site banner
ZorbaTHut  1yr ago (text post)   3254 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 30, 2022

Be advised; this thread is not for serious in depth discussion of weighty topics, this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

4
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

How many different instruments/parts do you prefer to hear in a piece of music?

I am inclined to feel that anything in excess of three, or maybe four, is overkill/bloat. But maybe I just listen to too much chiptune/MIDI stuff.

Three or four instruments in one entire piece or three or four instruments going at the same time? These are two very different things.

Personally, I would say it depends on the piece of music and how complex each of the individual parts are. A track can sound very, very dense and disorienting with quite little if the sequencing and/or sound design is sufficiently detailed. Here's an example.

Three or four instruments in one entire piece or three or four instruments going at the same time?

The latter—though, on the other hand, the former can be considered bloat (as opposed to overkill) if they're real physical instruments with human players who are just sitting around doing nothing when the score doesn't call for them, rather than a single computer player swapping between instruments instantly.

the former can be considered bloat (as opposed to overkill) if they're real physical instruments with human players who are just sitting around doing nothing when the score doesn't call for them, rather than a single computer player swapping between instruments instantly.

I suppose by that standard you would consider most classical orchestral music bloated beyond belief, then?

Yes.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats