**It was pointed out to me that my previous thread-title was probably a bit too vague and posted in the wrong category, so I changed it. (If nobody is particularity interested, I’ll let it go after this
)
Introduction:
So lately I have been doing some live streams for some like minded friends, mostly rytm sessions + maybe 1 or 2 pieces of other gear max. I like to start out with some samples loaded up, but have otherwise empty kits&patterns (and basically no plan whatsoever). Add some glsl-shader-magic on top and go. Now this got me thinking, I know there is more of us “improvisation inclined” in here. Threads and post about it are plenty, especially around techno. So:
What about an ongoing, improvisation based, live stream challenge?
I worked out some guidelines
Guidelines
I was thinking something along the following 3 principles/guidelines/rules.
1: Improvisation
Perform something that has improvised elements, doesn’t matter what gear you use, it’s ok to have some stuff prepared, as long as your not just DJ-ing premade tracks. Make (a substantial part of) the music live.
2: Live
Stream your performance live to world, through a streaming service of your choice accessible to everyone, so no platforms that require you to signup or login in order to watch. If for some reason, and internet access like connection issues and upload bandwidth is one of the few that I can think of, you are unable to stream it live, you are allowed to just share the video, but only if it’s because of technical limitations.
3: Archive
I searched the forum and I noticed that almost all of the threads about live streaming died down relatively quickly and I think that’s mostly because in many cases, once the stream is done, the content is gone. Providing no value to anyone checking out the thread at a later moment. Seeing how there is many threads about improvised techno and music in general, I don’t believe it’s because there is no interest. It’s, I think, one of the main attractions for many of us, to Elektron gear.
So: make sure a recording of your stream is available after the fact. If your streaming service of choice doesn’t provide a recording after the fact, for instance I think Facebook does this automatically and twitch does not, record it yourself and upload it somewhere accessible to everyone, and edit your post containing the stream and replace it with the video, that way we don’t end up with a thread filled with offline twitch iFrames, and others can watch/listen/enjoy/envy/hate what we did at a later time. It can take some time to upload a new a video so maybe a good rule of thumb would be don’t share a new stream before you archived the last one you shared.
Bonus points:
1: Show and tell
If you have a way of showing how you work, so others can follow along a bit that would be cool, again: let’s try learn from each other. Try to answer other peoples questions about how you did/achieved something if they ask, etc. Not a requirement though.
2: Visualize
In Dutch we have a saying/proverb: “Het oog wil ook wat” which literal translation would be “The eye also wants something”. It’s used to express that even though the aesthetics of something might be secondary in nature, that doesn’t mean it’s not relevant/important/something to neglect. So if you can, try to find a way of making your live stream look visually appealing. Also not a requirement and shouldn’t come at the cost of the auditory qualities of your performance.
Summary
1: Improvisation
- Perform something that has (a substantial amount) of improvised elements
- Don’t ‘‘DJ’’. Perform.
- Use whatever gear you like (Elektron is always cool of course )
- In whatever genre you like
2: Live
- Live stream your performance and share the link here
- Use a streaming service of your choice
- As long as its accessible to everyone, so no required signup or login to watch.
- Only for technical reason are you allowed to forgo this principle and still participate
- If this is the case, you mention it and work towards resolving the issue if possible.
3: Archive
- Make sure that a recording of your stream is available after the fact.
- If you use a streaming service that doesn’t record your stream you have to record&upload it yourself.
- Clean up after yourself. Meaning don’t leave “stream offline iFrames” throughout the thread, Edit your post and replace it with the recording after you uploaded the video. (Only if this applies to your chosen streaming-service)
- Don’t do any significant post production on the video/recording. Improvising means having (both) happy (and sometimes sad) little accident. Its part of the game, the excitement. Don’t ruin the fun by “fixing” it.
Bonus points:
- Try to show your workflow - Not a requirement.
- Try to make the stream visually interesting/appealing as well - Not a requirement.
What do you think? Any suggestions? Want to partake? Maybe even up for committing to (semi-)regular live performances? We could even make a little “best stream of the month” competition around it, if enough people are interested.
