[Rachmanijohn]

The notion that a laptop is a musical instrument is silly. This generation is so obsessed with being edgy they'll try to turn anything into a "musical instrument".

 

[guy]

No, and neither is a metronome (Ligeti!)

 

[Couac Addict]

Stravinsky wrote an original composition for it. It was later transcribed for orchestra as one of the "Four Etudes".

Composing for a pianola is like composing for an ipod.
...had he composed it on a pianola. Sure. No problem...bit lazy though. Not sure how much credit Igor should deserve.

 

[PetrB]

Composing for a pianola is like composing for an ipod.
...had he composed it on a pianola. Sure. No problem...bit lazy though. Not sure how much credit Igor should deserve.

Composed at and played at an acoustic piano, 'inputted' if you will by the same means.
Leon Nancarrow hand-punched the actual piano rolls, much like drawing on a midi graph to have it set for playback (which is basically an electronic analog of the old player piano roll, which ran on vacuum pump.)

If you know what it is like to 'draw in' a complex work on a midi graph, you would not call any of these processes "lazy."

 

[Art Rock]

A recent post in my blog's unusual concertos series:

Concerto for iPad and orchestra by Ned McGowan.

 

[Mahlerian]

Composing for a pianola is like composing for an ipod.
...had he composed it on a pianola. Sure. No problem...bit lazy though. Not sure how much credit Igor should deserve.

It's actually impossible to play on a piano...

 

[PetrB]

A recent post in my blog's unusual concertos series:

Concerto for iPad and orchestra by Ned McGowan.

If you consider a synthesizer an 'instrument' as we all do the first synthesizer, the organ, then maybe yes, the computer / iPod is 'an instrument.' I guess the semantic argument would be a little bit about whether the medium is the message, or merely the messenger boy.

 

[MelodicHarmony]

I would say it is a music player rather than a musical instrument. You can label almost anything percussion if you can hit it and it makes a sound (though a laptop would more likely be junk percussion), but i wouldn't even label this under junk percussion. I see a musical instrument as something you can blow, strum, strike or scrape and a laptop is none of these things. So music player rather than instrument is what i'm going for

 

[breakup]

My dad used to say there was one musical instrument that he could play, - the radio. I think it was a bit of a joke.

 

[elgar's ghost]

In answer to the original question I would say no, as musical instruments don't tend to fizzle out after about five years.

 

[Poodle]

My dad used to say there was one musical instrument that he could play, - the radio. I think it was a bit of a joke.

I'm wit you there! :lol:

 

[Pugg]

Do you consider the laptop to be a musical instrument?

The no is way ahead .

 

[Kjetil Heggelund]

The University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway has an area of study where they have laptop as "main instrument"

 

[Pugg]

The University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway has an area of study where they have laptop as "main instrument"

That's very progressive I say . :tiphat:

 

[Merl]

Depends on how it's being used.

 

[Fletcher]

I worked with a small group of people in Brussels who were composing and recording music for (mostly) piano and electronics. They put it as "using a computer as a musical instrument".

Do I consider the laptop a musical instrument? - I'm not too sure
Is it possible to use a laptop/computer as a musical instrument? - Yes

 

[Dan Ante]

I thought it would be interesting to bump this thread dated from start in 2009.

 

[Dan Ante]

No, a laptop is not an instrument. Why? Because it's a freaking computer that's why!

You got it JT no matter how hard you blow, bow or suck it a PC is all it is

 

[EddieRUKiddingVarese]

You got it JT no matter how hard you blow, bow or suck it a PC is all it is

But does that not make a mess.....................

 

[Dan Ante]

But does that not make a mess.....................

Can do Eddie can do