I don't know what a better title would be. I'll explain:
I was cruising the net the other day and came across this new electric guitar. The idea behind the device is to radically simplify the guitar fingering by removing the strings from the fret board and give you buttons instead. The complaint that some folks have is this guitar isn't a "real" instrument because it's radically simplified. If you listen to it, it sounds like a guitar. It looks like a guitar, minus the tuning pegs. You can play music with it. Sounds like the definition of a "real" instrument to me!
Recently, I've again taken up the EWI: the electronic wind instrument. The main reason I did was because playing a real clarinet or sax makes me feel like me head will explode (arguably a bad outcome). However, is the EWI a "real" instrument? I don't have to worry about intonation anymore -- provided I don't hit the wrong buttons -- and I don't have to have that enthusiastic of embochure control anymore. I'm not going to try to convince anyone that the EWI is a flute or clarinet -- although I can make the EWI sound like a passable clarinet or flute.
I also remember reading about some kid that won an instrumental competition playing on the (forerunner to what became) the Clarineo, which is a simplified clarinet designed for beginners and children. Does "simplified" mean it's not a "real" instrument? I could agree with someone saying that a Clarineo isn't a real clarinet, but I'd have a problem with accepting the argument that it's not a "real" instrument.
So, I guess the question is at what point do you say that the technology to help you play makes what you're playing less of an instrument and more of a record/CD/MP3 player?
I was cruising the net the other day and came across this new electric guitar. The idea behind the device is to radically simplify the guitar fingering by removing the strings from the fret board and give you buttons instead. The complaint that some folks have is this guitar isn't a "real" instrument because it's radically simplified. If you listen to it, it sounds like a guitar. It looks like a guitar, minus the tuning pegs. You can play music with it. Sounds like the definition of a "real" instrument to me!
Recently, I've again taken up the EWI: the electronic wind instrument. The main reason I did was because playing a real clarinet or sax makes me feel like me head will explode (arguably a bad outcome). However, is the EWI a "real" instrument? I don't have to worry about intonation anymore -- provided I don't hit the wrong buttons -- and I don't have to have that enthusiastic of embochure control anymore. I'm not going to try to convince anyone that the EWI is a flute or clarinet -- although I can make the EWI sound like a passable clarinet or flute.
I also remember reading about some kid that won an instrumental competition playing on the (forerunner to what became) the Clarineo, which is a simplified clarinet designed for beginners and children. Does "simplified" mean it's not a "real" instrument? I could agree with someone saying that a Clarineo isn't a real clarinet, but I'd have a problem with accepting the argument that it's not a "real" instrument.
So, I guess the question is at what point do you say that the technology to help you play makes what you're playing less of an instrument and more of a record/CD/MP3 player?