[sdiy] MIDI isn't musical : Flame bait?

[Ian Fritz]

At 10:54 PM 1/14/2002, harry wrote:
>While recording my MIDI CD... I did one track with a guitar synth.
>
>What a nightmare. The squeak of your fingers changing position gives about
>30 extra notes... all of them near the time, note, and velocity of the correct
>(desired) one.
>
>I ended up recording the part one measure at a time, punching in. Took 10
>hours to do a three minute part.

Understood. I've never much of anything good about guitar synths. But isn't 
most of the problem with transduction rather than with MIDI?


>It IS possible and maybe even musical to slap five notes at once. Everyone (so
>far) has forgotten the world of PERCUSSION (and maybe rightly so ;^)...
>A player has 4 limbs... and can hit four objects at the same, or near the same
>time...
>with varying force.


The "or near the same time" part I agree with. I recently had a chance to 
look at a MIDI-recorded file from a good professional concert pianist. The 
attacks are spread out all over the place (speaking on the ms scale). I 
haven't had a chance to look at MIDI drum files recorded from an actual 
player. But a ms is a very short time interval as far as performance 
gestures is concerned.

   Ian