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Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

  • 1.  Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-17-2018 15:00
    Acoustic intruments and physical sheet music are currently being used by orchestras but some orchestras seem to be using a computer program called Newzik that shows digital sheet music on a screen:

    https://newzik.com/

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-40985570/yorkshire-young-sinfonia-swaps-sheet-music-for-tablets

    Could this be the beginning of the digitisation of classical music performance?

    Could digital instruments replace acoustic instruments that are currently being used by orchestras?

    Could digital pianos solve the problem of inharmonicity which affects acoustic pianos?

    Could digital orchestras enable the possibility of using programs such as Scala to instantly change the tuning that is being used, for example, by switching between 12-tone equal temperament and a variety of well temperaments?

    Could digitisation pave the path for a groundbreaking digital era of classical music performance on a large scale?

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-17-2018 19:36
    No!

    Sent from my iPhone




  • 3.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Member
    Posted 08-18-2018 08:43
    I have an iPad Pro with a number of apps that provide virtual keyboards creating the sounds of accoustic instruments as well as entire orchestras. I play the Uilleann Pipes and with the iPad create backing tracks that allow me to be recorded as I play solos on the chanter with the backing track accompanying me. It reduces the time and cost of gathering musicians together, rehearsal time and recording time.

    My iPad pro has an app called Tomplay, that pulls up sheet music for me to read while I play the piano while an orchestra backs me up (pre-recorded in a studio in Switzerland by a real live orchestra) with such works as Mozart’s Concerto 23 in A major. It allows me to practice, get up to speed, and reduce the time of rehearsals before the orchestra performs on stage.

    The tablets are a wonderful tool to provide the sheet music for a musician. It can scroll and turn pages for you.

    From my own experience with woodwinds as well, there is nothing in the virtual world of synthesis that can duplicate the sound and feel of wind passing through real wood and reed to stimulate the imagiination of the listener. Add the full instrumentation of a live symphony such as the Virginia Symphony Orchesta, bring a lawn chair to one of their outdood perfomances going on here such as the upcoming one in Yorktown, and decide for yourself if authenticity prevails.

    Sent from my iPad




  • 4.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-18-2018 10:13
    No, because the tone quality of analog "real" instruments is so much better, and so is the touch response of real pianos.

    However, keeping the musical scores on a tablet is already in full swing. Concert pianists can have the music desk removed, and put a tablet flat on the tuning pins. The pages can be turned by switches on the floor. From the audience it looks just like they are playing from memory.

    Of course, a lot of the time they are -- but for certain difficult pieces not part of the standard repertory, and also for two piano music, the digital scores work very well.

    ------------------------------
    Susan Kline
    Philomath, Oregon
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-18-2018 11:16
    There are two different questions asked:
    Will sheet music digitalization become widespread?
    Will digital musical instruments become widespread?

    I'll comment on the first question, and I see three main issues: suitability for orchestral use, the general rush into iPad use, and the future availability and ownership questions of sheet and digital music.

    While many people do use iPads, I see them as being gimmicky and problematic, especially for youth orchestras (as portrayed in the example).

    For one thing, regular sheet music is big. iPads are tiny. And if you get an iPad large enough to read easily, especially for older musicians, they'd have to be huge. And that means heavy and expensive. Not to mention energy-hungry and breakable. If you've ever had to navigate an orchestral stage with stand lights in use, such as in an opera pit, you'd see it's a mine field. One wrong move, you trip on a wire, and suddenly you've brought down several stands. I'm trying to imagine a typical youth orchestra setup with kids, who are often not terribly aware of their surroundings (I've coached youth symphonies for 20 years), and there are iPads delicately balanced on stands, tiny wires from foot pedals just begging to be tripped over. Aye. 

    There is one compelling reason for digitization: bowings. Orchestra librarians must spend hours and hours tediously hand copying a concertmaster's bowings into all of the string parts. It's the bain of their jog. Just ask one. I could imagine simply taking the principal part and broadcasting the bowings with a click of a button. Of course, digitization would likely eliminate many or substantially change the profession of orchestral librarian...

    Another aspect of all this, especially for students of all ages, is the headlong rush into iPads. Don't get me wrong, I practically live out of mine as a technician. I have my EDT, Quickbooks, databases, schedule, everything. But as a parent with young kids, I see schools shoving iPad use down our kids' throats with questionable results. I see it as a mass outsourcing of teaching skills: programmers doing the "teaching" and classroom teachers relegated to being disciplinarians and systems managers. School systems make huge investments in them (remember the LA Schools fiasco The LA School System's $1.3 Billion iPad Fiasco Comes to a Sad End) and they become obsolete, lost, stolen, cracked, or mostly used for games when teacher isn't looking. Or parents have to foot the bill.

    We're trying to limit screen time, and the system is constantly trying to find ways to addict them even more. Please, can't the activity of music be reserved as an oasis from the digital frenzy? 

    The last issue is digital ownership. When you download music or a book onto an iPad or other device, you don't actually own the rights to it. You can't pass it to your heirs. You can't share it. You can't sell it to a used bookstore like the one 3 blocks from my house. Most people may not care, but there is a trend now that may make them care in the future: digital copying. I've seen many musicians, students, and parents now refusing to purchase music. They really believe it should be free (just like many piano shoppers), and will only download someone else's scan from IMSLIP. I predict that if everyone downloads copied music for free, there will come a point where the companies that print nice bound volumes of music and etudes (including oversized and thicker paper) will not have enough demand to keep printing. We'll all be forced to purchase the rights to digital downloads. Some may cheer that day, but I'm not there yet.

    ------------------------------
    Scott Cole, RPT
    rvpianotuner.com
    Talent, OR
    (541-601-9033
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-18-2018 12:49
    I think digital instruments could solve many tuning problems though. For example, I have been retuning MIDI files with a program called Scala. I have created a practical just/pure intonation that makes all keys usable by using 19-limit, 17-limit and 3-limit ratios to approximate 12-TET. I think harmony should be improved since 12-TET is out of tune:

    http://just-intonation.org/intonation

    http://my.ptg.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?GroupId=43&MessageKey=2238a81a-fe57-42fe-93bc-4ee2c06b710f&CommunityKey=6265a40b-9fd2-4152-a628-bd7c7d770cbf&tab=digestviewer&ReturnUrl=%2fcommunities%2fcommunity-home%2fdigestviewer%3fcommunitykey%3d6265a40b-9fd2-4152-a628-bd7c7d770cbf%26tab%3ddigestviewer

    Digital instruments could store these tunings, as well as multiple well temperaments, and they can be instantly accessed by clicking a button. I think now is the best time to take advantage of new technology to increase the popularity and use of tunings based on rational numbers and well temperaments, such as Young II, which seek to improve harmony.

    I have also created a method for calculating the value of the semitones of any well temperament:

    http://my.ptg.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?GroupId=43&MessageKey=cc86d796-f3ce-4379-bec2-deff65687b6e&CommunityKey=6265a40b-9fd2-4152-a628-bd7c7d770cbf&tab=digestviewer&ReturnUrl=%2fcommunities%2fcommunity-home%2fdigestviewer%3fcommunitykey%3d6265a40b-9fd2-4152-a628-bd7c7d770cbf%26tab%3ddigestviewer

    This mathematical procedure can be programmed into digital instruments.


    All the mathematics I have mentioned above can become more useful and practical if digital instruments are used.

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-18-2018 14:12
    An all digital instrument performance will work if your goal is solely with the mechanics of the music rather than the art. Listening to digitally generated music drives me crazy due to the overwhelming lack of nuance. The absence of overtones of the instrument is annoying. Playing the note is not enough, it's how you play the note with its timbre that a sine wave tone can not reproduce. Can someone give me a glissando?  Muzak is bad enough.

    I have a client who composes digital scores. He gave me two of his CD's and it was tough getting through them. Generated tones display a lack of musicianship. The right tones in the right places but getting there is half the fun. Button-pushing/on-off switch tone generation lacks character/soul. Sterile. Yuck.

    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-18-2018 14:32
    Thank you Jon, your wonderful response is the in depth version of “No”!

    Sent from my iPhone




  • 9.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-18-2018 16:16
    Another important aspect is presence. Much the same as complaints about a player piano being too loud. Even if it's playing softly, it has presence in the room. It can't be dialed back to blend into the wallpaper. So I suppose digitally produced music can be referred to as being invisible. there but not there.  Even recorded music played in the background beats it.

    CD's have a similar problem with their compression, they pale in comparison to a vinyl disc in audio quality.

    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Member
    Posted 08-19-2018 07:30
    Can you imagine Beethoven's string quartet Opus 132 played digitally? Much of that music is hearing the souls of the musicians grappling with and coming through the instruments. It's physical and tangible; you can feel it.

    That said, who knows what forms of genuine expression might come out of music digitally created?

    ------------------------------
    Don Dalton
    Chester VT
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-19-2018 09:27
    Digital pianos can mimic the sound of acoustic pianos. They can have weighted keys which respond to pressure. The precise use of 12-tone equal temperament could be making digital music sound stale. This is because the value of each semitone is likely to be exactly 100 cents. This would cause key colour to be absent.

    The concept of key colour can be introduced by switching to an unequal tuning with intervals of varying size which could make digital music more expressive.

    Did Beethoven and Bach use equal temperament or well temperament? Did they consider key colour? Did they want well temperament or 12-TET to be used for their compositions?

    It would probably take a long time to retune an acoustic piano. On the other hand, digital pianos can store tunings and give the pianist the ability to use these instantly by pressing buttons. They can even use the sound of a fortepiano, which was likely to be the instrument that was used by Beethoven, or the sound of a harpsichord, which was likely to be the instrument that was used by Bach, by pressing buttons again.

    Additionally, all the instruments of a digital orchestra would be able to use a specific tuning precisely which would cause every instrument to be in tune.

    However, there are downsides such as a high amount of electricity consumption, tripping hazards related to wires and the sudden loss of electricity if a power cut occurs.

    Have any orchestras experimented with the sole use of digital instruments for a live classical music (Baroque, Classical, Romantic and/or Impressionistic) performance?

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-19-2018 11:57
    Most of these things can be tested.


    You can download Scala from here:

    http://huygens-fokker.org/scala/downloads.html


    Scala already has a collection of tunings that can be downloaded from here:

    http://huygens-fokker.org/docs/scales.zip


    I have provided instructions on how to retune MIDI files here under the section entitled "Retuning MIDI Files (Final Stage)":

    http://my.ptg.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?GroupId=43&MessageKey=cc86d796-f3ce-4379-bec2-deff65687b6e&CommunityKey=6265a40b-9fd2-4152-a628-bd7c7d770cbf&tab=digestviewer&ReturnUrl=%2fcommunities%2fcommunity-home%2fdigestviewer%3fcommunitykey%3d6265a40b-9fd2-4152-a628-bd7c7d770cbf%26tab%3ddigestviewer

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-19-2018 14:26
    I assume you do not play an instrument other than a digital keyboard or sampler.
    It takes more than changing the temperament to put expression into the music.

    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    ------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------


  • 14.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-19-2018 14:54
    I play acoustic pianos and digital pianos.

    Orchestral musicians will continue putting expression into music with their musicianship. They will just be using advanced digital instruments rather than acoustic instruments if orchestras predominantly use digital instruments in the future. Technology will improve further and digital instruments may be able to mimic acoustic instruments very well. The ability to switch between tunings, for example Werkmeister or Kirnberger, with ease will enhance music overall. 

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-19-2018 20:17
    Was that you playing in the Star Wars Lounge scene?

    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-20-2018 12:00
    "Why Digital Music Looks Set To Replace Live Performances":

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-digital-music-looks-set-to-replace-live-performances/


    "The Evolution Of Creativity - How Technology Changes Music":

    http://www.therealmusician.com/how-technology-changes-music.html

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-20-2018 12:55
    I've been following this discussion with interest.  Not so much for the ideas presented, but to see the reaction of a group being manipulated.  This group is taking the bait. 


    ------------------------------
    Tim Coates
    Sioux Falls SD
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-20-2018 15:10
    <I've been following this discussion with interest.  Not so much for the ideas presented, but to see the reaction of a group being manipulated.  This group is taking the bait.

    Yup...troll alert.

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-20-2018 20:21
    In a semi-related development Steinway & Sons ( still not Chinese) has released the Spirio R ( the R stands for record). It's available in the Model D only and the record package includes an editor similar to a stripped down version of Pro-Tools. It will allow an artist to perform a piece on the piano then edit the performance down to the 1000th of a second for note duration and for note volume as well. I don't think it will change the performance world very much but it has the potential to revolutionize the recording process. The recording of multiple takes to capture just the right nuance in a particular phrase could become a relic of the past. The new process could be something like this: Pianist performs piece; Pianist and producer edit performance to reflect artistic taste; Spirio plays back edited version for microphones. Everyone goes out to dinner while the recording engineer goes out looking for a new job. I've seen the finished product and it's really that good. Scary place this future we've stumbled into.

    ------------------------------
    Karl Roeder
    Pompano Beach FL
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-21-2018 20:18
    Look back to the player piano industry. The roll was punched and the editor adjusted the hole placement to account for the speed of the paper across the tracker bar. More paper wrappings on the take-up spool induced a greater diameter to advance of the paper more rapidly. So consequently, the perforations needed to be further apart to maintain tempo.

    Add to that, the addition of Expression Mechanisms and the editor had to encode those holes at the proper advance timing for sequence.
    And was the editor's application of encoding congruous to the player's performance? Some artists had a say in the final product.

    So when you see a player roll that says: "As Played By The Artist", it really means: "Played According to Editor".
    Of course, all studio recordings can fall into the category.

    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    ------------------------------



  • 21.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-21-2018 20:25
    There's nothing like listening to the 1812 Overture with a digital cannon.





  • 22.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-20-2018 21:02
    Come on, folks, there's room for many ideas in the realm of music.
    Visit Roshan Kakiya on YouTube.
    Roshan Kakiya
    YouTube remove preview
    Roshan Kakiya
    View this on YouTube >




    ------------------------------
    Ed Sutton
    ed440@me.com
    (980) 254-7413
    ------------------------------



  • 23.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-21-2018 03:57
    Thank you for mentioning my YouTube channel.

    I composed my tonal pieces on an acoustic piano, memorised them and then "wrote" them note-for-note on a MIDI sequencer. I have tried to mimic the way I played them on the piano by using these techniques:

    1. Change the duration of the notes to mimic rubato.
    2. Stagger the notes of a chord to create the sound of a rolled chord.
    3. Place notes between notes to create an offbeat rhythm.

    My atonal pieces are based on symmetrical 12-tone chords and 12-tone technique. More information is available in the description of the videos.

    After creating my MIDI files, I converted them with Windows Movie Maker from MIDI to YouTube MP4 format (This is a specific format for YouTube). Finally, I posted them on YouTube.

    I can now experiment with different tunings because I can use Scala to create custom tunings and retune my MIDI files which means I can fully customise my compositions.

    I have used no paper throughout this process!

    There were limitations such as the inability to change the loudness or softness of the music. Digital pianos with weighted keys can solve this problem.

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------



  • 24.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-21-2018 04:03
    Melodyne is a product that can revolutionise music:

    http://www.celemony.com/en/start

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------



  • 25.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-21-2018 04:08
    Direct Note Access is a program that can revolutionise music:

    https://www.wired.com/2008/08/major-breakthro/

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------



  • 26.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-20-2018 13:01
    I think a digital orchestra will kill the orchestra for the same reason no one goes to a player piano concert.





  • 27.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-20-2018 14:46
    -Long Post-

    In answer to your question, it will take about up to 90 minutes to retune the piano, depending on the tuner. Add some extra time if it needs a pitch raise.

    If I understand you correctly, the basis behind your question is essentially whether electric instruments will become good enough to replace acoustic instruments. The answer to this is extremely vital to our trade.

    Yes and no. Yes, electric instruments will and have replaced beginner instruments. That's why (among other reasons) spinets are no longer manufactured.

    But the higher up you move on the skill scale, the more one transitions to fine acoustic instruments. No matter the quality of the wanna-be replacement, the tonal capacity of one instrument can never be reproduced exactly by another, whether that other is acoustic or electric. This is why certain high end artists will become attached to a single instrument. Yes, they may play others, but that is their piano.

    We hear all the time that the piano industry is shrinking, and one won't be able to make a living in it in 30 years, etc. I disagree. The piano industry is changing; it is shifting towards the high end. Yes, there aren't as many in our field because there aren't as many beginner instruments out there. But there are way more high quality instruments out there than there were decades ago.

    This is simply a case of "survival of the fittest" in a market. The better technicians will be able to keep running a business; the not as good ones will have two choices: become better or move to a different field. Sorry folks, that's just the hand we've been dealt. Piano tuning is no longer "vastly different than any other business", and the sooner we realize that, the better off we'll be. 

    Welcome to the complex Twenty-First Century.

    ------------------------------
    Benjamin Sanchez
    Professional Piano Services
    (805)315-8050
    www.professional-piano-services.com
    BenPianoPro@comcast.net
    ------------------------------



  • 28.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-18-2018 12:17
    It's Saturday morning, I'm sitting here in a quiet house slamming down coffee. What the heck, why not opine on the subject of digital instruments?

    Here's my observation on musical trends in general: They're trends.

    If you look back at the totality of Western music, you see one large-scale trend: the wax and wane (ebb and flow?) of complexity.
    Gregorian chant, so simple in origins with a single, mostly stepwise melody, inevitably became more and more complex as composers added counterpoint. And became so complex that the Church complained about it. Music continues in this way: it gradually becomes more and more complex (and obtuse) until it falls off a cliff and returns to purity and simplicity. Anyone here listen to Machaut? That is probably the weirdest music you've ever heard. and from the 14th century. And pretty complex.

    When he died in 1750, Bach's counterpoint was already out of date, with his kids leading the charge back to simplicity. Thus the classical era returns to simple melody and accompaniment. Until the late 19th century, which ends with the overblown complexity of Mahler. Leading of course to the neo-classicim of Stravinsky... Back and forth like an epic ping-pong match.

    On a smaller scale, we see the same thing with popular music and electronics: an ebb and flow (wax and wane?) of electronic vs. acoustical music. Pete Townsend discovers the Fairchild. Other guys start playing with Moogs, Rhodes and other equipment. It culminates with a musical sensibility that has now become a punchline: the 80s. Synth everything, including drums, flu-tars, key-tars, you name it. As if the shoulder pads and hair weren't bad enough. We all tired of it. Even before we realized it.

    What was the answer? Grunge, a return to simplicity and authenticity. Today, I see what we call "hipsters" as people that are (rightfully) tired of complexity and long for a return to objects they regard as "simple," such as single-speed bikes or Nixon-era film cameras. But they'll ride the bikes to a coffee shop and edit the digital film scans and post them on a Mac. People want totally automated cars, yet they also long for a '69 VW van. 

    So I think that these trends of digital vs. analog music will exist, but concurrently instead of linearly as in the past. We live in a world of "everything all at once."

    ------------------------------
    Scott Cole, RPT
    rvpianotuner.com
    Talent, OR
    (541-601-9033
    ------------------------------



  • 29.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-21-2018 11:26
    When are synthesized vocals going to ketch up?

    ------------------------------
    Larry Messerly, RPT
    Bringing Harmony to Homes
    www.lacrossepianotuning.com
    ljmesserly@gmail.com
    928-899-7292
    ------------------------------



  • 30.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-21-2018 19:51
    Let's not dismiss this out of hand. Take a minute to imagine a digital orchestra. Setting virtuosity aside, you could reassign the string section to ukuleles, horns to kazoos, and timpani to thunderclaps. It would give the 1812 Overture a whole new perspective. A Handel Double Organ Concerto with two Harmonicas. A Bach Partita with tinkling glass crystals. The Warsaw Concerto in a Fingerhut Child's Piano. Move over PDQ Bach.  Heck, Take Yo Yo Ma's cello playing Bach and turn it into a Penny Whistle. Add Bobby McFarrin's vocal into whatever it is that vocal stuff is.

    The New World Synthphonic Orchestra.   Imagine greatness...

    Virtuosity could be attempted at an astronomical cost of programming. The effort needed to produce an individual note's nuance would far exceed an animated feature film.

    I was listening to the Sinatra station on Serius today in the car. I noticed a few aspects about a trumpeter playing the note. How the player approached/introduced/moved into the note, what developed while playing the note and how the note ended or tapered off. A programming nightmare for sure. During one tune the trumpet section   s  q  u  e e z ed  up into the note. Program that.   (It might have been "Fly Me to The Moon")

    So yes, orchestration can be digitized but at what cost. Virtuosity Lost

    Inevitable, for sure.

    So what's your point?

    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    ------------------------------



  • 31.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-21-2018 20:13
    I just wanted to have a serious discussion about the future of music, especially tuning.

    ------------------------------
    Roshan Kakiya
    ------------------------------



  • 32.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-21-2018 20:34
    If you want to have a serious discussion about the future of music, you are in the wrong forum.

    This is a Piano Technician's forum which revolves around discussing the aspects of piano maintenance and construction.
    A group of mechanics as it were. I consider myself more of a mechanic than a musician. 

    There are other tuning and musicality forums that might better suit your interests.

    In other words, you're barking up the wrong tree.

    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    ------------------------------



  • 33.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-21-2018 20:41
    There we always be people who prefer the "real thing" over an imitation,....which is what synthesized piano sounds will always be. Real things are typically more varied, complex, unpredictable, and always changing, which is what makes them exciting, beautiful, and artistically challenging to work with. They often require more hard work, and maintenance.  This goes for anything like real leather, fabric, wood etc...Those who value these qualities over instant graticfication, excessive choice, programmed control, and extreme convenience will continue to prefer acoustic instruments.  Some musicians will prefer more choices and convenience faster, and others will not, those who dont will likely continue to have their acoustic pianos tuned regularly.

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    Jason Leininger
    Pittsburgh PA
    412-874-6992
    ------------------------------



  • 34.  RE: Will classical music performances become predominantly digitised in the future?

    Posted 08-22-2018 08:50
    thanks Jon, I was about to start looking for my winter  boots to wade through..........................!

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    Martin Snow
    Boston MA
    617-543-1030
    ------------------------------