In AMPLINEX 021 (Question and Answers) Ian Waugh expressed some opinions on what was suitable music for the Music 5000 system and this prompted a reply by John Bartlett in AMPLINEX 022 (Features). Since then we have received two further contributions to this debate.

Instrumentation - further comments

Jim Brook

I hesitate to enter a discussion between such 'eminences grises' as John Bartlett and Ian Waugh, but it seems to me that it echoes some of the views on the current fashion for playing classical music on 'authentic' instruments.

There are quite strong disagreements on the subject. Ian claims that exact transcriptions with 'inexact sounds' don't seem right. But what is the 'right' sound? Isn't it simply a matter of personal preference? I'd rather listen to Hogwood's Academy of Ancient Music playing Gluck's 'Dance of the Furies' to any version on modern instruments - but the reverse is true in the case of many other classical 'lollipops'.

I imagine I am in a minority of one when I say that my interest in Hybrid music is very largely confined to its aid in learning difficult (to me) passages of vocal music. Consequently, I find most of the music files on AMPLINEX amazingly clever in computing and Music 5000 terms but a musical non-event. The only ones to interest me are those which are transcriptions of pieces written for conventional instruments.

But that's just me. Perhaps if Mozart had been born just a few years ago, we might now have been listening on the Music 5000 to a piece by him (aged 5) of supreme musical complexity and employing, inter alia, a wuzzchime and a crinklehorn. Who knows?

Instrumentation - further comments

D J Barton

Original or existing music for entry into AMPLE? For me the answer is - it must be both. My own taste in music covers the spectrum from the popular classics, through the folk music of the Spinners, the pop records of the past 30 years or so, to the records of today - including Cliff, The Cure, and James Galway. My current favourites are Jean-Michel Jarre, Andreas Wollenvieder (I bet that's spelt incorrectly!), and Kitaro. Quite a varied menu I feel and that's what music is all about.

However, just owning a Music 5000 is not going to transform anyone into a great composer any more than owning a word processor would make them an author. Some of us will have to stick to using books of simple keyboard music!

Incidentally, has anyone out there considered entering any of the music of Kitaro, especially 'Silver Cloud'? Perhaps a challenge to Michael Harbour whose 'moon' I really liked.