Machine Orchestra

I just heard a short radio program on some music school where supposedly the students are required to learn to program. At first I thought the use of the term "program" was probably inappropriate, then the prof came on and said (literally), "I think simply learning how to use someone else's software package is simply learning someone else's approach to music on a computer, so I want them to learn to write software for themselves" (!)

They apparently have done quite a job of it, including making robots and programming micro-controllers to play acoustic music. Some of them are pre-programmed, some of them are controlled directly. Sounded good.

Anyway, for anyone else who finds that interesting, here's a Wired article I found on them:
Machine Orchestra Features Hacked Guitar, Trampoline-Triggered Music Cues | Underwire | Wired.com
I actually didn't read that, but check out the photograph of what some dude did with a guitar. Looks like this is their homepage:
Labs | KarmetiK

If I could go do a few years of classes somewhere for free with no goal in mind (methinks the employment potential here is very limited -- I can just see these people ending up as improvised oddballs with with living rooms full of junk), I think this would be one of my first choices.

Interesting read MK, thanks for posting.

Very interesting.

What's even more interesting is that MK27 seems to have stolen my profile picture.

Just what could his motive be? :D

"Instead, Kapur says, “What we’re trying to do here is to bring performance back into electronic music. We don’t want a human sitting behind a computer typing. That is absolutely not allowed.”

Yeah, but... Let's see if his stuff sounds better than Kraftwerk or Tangerine Dream, whose innovative "sitting behind a computer typing" turned out fantastic concerts.