Re: Long but hopefully interest
Matthew Robert Chicoine (scooby@umich.edu)
Mon, 13 Nov 1995 18:51:19 -0500 (EST)
Jason-
Thanks a lot for getting back. What you said is very true, and is
actually the bulk of what I'm trying to contest. Your point about not
playing "tones," or as I have been saying melodic structures, is the
biggest limiting factor for the DJ. This is what I intend to suggest
solutions to, as this seems to inhibit the DJs creativity on one very
evident level.
As far as the question of what a musician really is is another
question. But certainly this will be at the basis of my project. I'll
keep most of this for the actual project, but I think for us to see how a
DJ is a musician we must first reinterpret the function of a musician in
the late 20th century. With the technology available to us today, the
"musician"is in a state of flux; many challenges have been put forth to
this notion, mainly the Dj. Who is to say that a Dj, who on a very basic
level plays pre-recorded music, but also deconstructs, restuctures and
reinterprets, collages and mixes, AND can function as a soloist through
scratching, transforming, etc. is somehow not a musician. The musical
power of a Dj is tenfold that of an traditional instrumentalist, even if
they cannot physically play a melody. The rhythms (which, by the way, was
something fundamental that you left out when thinking about what music
is) can take the place of the melody, and in fact do have tonal value
(think about how many different ways you can scratch a sound byte and how
many different ways it can sound, rhythm aside). And even beyond this,
Djs like Q-Bert started playing tone records, changing the value with the
pitch control on the turntable and the rhythm with the fader. See what
I'm saying? Is a drummer not a musician b/c he can't play tones?
Again, I want to thank you for your comments because they really
will help my project, and these are the questions that I must answer.
Keep in touch, and I'll hit you up with the finished project. Peace-
Dj BUbblicious