I have worked as a music producer and writer for over 20 years now and every so often you see some things that really either take away all the fun of making music or add to it. This particular gadget I don’t really know where to put, emotionally. I am used to playing most instruments myself. Learning how to master each and every instrument is what makes it fun. Anytime something takes away that creativity, I no longer see the value in creating music for the masses as it is then just becoming a copy of a copy so to speak.
Creating music in software’s that let you use ready to go loops of stuff isn’t exactly what I call making music. But, it’s a great way for armatures to create something they can be proud of. Sure, technology advances and we are fine with it, but there is still something really emotional about music that has been created by the love and care of the musicians involved.
Beamz, a new “instrument” for making music from Beamz Interactive is in its purity quite cool. You can take a “backingtrack” and then just add elements to it and then record it to create your own kind of music. However, you are of course using what other musicians have added to the instrument for you to use. It’s much like a Synth with the only difference being that it uses pre-recorded loops and, I am sure, a pretty complex equation to play the right notes whenever you break the beams of the 6 different lasers available.
I am sure it’s a really fun and innovative gadget. The different styles that you can add to already famous songs, for example Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, is quite a cool little past time. But, to go as far as to call it an instrument, I am just not too sure about. I would call it something like “Instrumental Karaoke”. As I said, I don’t really know where to place this gadget…
