Overload

I just watched a DVD of Vincent Price telling Edgar Allan Poe stories last night. What shocked me is it held my attention more than most TV programs I see today. I have experienced the same in listening to Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. I even find myself wanted to get myself a rhubarb pie. I have also listened to old radio programs amazed at how engaging they are. The truth is that left to it's own devices the mind fills the empty visual space with images.

Sometimes, less is more. I know I may have covered this before in another blog but perhaps in the world of synthesis this also can be applied. A friend told me the other day that he was going to limit himself to using only a few presets from one synth so as to focus on being a musician and really learning to play them.

I love the concept of performance controllers in synths. What these do is separate sound design from performance. Most electronic musicians where these two hats but focussing on a limited set of controls allows the musician to emerge from a dizzying array of options.