Throughout history, humans have been fascinated by the manipulation of time in music. Bjørnar Sandvik, a music researcher at RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion at the University of Oslo, calls this “time tinkering”. Sandvik explains that the concept of machine rhythm presupposes a process where music is stored or represented on a physical material, and thus ‘frozen’ in time. However, media technologies make it possible to manipulate and experiment with the placement of sounds along the time axis. For example, self-playing carillons or music boxes require small pins to be positioned on a rotating cylinder at the exact right distance from each other, and for this, a grid is necessary. Even today, we use the same principle. The techniques used to compose and edit music with digital production tools are possible because the music is presented visually and graphically on screens, giving us events to move along the time axis or organize in a grid on the screen.
The Challenge of Going Off-Grid
The challenge for modern computer music is not to get the computer to play on the beat, but to make it go off-grid in a human and creative way. Sandvik explains that software programs used in music production offer automatic time correction features and several other functions that can synchronize events to the exact same timing on a common grid. This makes it more interesting to move and juxtapose single elements in order to create rhythmic friction. At the turn of the millennium, digital recording technology made it possible to move sounds along the time axis in a new and far more flexible way. This led to a new trend where songwriters began experimenting with microrhythm in pop music. Today, manipulation of time on a micro level is central to the composition practice of music producers—in fact, it is a new standard.
From Mechanistic to Groove
Sandvik interviewed several producers of electronic dance music (EDM) as part of the research project Timing and Sound in Musical Microrhythm (TIME) and analyzed their music. According to rhythm research, music should deviate from the beat if it is to provide groove and a desire to dance. However, the rhythms in EDM are often perceived as mechanistic and strictly on the grid. Sandvik explains that it only takes a few milliseconds of deviation to create an experience of groove—in fact, listeners often do not even notice it. Through their study of the practices of EDM production, Sandvik and his colleagues concluded that producers take several measures to create a groove. Producers work hard to achieve rhythmic friction against the grid, either by moving the temporal onset of events or by shaping how the sounds and their intensity themselves unfold in time. Such techniques are crucial for the grooves to be successful.
The Future of Machine Music
The manipulation of time in music using technology is not a new concept. Throughout history, humans have been tinkering with time to create rhythm. However, the capabilities of modern technology have made it easier than ever before to experiment with microrhythms and create grooves. As technology advances, the possibilities for machine music are endless. From carillons in ancient bell towers to the latest EDM hits, machines have been making music for centuries, and it’s exciting to imagine what the future holds.
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