Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Realtime

I'm always tripping over the word "realtime" when I describe a recording or a video or a performance. What is "realtime" and what is not? It's pretty fuzzy these days. Is a sampled instrument being played "realtime"? Is a midi pattern you just recorded on the fly playing back "realtime"? Is a loop, you are slicing up by pressing keys on a keyboard or monome "realtime"? It's kind of a hazy concept isn't it?

Maybe we need a new term. I need some candidates. How bout a definition first. "A performance state where a sound can be transformed and manipulated at a moments notice by the performer so that the outcome of the performance is not known ahead of time ".

Give me a good term for that.

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