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From: austin.pasa@XEROX.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: Drum Machines - A Flame
Message-ID: <10969@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 23-May-85 14:12:52 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.10969
Posted: Thu May 23 14:12:52 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 24-May-85 22:32:07 EDT
Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA
Lines: 21

Hi Marcel

     Present day drum machines serve several good purposes.  They are
the modern equivalent of the metronome for music students and tireless
co-workers for songwriters and producers, especially those that love to
work at 2 to 6AM.  In actuallity a drum machine if programmed properly
can play a combination of timing and instruments that would take a
regular drummer with 8 arms and 2 minds to play.  It just wouldn't be
able to recreate the same dynamic intensity that a live experienced
drummer can because of the limitations of the design in the present drum
machines. The next generation of drum machines are being designed with
variable dynamics for each instrument rather than just one level.  This
usually doesn't matter on commercial recordings anyway since most of the
music is being done as dance music.  Very few average people have the
limberness and musical timing to move their bodies in time with the
intricate structures that exist in jazz and classical music, hence the
simplicity of the programing of drum machines.  It also takes alot
longer to program a complex pattern that evolves thru a song than it
would for a live drummer to play it.

Reggie Austin