Saturday 17 April 2010

Can internet, as a social environment for collective music creation, assure superior products of classical music?

Few days ago I listened to the lecture of a young university professor and researcher in the field, which aims to use modern technology to experience new ways of musical (re)production. Among other things, the idea of Internet as a social environment for collective music creation was presented. In other word, idea presents people from different parts of the world, who joined via internet, in order to create a musical event. Such experiments have consisted of people gathering into virtual orchestras, jazz bands, etc.. In order to succed in creation of a new music experience, the latter used the best internet connections and the latest audio and video devices (managed by the experts). One of the main problems being raised, was the problem of latency (audio delay), especially acute in intercontinental connections (cca. 90 ms). In practice this means, that the sound generated by the musicians in Russia arrives in Chile, with a 90 millisecond of delay, which is for professional music group extremely disturbing if not unacceptable. However, ways to overcome the latency are being developed succesfully and represent good reference for the future.
There is something else what leaves doubts in me. Is it possible to create a superior musical product, although musicians are physically separated, depending on devices which may have errors or. even though the music is digitized (as a consequence of Internet transmission)? In order to meet world-class musical achievements in classical music, it is extremely important to achieve a physical, mental, if you want spiritual-energetic integration of musicians at a given moment in a given location (with a given public), since their final interpretation depends on the latter. Link via Internet clearly disables connection mentioned above; thinking simply - in the other side of the Atlantic musicians breathe another air, there is night there and here sun is in the zenith, silence in the local studio is different than here etc. Infact, everything in the given moment is different. And yet there is another problem. Basic atom of musical art is the sound and the latter is because of digitization at least slightly changed (it looses some important quality). Clearly, for superb musical performances, which are reaching for the smallest nuances in sound, this is inadmissible.
Concluding, in terms of classical music, it is clear that the Internet will not be able to become a virtual stage for recreation of classical works (except in the case of electronic classical music). However, such projects have an extremely important social-musical note (although yet very expensive) - integration of people from around the world, getting to know and learning from foreign musical cultures that we would not be able to meet otherwise, etc..

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