[extropy-chat] Robot Music @ Juilliard

[Technotranscendence]

Look, Ma-No Hands!

By MARI KIMURA

A remarkable recital in Paul Hall this month will include organ,
piano, and guitar music-but not a single human performer. Titled
"RoboRecital" and presented by composition student J. Brendan Adamson,
it will feature three robot performers: GuitarBot, a self-playing
guitar; an automated pipe organ; and a Yamaha Disklavier, a modern
player piano.

LEMUR's self-playing GuitarBot extends performance capabilities beyond
that of a human guitarist.  Before anybody frets, take note: Haydn,
C.P.E. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Cherubini are among the many
composers who used "robots" of their time, including mechanical or
automated, self-playing organs. The idea of composers bypassing
performers is not new. Throughout history, composers have been intrigued
by the idea that their music might pass directly to the listener,
without being limited by the human hand or the interpretations of the
performer.  More recently, in the 1920s and '30s, Conlon Nancarrow
elevated the idea of the machine as a superhuman performer, writing
works for player pianos. Percy Grainger, in his 1938 essay "Free Music,"
wrote: "Machines (if properly constructed and properly written for) are
capable of niceties of emotional expression impossible to a human
performer."

An undergraduate composition major studying with Christopher Rouse,
Brendan is also studying at Juilliard's Music Technology Center,
directed by Edward Bilous. This concert is the outgrowth of his
independent study in computer music performance, which he has been
pursuing with me with special permission to enroll in my graduate
course.

Brendan's interest is in acoustic instruments, electronically
controlled. He explains that "while it may seem more practical to
bypass the performer by relying on sampling or synthesis of sounds
purely in the electronic medium, the automation approach retains the
richness of the source acoustic instrument and offers the visual
interest of a live instrumental performance."

At the concert, Brendan will present his own works written for
automated organ, Yamaha Disklavier, and GuitarBot, a mechanical robot
created in 2002 by LEMUR (League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots).
He will also present J. S. Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080,
Contrapuncti Nos. 2 and 3, performed by GuitarBot, and Mozart's
Allegro und Andante (Fantasia in F Minor, K.608) written for
self-playing organ. Although several practical editions for human
performer have been made, Mozart's piece will be heard in its original
form for self-playing organ on Brendan's concert.

Another work to be presented on this RoboRecital, Brendan's Two
Studies for Player Piano (2002), was featured at this year's Music at
the Anthology Festival, produced by Philip Glass. Brendan writes in
the program note: "The Disklavier is valued for its ability to record
and reproduce a live pianist's performance, but its ability to exceed
the capabilities of a human performer have made it compelling to
composers."

Also featured will be Brendan's Three Studies for Automated Organ
(2004), written for the newly renovated and refurbished pipe organ in
Paul Hall. Although it is an acoustic instrument, every function
available to an organist at the console can be controlled by computer.
Brendan writes, "Automating these functions not only overcomes
problems of performer ability but more importantly allows for new
sound possibilities that could not be reproduced by a live organist."


I am also currently collaborating with LEMUR and using GuitarBot to
perform GuitarBotana, my recent work for violin, GuitarBot, and
interactive computer. We have been performing together at several
international music festivals this year, and were featured on CNN
Headline News. GuitarBot was created through the leadership of
musician and engineer Eric Singer, LEMUR's founder, with a philosophy
to build robotic instruments that play themselves. GuitarBot is a
stringed instrument that is designed to extend-not simply
duplicate-the capabilities of a human musician. It can pick and slide
extremely rapidly and responds to musical commands from a composed
score or generated in real time. For further information on LEMUR,
please visit their Web site at www.lemurbots.org.

Are the machines replacing humans? Why is this concert being held at
Juilliard, the pinnacle of performing arts studies? I believe this
concert is happening exactly where it should: where we are continuing
our musical tradition. Long before the last century, composers
including Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven were versatile musicians who
performed, improvised, and utilized the latest musical technology
available in their time. In his use of technology on his RoboRecital,
Brendan is merely following tradition.

http://www.juilliard.edu/update/journal/j_articles385.html