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Mach,
Ashura, and Cosmo are creations by Zima, a Japanese alcoholic beverage brand,
as part of a new advertising campaign. The band performed their debut piece
Monday, "Post People, Post Party," composed by Tokyo-based DJ Tasaka.
DJ Tasaka says he had originally written a disco-electro type song before
seeing how technically sophisticated the robots were. After that he said he
wrote “a new song, [which was] much more complicated…but then they were able to
play it." DJ Tasaka says the three robots in Z-Machines have the ability
to create sounds that are impossible for three human musicians to mimic. But
why?
Mach, the
guitar robot, has 78 fingers using 12 picks and Ashura, the drum robot, plays
22 drums with six arms. Cosmo, the keyboard robot, was designed separately by
Yoichiro Kawaguchi, an artist and professor at Tokyo University. He’s the only
robot out of the three that is electrically hard wired to the keyboard. As long
as the human musicians do not also possess the same qualities these robot
musicians possess, then they will most certainly not be able to perform as
these robots can. These details raise 2 very interesting ideas concerning the
relationship between human anatomy, creativity, and the nature of art.
As
discussed in earlier articles, creativity is simply the ability translate
artistic ideas into physical or intellectual products via technical skill. But
what if technical skill is limited by anatomy or anatomy expands technical
skill? What I mean by this is what if an artist’s imagination is so great that
human anatomy acts as a liability or barrier to communicating those ideas
easily or clearly. What comes to mind in regard to this notion is a scene in
the movie Gattaca where a 12-fingered pianist performs a piece of music written
specifically for a performer with 12 fingers (6 fingers per hand). Obviously,
when a musician with only 10 fingers tries to perform “Impromptu for 12
Fingers” he or she will surely fail. However, the only way for them to play the
piece in any manner whatsoever is to make compromises such as altering harmonic
structures (changing the voicing or size of notes within the chords), re-phrasing
melodies, and possibly even simplifying rhythmic patterns.
This is
just a small physical difference between 2 human beings, but in the case of
comparison between a 10 or 12 fingered musicians and a 78 fingered robot, the
compositional possibilities become immense. The music of each class of
performer becomes extremely unique to humans and robots, but it all is based on
differences in anatomy – 10 fingers vs. 78 fingers – and what each musician is
capable of anatomically performing.
The other
idea that was seeded in this press release was related to creativity and the
nature of art. To begin the discussion I’d like to pose 2 questions:
(1) Are we robots if we use computers
to create music?
To the
first question, my answer is no with a caveat. So ‘no’ we are not robots,
however, we can allow ourselves to perform music robotically. (It’s actually
quite ironic that we use the term “robotic” to refer to mental laziness because
computers work so hard processing the information that’s programmed into them.)
The reason why I’m answering in such a confusing manner has nothing to do with
computers, but everything to do with faithful reproductions in music
performances and recordings. Sometimes music performances of composed works can
seem like a robotic reproduction or performance of music, especially when that
music has been performed dozens, hundreds, if not, thousands of times. Many pop
stars I’m sure get sick of hearing their own material night after night. After
touring for many months, performing the same pieces has to get irritating and
some performances are likely to be robot-like – just going through the motions.
Similarly, modern classical composers must also find it strange that orchestras
around the world want to perform their old, beloved pieces for new audiences or
to update the sound quality for a recording. New renditions will inevitably
fall flat because the conductors and musicians will carry on a music tradition (or
bias) that cannot allow too much deviation from old versions of performances
and recordings.
And…
(2) Can what a robot plays, when it’s
programmed to perform, be considered music?
Computers
are not intelligent life forms, but rather are intelligent tools built to mimic
the functions of the human mind. At the moment there is no artistic spark
inherent in a robot or computer, which is capable of self-generated creative
thinking. Therefore, every product generated by a human being operating a
computer is a human product no matter how unnatural the product is. The product
will be a synthetic creation of the human mind.
In music,
there is as of yet no ‘Hit’ button for the instant production of hit singles on
any synthesizer or music recording software that I’m aware of. Music is an
artificial construct of intelligent life delineated by the orderly or
deliberate arrangement of sound in time. What makes a piece of music uniquely
human is not in the process of transmission, but instead in the very act of
creation itself. The fact that it was created is what makes it human and not
how it is communicated through or to others. Therefore, whether a music prodigy
performs the notes on a music score robotically or if a trio of robots has been
programmed to perform a difficult piece of music composed by a human being,
what the music prodigy and the robot trio do are one and the same. So yes, when
a robot is programmed to perform what it plays is music.
[Prediction:
On the day when robots are capable of interpreting the symbols in a musical
score and translating those symbols into live action on musical instruments,
the differences between a human musician and a robot will quickly become
undetectable and the new focus will center on the dimension of ‘feeling’ or
injecting emotion into a piece of music.]
God’s Hands: Impromptu for 12 Fingers
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Related Music:
Automaton
Mystery Meat
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Related articles:
Automaton
Mystery Meat
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Related articles:
The Perfect Partner: The Artist's Role in the Creation and Construction of Artificial Human Companions
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P.S. To support Stereo Thesis with a financial
donation, click here.
Marc
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