Monday, November 10, 2014
An instrument is more than just an instrument in one CMU course
Local Beat | Pittsburgh City Paper: "Hybrid Instrument Building" is perhaps one of the most challenging and experimental interdisciplinary courses offered in the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University. The syllabus of this course broadly defines an "instrument" as an object that amplifies your intentions. "Hybrid" is defined as all that exists between digital and physical, real and virtual, hardware and software. The instructor, Ali Momeni, explains: "It's really in-between places that we're trying to work with."
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2 comments:
That sounds like the kind of thing that I would enjoy immensely if I had lots of time to dedicate to it. In my current state it would be fun but I don't think I would be able to do well, crew hours make it kind of hard to spend the right amount of time on a project like this. It's a great idea, I am not completely sure I understand the broader definition of instrument though. I wish the article had more of a description of what wireless systems for homes and buildings meant in terms of instruments.
This does sound kind of neat, though I was a little misled by the title. Basically they are creating music with non-traditional things, right? Like how the dial tone can be used in a techno song and be completely in place. This class is teaching the ways of making new instruments.
We have, in a way, stagnated in our music development. There haven't really been any new instruments thought/made up in a while. Everyone seems pretty content with the ones that we've got from past generations. Making up new ways to use things is always an interesting approach to the world. It is like when someone discovered that they could make noises similar to a drum set with their mouth. Tada! Beatboxing was born and has blossomed ever since. It is good that this class exists, and I hope that it does grow like they want it to, not just to Pittsburgh but all over.
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