of opportunities for young people to get their ideas out. More power to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 (edited) [quote name='Simon.' timestamp='1488218583' post='3246915'] I went to see the Pet Shop Boys last week, and I would challenge anyone who would say it wasn't a 'proper' gig. Great tunes, fantastic light show & sound, and 3000-ish very, very happy punters. In fact, I would say that the only weak link in the show was actually the use of two live musicians! They had a pair of percussionists on stage, who, aside from providing backing vocals, could very easily have been replaced by a single competent drummer, and who would have given a better feel, as well. [/quote] I'm sure it was enjoyable as a spectacle, and there are many other forms of immersive entertainment that have huge artistic value - however it's not a gig IMHO... But I suspect this is an argument that has no right answer, only opinions... Now lets bring in the "backing track argument" and we'll be at 21 pages before we know it... :-) Edited February 27, 2017 by markstuk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skb558 Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 (edited) Anything that is used to make noise can be described as an instrument and music is, amongst other things, 'an expression of emotion'. It's all valid, sometimes it resonates and sometimes it doesn't. I try hard not to be dismissive these days but some stuff is patently not for me so I don't listen to it. It's immaterial what you make music with, it all has a place. Edited February 27, 2017 by skb558 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 A lot of music I hear on the radio has no identifiable musical instrument playing on it. In many cases the instrumental part of the track is just a pad of mush. The creator of the track, is not trying to emulate any known acoustic or electric instruments. In many cases there is hardly any human element in the track at all. Even the vocals have been sampled and autotuned and bear very little resemblance to what originally came out of a human mouth. The stuff I reserve my contempt for is the low end, mass market tosh, pumped out by soulless corporations. But I do concede there is some very beautiful electronic music too. On the whole though, I do like to hear human beings playing instruments, not sequencers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 (edited) I can't stand Techno, House, Hip Hop, Trance etc. but that's got nothing to do with what instruments are or are not used, it's just not my sort of thing. I've got no problem with synths, sequencing etc in general. There's plenty of godawful dross made with "real" instruments, so I'd never use that as a yardstick for measuring the quality of a piece of music. Edited February 27, 2017 by RhysP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trueno Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 As with most things, when you experience it done badly, you realise how good it is when it's done well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I think, although many tunes are formulaic to a large extent, I hear the loops, repeats and construction of some electronic music more than in conventionally produced music, even though they may contain the same levels of boohickey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 My favorite 'band' is Autechre, and by some distance. There a lot of people who don't think this is music of any sort - proper or otherwise. I actually listen to very little music with 'real' instruments on, other than the stuff I play. However, there are plenty of people who think that amplifying your instrument is cheating and even frets are a bit dodgy. This kind of thinking is a ghetto IMO. Good music is all about good ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 Excited as I've just got a ticket to see Kraftwerk. My current favourite band are Tedeschi Trucks. Guess I'm on the "it doesn't matter how it's made" side of the argument Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 [quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1488215487' post='3246879'] is a common whinge among many music fans on Internet forums viz techno, hip hop, House etc. Personally I don't care how music is made just as long as it sounds good to my ears and feet. But I've come across many posters who can get quite worked up about 'electronica' and the use of laptops sequencers, samplers etc saying these genres aren't proper music. That said a lot of so-called dance/electronica combos do use real instruments live and sometimes in the studio. Just wondrin' what basschatters think. Feel free to vent your spleen if the mood takes you [/quote] I try to avoid getting into ruts caused by conventional thinking. Sometimes however it is a comfortable option. I'm with you in that I don't care too much. If it makes my feet tap and my head sing, it's good. Bowie's Space Oddity would be compromised without the stylophone bit for example. [attachment=239294:RolfsStylophone.png] er... er... oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upside downer Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I used to have a real problem when i was in my teens and early twenties about bands not having 'proper' instruments. This was late 80s, early 90s so it was the time of rave and dance culture when a line-up of guitar, bass and drums was non-existent in much of those acts' line-ups. It wasn't until I heard The Prodigy a fair few times that I realised I was basically cutting myself off from so many forms and styles of music due to some outdated notion of what 'real' bands were. Silly, really. Decided there and then to listen to and absorb as much variety as possible. You still might dislike a lot of things but by opening up you're bound to come across something that otherwise would've remained hidden to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downdown Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 Well, it's an opinion, but who cares? It's a bit like photographers who don't consider digital photography as 'real' - whatever 'real' might mean. As far as I'm concerned, one thing results in something you can hear and the other in something you can see. If you like the end result then it's all good If you don't, then just move on. No need to disparage other people's work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I blame MTV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I suppose you could say that music is whatever you perceive it to be and you either like it or you don't. My personal view is that if a piece of music - however it's produced - doesn't stir up some kind of emotion in you, then it's not up to much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I went to a dinner and dance on Saturday night. They had a disco. Standard stuff. Play the tunes, not chat between tracks, no introductions to tunes. At the end of the evening the DJ thanked us "for being a great audience." The mind boggles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterT Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I don't yet play in a band but I love using Ableton Live - it makes me think about the music as a whole. I also have a Novation Circuit - you have to play that 'live' to get the best out of it and it definitely helps you to knock up a tune easily. If you like electronic stuff, have you listened to Si Begg? He's off the scale for me - must take him ages to record the noises, mess about with them and then build a track that doesn't have any signs of lazy programming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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