I had been looking at a few of the acoustics discussions that recently popped up and thought about them in the grand scheme of things. I realized that they're concerned with improving existing instruments. That got me to thinking: is there anything more to be invented, as far as musical instruments are concerned?
Here's another point. The saxophone was arguably an improvement over clarinets and double-reeds because, well, it's louder. It also has a tone which is (arguably, of course, stay with me) between clarinet and trumpet: more edgy than one, less strident than the other. Sarrus and Roth also tried improving double-reeds by creating metal, sax-like instruments that project a lot more than, say, your standard contabassoon. However, these instruments sound like ... loud double-reeds. The problem is that Sarrusophones and Rothophones (as well as other double-reed improvements, like the Heckelphone) are rarely seen or heard. The saxophone is.
Arguably, electronic instruments are an advance, but they can be lumped into two categories: instruments used to replicate the sounds of EXISTING instruments and instruments used to create, well, "synthy" sounds you rarely hear outside of pop music.
So, will there be another advance? What would it be and why?
Here's another point. The saxophone was arguably an improvement over clarinets and double-reeds because, well, it's louder. It also has a tone which is (arguably, of course, stay with me) between clarinet and trumpet: more edgy than one, less strident than the other. Sarrus and Roth also tried improving double-reeds by creating metal, sax-like instruments that project a lot more than, say, your standard contabassoon. However, these instruments sound like ... loud double-reeds. The problem is that Sarrusophones and Rothophones (as well as other double-reed improvements, like the Heckelphone) are rarely seen or heard. The saxophone is.
Arguably, electronic instruments are an advance, but they can be lumped into two categories: instruments used to replicate the sounds of EXISTING instruments and instruments used to create, well, "synthy" sounds you rarely hear outside of pop music.
So, will there be another advance? What would it be and why?