ACPAD – This new interface for musical expression looks like a great deal of fun. In fact it is very similar to an idea I had recently had, and was considering mounting to my short scale bass guitar. I eventually decided to put that bass up for sale and watch an episode of Star Trek Voyager instead. This was no great loss to the music world. This device is clearly far more advanced than anything I was dreaming of. But, I wish they had gone in a fundamentally different direction.
There is a tendency, when music instruments and tools arise from technology, for the inventive mind to find ways to replace musicians, rather than empowering them. Here we see a guitarist performing the roll of guitarist, drummer, keyboard player and programmer. It’s very impressive, and will no doubt facilitate the production of fresh music. But would it not be more exciting if the interface was just controlling the sound of the guitar. Allowing varying amounts of delay, distortion, portamento and so on. Yes, these effects can be produced with the use of pedals, but I suspect with less freedom and control.
A great example would be Future man, seen here playing his crazy home made percussion instrument that he started work on in 1988. It’s not a world away from Acpad, but I feel there is a stark contrast in the philosophical approach. Roy Wooten, is a musician first, then an inventor, and he explains something of that process here.
For me, the most exciting thing about music is the interplay between musicians. Let’s not use technology to kill the band!
