For several years, modern musicians have used devices such as GarageBand, ProTools, and Sony Acid to technologically create and modify their music. It may not come as such a surprise then what Ge Wang is doing. He has assembled a "Mobile Phone Orchestra" where the members use an application on their iPhones to create unified music.
Wait...they're an orchestra without instruments???
Yep.
Personally, after listening to the YouTube clip provided on the article's webpage, I have no fears about the downfall of the traditional symphony experience. The flute application which Ge Wang uses as an example sounds entirely too much like a Sesame Street flute toy I had when I was five. To me, the music the Mobile Phone Orchestra has made so far is less than impressive. It may be signaling a trend, however, that will be honed and refined over the next few years to produce a good-sounding electronic orchestra experience.
I watched the video from the journal you linked to. I thought it was very interesting, even if the speakers are a little awkward. Until they come up with a more compact way of putting on the technology together, this won't make much ground.
ReplyDeleteThat having been said, this is so cool! You do not have to be talented with an instrument and take years of lessons to be part of an orchestra. A group of friends can have a jam session and compose their own music. The flute sound that Wang makes is actually supposed to imitate a flute that is hundreds of years old. Assuming that the sound is like Mr. Thumnus' pipes in The Chronicles of Narnia, it sounds pretty accurate to me.