As I was reading recently, I came across the quote below. I think - what's interesting in reading some of the pioneers who brought electronic music and instruments onto the scene in the 60s and 70s as they recount their "struggles" in seeing electronic music accepted, is that there's something of the same going on with folks today as iPads become increasingly accepted as valid musical instruments and even standalone "studio" environments capable of producing whole albums. The screenshots I included BTW show, Auria, Cubasis, iMS-20 and iSEM - all running on an iPad mini (original).
Here's an interesting quote from a book on the subject at the time:
"Electronic music is not a new and startling development, it is a logical extension of man's musical endeavors. It is the next step in man's efforts to be able to control sound for music communication. Perhaps in terms of the conventional symphony orchestra, electronic music seems to present a radical departure. In reality, however, such is the case only because many people in the field of music regard present instrumentation and musical groups as being in some way permanent. The instruments presently in use in conventional music actually have a very short history, are very limited, and will be quite archaic in the future .
The art of music is, or perhaps should be, based on man's desire to extend his capabilities in communication. And with this in mind, the ideas in this book are not at all surprising or revolutionary. It is a sad fact that music all too frequently becomes a struggle with the idiosyncracies of stretched strings, hollow tubes, and taut membranes which, quaint though they may be, lead the composer and musician into a state of physical struggle against nature."
"Electronic Music - A handbook of sound synthesis and control" - by Manford L. Eaton, 1971, p63
I guess I'd not quite agree with everything there, but, it's interesting. Food for thought anyhow.
