5 ms·

Aside from the technical challenges of this, I think that it's not exactly in the spirit of classical performance, which often is as much about the incredible s

Aside from the technical challenges of this, I think that it's not exactly in the spirit of classical performance, which often is as much about the incredible skill and attention-to-detail of the people on stage as it is about the sound of the music itself. So, I imagine many skilled pianists would still prefer a human page turner over such a device, even if it did exist and functioned perfectly.

amelius 7y ago
But I think a fair question is: why are these performers even using sheet music? Imagine going to a pop concert and [insert favorite artist] was reading sheet music while dancing on stage. Shouldn't the music be in "muscle memory", even for classical performers? Wouldn't that open up more opportunities for contact between the performer and audience?
- closeparen 7y ago
  Classical music is drastically more complex. There’s orders of magnitude more stuff to remember.
- JasonFruit 7y ago
  One difference is that Pink Floyd made their entire careers on about thirty-five songs, iirc. That's about one season's worth of one symphony orchestra's repertoire, and most performers perform with multiple ensembles to make a living. Does the wedding gig string quartet have their regular repertoire memorized? Probably. Does the orchestra have the premiere by a minor Midwestern composer memorized? No, and they never will.
- jleightcap 7y ago
  That's an entirely fair question, and in a lot of piano auditions at least in my experience memorization is required. Most of the time, sheet music isn't helpful because it answers "what chord am I supposed to play next?" but more so as a roadmap for the structure of the piece. Take a look at the sheet music for the Stockhausen Klavierstucke mentioned in the article and you can see why this would be helpful.
- Doctor_Fegg 7y ago
  Organ rather than piano, but the repertoire for a month of cathedral services (assuming daily Evensong plus Sunday morning Eucharist) is vast, especially considering all the registrations (stop selections). Playing all that from memory is unrealistic. Here’s a typical month at Worcester, and bear in mind it doesn’t include the voluntaries at the start and end of each service (though the start will sometimes be improvised, at least in part): http://www.worcestercathedral.co.uk/media/October_Scheme_2019.pdf http://www.worcestercathedral.co.uk/media/October_Scheme_201...
anoncake 7y ago
Most people aren't even aware that turning pages is a skill at all, let alone be impressed by it.

amelius 7y ago

But I think a fair question is: why are these performers even using sheet music? Imagine going to a pop concert and [insert favorite artist] was reading sheet music while dancing on stage. Shouldn't the music be in "muscle memory", even for classical performers? Wouldn't that open up more opportunities for contact between the performer and audience?

closeparen 7y ago
Classical music is drastically more complex. There’s orders of magnitude more stuff to remember.
JasonFruit 7y ago
One difference is that Pink Floyd made their entire careers on about thirty-five songs, iirc. That's about one season's worth of one symphony orchestra's repertoire, and most performers perform with multiple ensembles to make a living. Does the wedding gig string quartet have their regular repertoire memorized? Probably. Does the orchestra have the premiere by a minor Midwestern composer memorized? No, and they never will.
jleightcap 7y ago
That's an entirely fair question, and in a lot of piano auditions at least in my experience memorization is required. Most of the time, sheet music isn't helpful because it answers "what chord am I supposed to play next?" but more so as a roadmap for the structure of the piece. Take a look at the sheet music for the Stockhausen Klavierstucke mentioned in the article and you can see why this would be helpful.
Doctor_Fegg 7y ago
Organ rather than piano, but the repertoire for a month of cathedral services (assuming daily Evensong plus Sunday morning Eucharist) is vast, especially considering all the registrations (stop selections). Playing all that from memory is unrealistic. Here’s a typical month at Worcester, and bear in mind it doesn’t include the voluntaries at the start and end of each service (though the start will sometimes be improvised, at least in part): http://www.worcestercathedral.co.uk/media/October_Scheme_2019.pdf http://www.worcestercathedral.co.uk/media/October_Scheme_201...

anoncake 7y ago

Most people aren't even aware that turning pages is a skill at all, let alone be impressed by it.