{"items": [{"author": "Peter", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103618186481362054522", "anchor": "gp-1328205841560", "service": "gp", "text": "I'm not sure how this would work out in practice where bass lines often jump by 4ths, 5ths, or even octaves. What if you had a key or pedal board in which you specified the delta between the last note and the desired note. Then the instrument would know what you meant with a modest number of keys or pedals. I still think you need about 25 to cover most musical situations, though.", "timestamp": 1328205841}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1328206274811", "service": "gp", "text": "@Peter\n A jump up of a fourth and a jump down of a fifth would sound identical. A jump of an octave wouldn't do anything. I think this might sound fine, though.\n
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\nThe goal is to abstract out the sense of \"this is A\" from \"this is A 110\" and \"this is A 220\".", "timestamp": 1328206274}, {"author": "Chris", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/117346402173047680184", "anchor": "gp-1328208299224", "service": "gp", "text": "I've definitely heard things like this. I'm really curious what a jump up of a fourth would sound like.", "timestamp": 1328208299}, {"author": "Mac", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/144858582300376?comment_id=144926562293578", "anchor": "fb-144926562293578", "service": "fb", "text": "\"Chris Lahey: I've definitely heard things like this. I'm really curious what a jump up of a fourth would sound like.\"
\"Here comes the bride\" :)", "timestamp": "1328209715"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/144858582300376?comment_id=144931998959701", "anchor": "fb-144931998959701", "service": "fb", "text": "@Walker: but it wouldn't, because it would be a jump up of a fourth and down of a fifth at the same time.", "timestamp": "1328210178"}, {"author": "Mac", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/144858582300376?comment_id=145027985616769", "anchor": "fb-145027985616769", "service": "fb", "text": "I had to re-read your write up. This is what I get out of it: For any given note, you have multiple octaves of the note with weightings at each octave. In advanced algebra, there is a concept of \"orthogonal\". It is not limited to its 2D interpretation of 90 degrees. It means any two things that can change without influencing the other. In any musical instrument, there are three orthogonal elements: Frequency (in your instrument, octaves of base frequencies), amplitude (which may be varied smoothly for cresc and decresc), and rhythm or tempo (usually realized by toggling amplitude on and off). It seems to me that your instrument would want to incorporate a fourth orthogonal element, a \"fader\" to shift those weightings among the octaves of one note.
The music produced might consist of a single chord with each note ranging up and down in its octaves weighting, with tempo and rhythm in the movement of the faders and toggles, and total sound energy or amplitude varying between the sets of note octaves. And, of course, you can change chords. Gosh, sounds a lot like making regular music! But different.
You ought to be able to build such an instrument in digital form. The user interface is everything. Speakers are the only practical means of sound output that can produce the range of octaves that span human hearing.
BTW, My musical definitions: If the total composition is programmed, I call that acoustic sculpture, to distinguish it from performance -- real time generation. A musical instrument is any device whose sound output can be modified in real time by human intention. Further, the difference between the engineer and the artist is that the artist has the genius to be imprecise. Thus robo music, even Bach, is nowhere near as satisfying to the soul. And ultimately, it becomes annoying.
Cool! Also, I have a cousin at the San Francisco Conservatory who does electronic music. Let me know if you'd like to talk with him.", "timestamp": "1328218507"}]}