![]() ![]() Sadly, most digital audio players like the Apple iPod lack high-quality line-in recording capability. (Many DJ mixer/audio interface combinations also support bidirectional recording, so you can capture your performance or DJ set.) ![]() If you just need a line output from the board, the Gemini iKey (lets you attach a USB 2 flash drive, portable hard drive, or hard drive-enabled music player to record a line input, with full start/stop and level trim controls. These players have decent mic inputs, line inputs, and (in the case of the MicroTrack) digital inputs, and record to increasingly affordable removable media. In addition to lossless HD MiniDisc recorders, consider portable CompactFlash-based recorders like the Edirol R-1 or M-Audio MicroTrack. If you want to record your set, you might consider bringing a portable recorder. Audio interfaces like the 8-channel MOTU Traveler and 4-channel Lexicon Omega double as self-contained mixers, too. Multiple outs: A multichannel audio interface can help you feed "front of house" speakers, onstage amps (for guitars, bass, and keyboards), and additional speakers that might be available, and help you control the mix yourself.Ĭonsider a portable mixer: Having a mixer along can help with routing aside from stand-alone mixers, there are various inexpensive portable mixers from makers like Alesis and Mackie/Tapco with self-contained audio interfaces. You can also plug audio outputs into a DI (direct injection) box to balance the audio output. Stay balanced: Use an audio interface with balanced outputs if you can. systems, but there are a few measures you can take to prepare:īring lots of cables: A set of cables and adapters will ensure that you're ready to plug into whatever you find.īring a power strip: A good quality power strip can guarantee that you won't generate your own ground loop and will help protect your equipment from unreliable wiring. And the basic techniques of synchronization, used by many performers, are key to making events onstage match musical time.Īnyone who's ever been on the road knows the variability of house P.A. The ability to control the virtual world of the computer with physical movement is essential to making a computer a performance instrument, even if the movements are as simple as playing a QWERTY keyboard in a dramatic, virtuosic way. MIDI is still the most readily available way to translate physical gestures into musical control. Underneath all of these techniques are specific applications of technologies we've already looked at. DJs were among the first to manipulate audio in performance, and some of the methods they have developed are reflected in a broad cross-section of musical genres. Many performers have musical techniques in common, too. For those willing to invest time in making their own custom performance tools, modular environments like Cycling '74 Max/MSP (Pure Data (info ), and Native Instruments Reaktor (can help tailor the computer to fulfill almost any set of needs without the necessity of writing a line of actual programming code. Software like Ableton Live is popular with musicians in divergent genres because it can perform tasks normally associated with DAWs and samplers in real time onstage, and has an interface that's easy to see and control while performing. This requires that you set up easy-to-see onscreen setups and easy-to-play hardware controls, so that you have access to what you need at the touch of your hands or feet.Ĭertain tools work well for many kinds of live performances. The main challenge all computer performers face is to adapt software and hardware tools, most of which are intended primarily for a studio environment, to playing live in front of an audience. Using sensors and home-built physical controllers to generate interactive musicĭespite such a wide range, you may be surprised at how much computer performersfrom the rock guitarist to the DJ to the experimental sound composerhave in common. Manipulating visuals in time with music (VJing) Running theatrical cues (sound, music, and even video and lighting) Sampling an instrument or voice and manipulating layers of loopsĬreating improvised, mashed-up soundscapes by remixing samplesĪssembling a custom piece of software for creating sounds, mixing beats, and generating musical patterns There are keyboardists playing soft synths, guitarists using computers for effects, turntablists using real vinyl to scratch digital files, and drummers hitting pads to trigger cues in a flexible backing track. Some computer performances expand upon conventional techniques. The more widespread computers have become in performance, the more wide open their uses.
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