Emily Saletan

Music 256A

6 October 2024

RR2: The “Just a joke” factor

Principle 2.7 of Artful Design is that design can lower inhibition – that engineering plausible deniability into the experience makes people more comfortable expressing themselves. I am curious how much of this constriction of creativity that is taking itself “too seriously” is imposed by the threat of other people versus how much is self-imposed even in private. In lecture we discussed the rigidity, inaccessibility, and “work-like-ness” of the world of classical music. We also discussed the oversaturation of high-quality commercial music that discourages amateurs by way of comparison. Artful Design further emphasized that families don’t often come together to play music after dinner nowadays, and that the joy of amateurism is frequently lost. Therefore, in order to further understand how computer music instruments invite users into an exciting and sublime world of play, I wanted to think about what makes solo music-making so playful in the first place. As I tried to identify some of the sources of “play” that come from “playing” an instrument, what came to mind was the pleasure in making up your own compositions or being involved in the reproduction of music that has emotional significance to you. These are both facets of music-making that become more accessible to the general public through the development of computer instruments. It seems safe to say that digital platforms are intentionally designed for ease of use, especially when it comes to entertainment. For people who don’t read music, applications with tutorials or guided play settings provide a direct path to reproducing songs that are meaningful to the user. Furthermore, the form of a phone or laptop itself is already familiar and therefore puts people at ease. If they picked up a non-electronic ocarina or sat down at a life-sized piano, they likely wouldn’t trust themselves to know how to interface with it. To elaborate on the innate playfulness of the form itself - people are used to their devices being adaptable and multipurpose. Phones in particular are already a place where people go to play, enjoy themselves, ask questions to look up information about the world, and try new things. Not only is the silliness of an auto-tune app disarming, but the device is also regarded as a safe, private, and less serious place. Inviting audiences into musicking via a form that’s already widely distributed, reliably functional, and familiar without any further barriers (the app is free, unlike lessons, instruments, and time spent studying them) is an end in itself, but also perhaps a means: someone may never have thought about playing a large and intimidating piano, but introducing a transferable skill in a less serious format might increase their understanding and confidence in their own music-making even off the screen.