Artificial Light & Artificial Music

[mrehorst]

Here's what concerns me. Natural music- i.e. the stuff you hear when musicians are playing in the room you're in- doesn't contain any pops, clicks, rumble, wow, flutter, unintentional distortion, limited frequency response or channel separation. Someone records that music digitally and eventually presses it on vinyl. I play it back and now there's background noise, clicks, pops, rumble, wow, flutter, distortion, and limited BW and channel separation. I'm thinking that listening to that vinyl recording may be causing me excessive stress because as I listen, somewhere in the back of my mind I know that other noise, etc., wasn't there in the room where the musician played. I worry about whether my gear or my ears are at fault. I worry whether I'll ever be able to afford gear that minimizes all those issues so I can enjoy "natural" sounding music, and I worry that something might happen to the vinyl that will create even more noise, or even render it unplayable. I worry that even if I take extreme care, each and every time I play that vinyl, it gets just the tiniest bit noisier. The record wears, the stylus wears. I worry about how much it will cost me to replace that vinyl when the stress of listening to it becomes unbearable. I worry about the damage to the vinyl that the worn stylus is causing and whether I will be able to afford a replacement before it destroys my records. In short, I have so much stress worrying about all this stuff that I can't really enjoy the music.

If I play the same music from a digital source, there's no background noise, just as I would have I heard it in the room with the musician. No clicks, no pops, no wow, no flutter, no rumble, no unintentional distortion, BW that exceeds my ears, and much wider, more "natural" channel separation. To me, playing music from a digital source is the "natural" choice because it sounds more like the live experience, and it will every time I play it. I can relax and just enjoy the music without worrying about either the playback equipment or the recording itself.

 

[kirk57]

I think music made by any number of synth bands such as OMD or Human League (which I do enjoy, still) is more artificial than a well done digital recording of a jazz quartet, for example.

 

[Aerobat]

Here's what concerns me. Natural music- i.e. the stuff you hear when musicians are playing in the room you're in- doesn't contain any pops, clicks, rumble, wow, flutter, unintentional distortion, limited frequency response or channel separation. Someone records that music digitally and eventually presses it on vinyl. I play it back and now there's background noise, clicks, pops, rumble, wow, flutter, distortion, and limited BW and channel separation. I'm thinking that listening to that vinyl recording may be causing me excessive stress because as I listen, somewhere in the back of my mind I know that other noise, etc., wasn't there in the room where the musician played. I worry about whether my gear or my ears are at fault. I worry whether I'll ever be able to afford gear that minimizes all those issues so I can enjoy "natural" sounding music, and I worry that something might happen to the vinyl that will create even more noise, or even render it unplayable. I worry that even if I take extreme care, each and every time I play that vinyl, it gets just the tiniest bit noisier. The record wears, the stylus wears. I worry about how much it will cost me to replace that vinyl when the stress of listening to it becomes unbearable. I worry about the damage to the vinyl that the worn stylus is causing and whether I will be able to afford a replacement before it destroys my records. In short, I have so much stress worrying about all this stuff that I can't really enjoy the music.

If I play the same music from a digital source, there's no background noise, just as I would have I heard it in the room with the musician. No clicks, no pops, no wow, no flutter, no rumble, no unintentional distortion, BW that exceeds my ears, and much wider, more "natural" channel separation. To me, playing music from a digital source is the "natural" choice because it sounds more like the live experience, and it will every time I play it. I can relax and just enjoy the music without worrying about either the playback equipment or the recording itself.

There is a lot of background noise in a live venue. That's why some of us are bothered by the uncanny silence of a digital recording between tracks.

 

[Gigantic]

Define Music

noun​

1. The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.
2. Vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a degree of melody, harmony, or rhythm.
3. A musical composition.

Therefore, What would "Artificial Music" be?

I would define it as music that was neither composed nor performed by an actual human. The OP seems to be conflating a storage and reproduction medium with something else. There is nothing "artificial" about music stored on digital media. either the OP doesn't understand the concepts or they lack the language to convey their thoughts. His query seems like just another attempt to revive the tired digital vs analog debate.

 

[mrehorst]

There is a lot of background noise in a live venue. That's why some of us are bothered by the uncanny silence of a digital recording between tracks.

It's not the silence between tracks that I appreciate so much as being able to hear subtle nuances in the music that are ordinarily masked by the noise in an analog playback system, yet readily audible with a good digital recording and playback system.

 

[Lavane]

You should have a setting in gour phone to turn the blue light off. The screen will look kind of dull for a better word. You can use this setting before bed.
Years ago I read some article about how listening to music from a CD effects the brain in a negative way. It stated that people tended to listen CD's for shorter periods than analog recordings. It had something to do with the sample rate of CD's effecting your brain.
Personally I've listened to CD's for extended periods and never felt the need to turn it off due to it bothering me in some way.
Before my old CD cartridge player died I would load up several cartridges with CD's and play them all.

 

[DesertRatt]

I would define it as music that was neither composed nor performed by an actual human

I am pretty sure that if I hang a Wind Chime over my patio that I will be treated to music by the wind. A human could also play that dance wind chime with say, a stick or maybe even by blowing on it. It's doubtful any listener in the house would know one from the other.

 

[Swokie63]

Streaming changed everything but the change started with CD. Back in the day most artists and producers tried really hard to produce something that was worth listening to in its entirety. Vinyl listening required work on the part of the listener. Getting album out, brushing off, maybe cleaning the stylus. If the juice was not worth the squeeze no one would buy the album. Very few people bought a album for a single song. With CD there was no investment from the listener other than putting the cd in and pushing a button to skip the track to the song you wanted. Streaming requires even less involvement. Get song play song. Same with movies. Back in the day it cost a ton of money to produce a move and put it on tape so it better be good. Now you can make a movie and some streaming service will buy it. I have no idea on the interest of the masses so I can't comment.

If listening to music is too much of a 'chore' for someone they should find a new hobby..

I am pretty sure that if I hang a Wind Chime over my patio that I will be treated to music by the wind. A human could also play that dance wind chime with say, a stick or maybe even by blowing on it. It's doubtful any listener in the house would know one from the other.

I have a rain chime, kinda like a calypso drum that plays music when raindrops hit..
(I didn't think it through clearly though, it never rains in SW OK..)

 

[mrehorst]

Years ago I read some article about how listening to music from a CD effects the brain in a negative way. It stated that people tended to listen CD's for shorter periods than analog recordings. It had something to do with the sample rate of CD's effecting your brain.

That sounds like a turntable manufacturer's FUD to slow the inevitable loss of profits heralded by the impending digital age. Or maybe some golden-eared audiophile reviewer's feeble attempt to remain relevant.

 

[Gigantic]

I am pretty sure that if I hang a Wind Chime over my patio that I will be treated to music by the wind. A human could also play that dance wind chime with say, a stick or maybe even by blowing on it. It's doubtful any listener in the house would know one from the other.

Here’s the rub: by definition, whether we’re discussing noisecore, industrial or the avant garde compositions of John Cage, such as “4,33”, which consists of musicians not playing for 3 movements; music, like art, is a matter of intent. There is no intent behind wind chimes, it is merely sound, no matter how musical it may seem.

 

[Mr Boochie]

Oh geez. Relax. Go get your Diana Krall vinyl and stop worrying.

Stevie wonders why Diana crawls.

 

[DesertRatt]

It had something to do with the sample rate of CD's effecting your brain.

That doesn't ring true scientifically. When a CD is played, the digital signal is converted to ANALOG. Now, the converter might make mistakes of producing the WRONG amount of AC voltage, but the analog signal you are hearing HAS NO SAMPLE RATE of any kind. It is simply an analog voltage like any other analog voltage.

 

[Mangler]

If listening to music is too much of a 'chore' for someone they should find a new hobby..

I 100% agree. But I think you missed the point. Which is streaming music is devoid of any type of work at all after the initial, obtain the data. You don't have to clean anything , you don't need to get up after its done, and if the rest of the album sucks all you have to do is skip the tracks. My Looking Glass album sits in it sleeve because there is one good song in its entirety IMO. So I'm not going to do any work to play a 3 minute song on a album that I don't want to listen to in its entirety. Maybe that's just me being lazy.

 

[Lavane]

That sounds like a turntable manufacturer's FUD to slow the inevitable loss of profits heralded by the impending digital age. Or maybe some golden-eared audiophile reviewer's feeble attempt to remain relevant.

Ya, I definitely took it with a grain of salt when I read it. The article even stated extended periods of listening to CD's could effect your mood in a negative way.
Something I've never experienced.

 

[Swokie63]

I 100% agree. But I think you missed the point. Which is streaming music is devoid of any type of work at all after the initial, obtain the data. You don't have to clean anything , you don't need to get up after its done, and if the rest of the album sucks all you have to do is skip the tracks. My Looking Glass album sits in it sleeve because there is one good song in its entirety IMO. So I'm not going to do any work to play a 3 minute song on a album that I don't want to listen to in its entirety. Maybe that's just me being lazy.

I didn't miss the point, I actually thought you were being sarcarstic..

Streaming is about 75-80 % of my listening, not being lazy, active doing other things while the music is playing..
It takes more 'work' for me to play a single song(streaming), than it does to just enjoy a genre, or even multiple genres(decades of music)..
But when I listen to music single songs at a time, it's on equipment that isn't controlled remotely..
I flip albums, turn knobs, slide faders, push buttons.. I do that because I'm 'listening' to the music..

 

[DesertRatt]

Here’s the rub: by definition, whether we’re discussing noisecore, industrial or the avant garde compositions of John Cage, such as “4,33”, which consists of musicians not playing for 3 movements; music, like art, is a matter of intent. There is no intent behind wind chimes, it is merely sound, no matter how musical it may seem.

Hmmm.... I think that's a good point - - "intent" must be present. I suppose it is possible then for other animals - like birds - to make music.