Bob Porter's Page

"Stephen, After re-reading your OP, here are some additional thoughts. Because you are talking about piano, in this case, it doesn't make much difference if you mix with headphones, monitors,PA system, or cans connected with string. If your…"

"I don't own or have room for a stereo or anything that could power monitors. Sure, good monitors, which ain't cheap, are the accepted way to go. But there is also the old adage about mixing for your target audience.  Stephen, mix in…"

"Hey Stephen, On my system this piano sounds a little tinny. As a result, the attack seems a bit much. A little like a harpsichord. But hardly rotten noises. I grew up listening to what I now know to be really poor quality recordings of real…"

"On further thoughts, I wonder if pitch contours can be classified into a number of basic categories, like basic shapes that could serve as building blocks for constructing a larger glide melody. Basically, in the context of glide music, there's…"

"Theremin would be the perfect instrument for glide music. By controlling hand gestures you could generate an endless variety of pitch contours. With midi mockups you could use pitch bend routed through a dial or something, and just use the dial to…"

"Very interesting HS, I can hear how it would sound, maybe trio for trombone, voice and violin? Or steel guitar, ribbon controller and theremin? Or maybe just a chorus.  So the notation could be same and live performance would work I guess but…"

"Well then, write some glide music. Also, I for one, don't interpret atonal as music without tones."

"To be frank, all this nitpicking over words bores me. What would be more interesting to me is to discuss the idea of music composed without tones (i.e., "atonal" in a literal sense), i.e., purely made of portamento/smooth glissandi. …"

"Thanks for posting this. For what it's worth, the melody that you stated within the first 30 seconds and repeated throughout, was not lost on me."

"Ah, now we are getting somewhere. I don't care for whatever it is that we might consider "atonal" music. Not by a long shot. But it seems to me that all these fellow's remarks are based on personal opinion rather that any real…"

"I copy-paste strait from Wikipedia's article on atonality: Mostly I agreed with all criticisms expressed. My own idea/suspicion is that it has served to camouflage a lot of bad music and lack of real compositional skill. Any music that has an…"

"No sorry its the one by Giannis Kalatzis, sorry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX_vad0d0jg I abs love this song."

"Thanks for your thoughts< Michael! I only know a song called "Leventopetho" (brave guy) by Yiannis Papaioannou, I don’t know if we mean the same. It belongs to the rebetiko tradition (putting its death at about 1955). I played…"

"Fascinating, many thanks for that Socrates. Personally I adore the faster 9/8 songs, they have such a punchy drive, such as a song called Levendobetho, dont know if u know it, but there's less of them than the slower speed zeimbekiko. I always…"

"Hi Michael, I was too drunk to respond the previous two nights (not that I'm any different tonight, but anyway), I am also a London, Cypriot wedding gigging musician (in winter time only), but also a scholar of Zeibekiko rhythm, which I find…"

"Hi Socrates, I've played in many Greek weddings and functions in London, and seen a great many zembekiko dances and I find it fascinating that you describe it as a 'war dance'."