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Subject: Re: [motm] Re: worth replacing a Mini-Moog??

From: "Tony Allgood" <oakley@...>
Date: 2002-08-10

TA> And there is a school of thought that says the harder it is to learn
the more creative you will become.

Actually, I didn't say that I agree with this school of thought. And I
don't, not without more quantification. I was just trying to make a
point that if you have more tools, it will allow you to create more. But
more tools mean a longer or steeper learning curve.

A simple machine such as the minimoog may not allow textures to be
created that the composer may want. Its still a great instrument though
[but I wish they had added a few extras like sync, sync sweep, an LFO,
aftertouch... :-) ]

Of course, making a unit with a badly designed user interface will
stiffle creativity. That is not without question, and that wasn't my
point. I merely was trying to say that new esoteric modules that do
clever things are just another thing to learn not some impenetrable wall
acting against creativity. But make that esoteric module difficult to
use by a poorly designed UI, and that's another story.

BTW, that particular 'school of thought' I heard used when a music
teacher was comparing violin playing to recorder playing. The violin is
a complete bugger to master, while the recorder is comparatively easy.
But a well played violin allows more expression and more soul than any
recorder. Actually, I have heard some storming picolo playing, so that
probably puts paid to that idea anyway... :-)

Tony <- who doesn't make anything terribly esoteric at all