I Know It When I Hear It

I acknowledge that this little gadget 1) caught my attention because I was procrastinating. And then very quickly 2) I was sucked in by the extreme pro and con reactions some commenters had to a video that is, at root, simply a demonstration of a very cool (if expensive) piece of technology.

Though for some reason the Eigenharp has drawn a few comparisons with toys like Guitar Hero, in truth it seems like a mash-up of ideas re: real-time digital interfacing for effective music performance. Further research turned up this show-and-tell video which really makes the instrument’s capabilities seem extensive, even if some of the timbres it delivers hurt my teeth a bit. Dudes will jam in basements, and it’s more compelling viewing to see them rock these “bassoons from the future” than watch as they stare into blue computer screen light while furtively…scrolling.

Still, if commenters can be trusted (ahem) it seems that even in the 21st century there are audiences unwilling to see this as legitimate music making. I’m not sure why that is, especially when we are not talking about professional livelihoods but about personal creativity (albeit for those with a fat wallet–the Eigenharp retails for £3,950). Whatever got us here, this fence disturbs me but also makes me wonder why this is the line where some have chosen to dig in their heels. Commenter djb0622 noted it in a way that particularly smarted in an age where definitions are fluid and there’s supposed to be an app for everything: “knowledge of key signatures and chord theory do not make a ‘real’ musician. it makes a western classical composer.”