Is Techno Art...

[Markus]

Ok... I have a friend who is very firmly set against the idea of accepting techno music as an art form. Stating that "its just repeating beats and sounds that are thrown together. It takes no skill, and I can make a 'good' song in like 5 minues."

Now, personally I think hes downright wrong. I think that art is defined by meaning, not skill. Yes, someone that is a skilled concert pianist sounds very beautiful, and it takes years of practice to become what they are, but that does not mean that something that is completely synthesized, Sandstorm for example, and doesnt necessarily take as much skill, isn't art...

Opinions?

[mechana2015]

If anyone has ever seen a live DJ perform a clean techno session they would know its probably as hard as playing live piano, this specifically pertains to the music created by actual records on 2 turntables. It takes a lot of concentration and practice to actually mix properly. Playing the synths takes some skill as well (gee whiz its a piano!).

[Godly Paladin]

I like certain Techno music tracks, usually the ones that have more of a melody.

As to its status as art, I would say not really. It may take some skill, but it's just not on the level of classical music or something.

[Markus]

If anyone has ever seen a live DJ perform a clean techno session they would know its probably as hard as playing live piano, this specifically pertains to the music created by actual records on 2 turntables. It takes a lot of concentration and practice to actually mix properly. Playing the synths takes some skill as well (gee whiz its a piano!).

SEE!!! thats what i told him, but noooo hes dead set

[Cognitive Gear]

Ah, this again, lol.

I think that art really has nothing, nor should it, to do with rules or skill. Art is about self expression. (IMO)

[Todeskreuz]

I agree wit ikimasu about art being self expression... but techno is definately complicated...well the good stuff is if you have a crappy arrangement you have a crappy song and the more complex with turntables and synch the better it is so if your arguing for it to be complicated and takes skill it does and it being art...if techo expresses that person then its art ^^

[faithfighter]

personally I think tecno is an art. using all kinds of sounds put together in a perfect way to make music, its perfect for dancing and is in my apoinion a beautiful art I wish I knew how to do it.

[Todeskreuz]

oh yeah I have a great example!! yay me anyways Andy Hunter! His stuff is electronica aka techno and its awesome. Its been in movies like matrix etc but that stuff is so complicated and so awesome so yeah its art ^^

[ShiroiHikari]

I think techno is art. I mean, webpages are a bunch of code and pixels stuck together, but they can still be art, right? So why can't techno be art? I've heard some absolutely beautiful techno music. Anyone can make beeps and blips, but it takes an artist to make good techno. It's just like how anyone can bang on a piano, but it takes skill to make it a thing of beauty.

[Slater]

I agree that techno can be art.

[Joshua Christopher]

I am so sick of people putting down different forms of music because they don't like it. It's just the same as all of these jerks who think rap is just talking over a beat and it takes no skill or effort. Ugh. Every form of music requires talent, effort and skill. I don't like black metal or emo, but there's no reason to put it down. I may not enjoy it, but that doesn't mean I think it sucks and takes no talent to do. Gosh! Idiots!

[Mave]

All your friend needs to do is sit down and actually attempt to make some good techno art all by himself, instead of trash-talking about it.

Ppl usually can't appreciate any form of art until they try to actually DO it themselves. When they find it's not as easy as they perceived it to be, then they learn to respect it.

If it were me, I wouldn't even bother trying to change his mind since he's dead set about it and won't see things otherwise. So yeah, don't waste your time and breath over this.

[Markus]

All your friend needs to do is sit down and actually attempt to make some good techno art all by himself, instead of trash-talking about it.

Ppl usually can't appreciate any form of art until they try to actually DO it themselves. When they find it's not as easy as they perceived it to be, then they learn to respect it.

If it were me, I wouldn't even bother trying to change his mind since he's dead set about it and won't see things otherwise. So yeah, don't waste your time and breath over this.

He says he has tried to do it and ended up making something as good as any techno he has heard in a matter of minutes...

The really interesting thing is that he is actually about to go to a major art school to study Jazz... Perhaps, his opinion is tainted by the art classes hes taken?

[Mave]

Ah I see. Well, in that case, it's just a matter of opinion, rather than ignorance.

If he doesn't like techno, fine with me... but some respectful ppl have the opinion that art is subjective and can take on any form. I guess your friend isn't one of them...

[Slater]

as for the argument that it's not art cause it takes little time to make, I think of my gf SonicRose. She draws better than most people I know, and it takes her little time or effort to do it with the simplest of tools. Does this mean that her drawings aren't art?

[Syaoran]

I have 8 words and 8 words only......Artwork is anything you want it to be.

[Retten]

Art is just self expression (you know I wrote an English paper on this xD) so really he just doesn't like it. Therefore, he thinks it's not art but art isn't just the thing we like Oh and did he let you hear this so called techno music he made that is as good as the pros?

[Markus]

no... in fact i have never heard any of it... but he has no reason to lie... he is an honest person

[Markus]

He probably just doesn't like it and is trying to explain?... i dont know.

so...

DANCE!!!:dance:

[Fsiphskilm]

[size=134]

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I really don't like techno music, but I know that it takes a lot of skill to play it. Art is an expression of something so in that case I would say techno is art. But I don't enjoy it, just like I don't enjoy most of the 'abstract art' pieces in galleries.

[Cap'n Nick]

I usually have the opposite problem. Instead of trying to convince me that something I like is not art, people usually try to convince me that something I detest is art. The idea is that if a thing is art then I have no right to dislike it and my lack of appreciation makes me a philistine and my opponent intellectually superior.

As such I have come up with a very convenient cop-out, er, explanation. I simply say that it's art I don't like, or, if I'm feeling particularly caustic, art that is bad. These statements diminish the word "art" as a value judgment and reduce it to a simple definition, making the question much less volatile.

[Slater]

while we're on the topic of techno, I figured I'd add a little something here for those who haven't really listened to techno... Two tracks from Robert Miles' album Dreamland.

Children
Red Zone

... and for good measure, a song from the game Timesplitters 2

Scrapyard

[Godly Paladin]

Good tracks, frwl.

[Godly Paladin]

Or...not. Now that I'm listening to them more, I realize that I don't really care for this.

What would be the technical term for such music like Two-Mix's White Reflection, Rhythm Emotion, Just Communication, and Last Impressions?

[LorentzForce]

The biggest problem I see here is that you're classifying "techno" into just one genre. That is a very big mistake in itself, for you just generalised every single electrical-based genre into one.

Techno is just a term used by many to mean electronica, where electronica is pretty much any form of music that primarily uses electrical-based instrument to make music. This is anything from using turnables to electric guitars to electric violins.

What makes me ticked is just that; generalisation. As a muscian yourself, you should know clearly that putting a genre to a music piece and saying it's bad just because of its genre is a stupid thing to do, considering such a wide variety of songs out there. To anyone outside the classical scene won't know the difference between all the different works, and same goes for electronica scene. Until you have experienced a wide variety of it (and I can assure you, electronica is one ridiculously large scene to explore), you won't even be able to understand what kind of genre it is.

Remember that chances are, you just listened to awful techno songs from a radio or whatnot. There are plenty of electronica music out there are even classical purists listen to, and those are the ones you should be chasing.

And as an example, here is an orchestral trance piece that I enjoy. Just one of whole lot that I enjoy actually.
cranky - Evergreen 'Pre-version'

Also, in the end, it's all a matter of taste, so please refrain from saying that techno isn't art. Anyone can say that Miles Davis sucks and that Bach is the only art ever, and so can anyone say techno isn't art. You just haven't got the right one yet.

[edit] PS: Miles Davis owns.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Beauty (in this case msuic and art) is in the eye of the beholder.

Techno is an art. Some it sucks and I find some of it annoying. Not all of it's repeated sounds either. Two of my favorite bands are 4 Strings and Hybrid. I've been told that it's techno. One sond probrably features like an electric violin which sounds awsome and even features a reall unaltered voice. Some of Hybrid's stuff is really cool and some of it;'s beautiful, but I think it still fits as techno.

Peopel consider a solid blue canvas art. Canvases covered in paint splatters- it looks as though a 5 year old threw a trantrum with a paint brush in his hand. I could do that. I don't consider it some great piece of art, but others might. But it's still art.

Pulls out Webster's dictionary.

Main Entry: 2art
Pronunciation: 'ärt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin art-, ars -- more at ARM
1 : skill acquired by experience, study, or observation <the art of making friends>
2 a : a branch of learning: (1) : one of the humanities (2) plural : LIBERAL ARTS b archaic : LEARNING, SCHOLARSHIP
3 : an occupation requiring knowledge or skill <the art of organ building>
4 a : the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced b (1) : FINE ARTS (2) : one of the fine arts (3) : a graphic art
5 a archaic : a skillful plan b : the quality or state of being artful
6 : decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter
synonyms ART, SKILL, CUNNING, ARTIFICE, CRAFT mean the faculty of executing well what one has devised. ART implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power <the art of choosing the right word>. SKILL stresses technical knowledge and proficiency <the skill of a glassblower>. CUNNING suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing <a mystery plotted with great cunning>. ARTIFICE suggests technical skill especially in imitating things in nature <believed realism in film could be achieved only by artifice>. CRAFT may imply expertness in workmanship <the craft of a master goldsmith>.

Main Entry: tech·no
Pronunciation: 'tek-nO
Function: noun
Etymology: techno- (as in techno-pop or techno-rock, styles of popular music utilizing electronically created sounds)
: electronic dance music that features a fast beat and synthesized sounds usually without vocals or a conventional popular song structure

[Cap'n Nick]

To Alyosha: I think the problem is, when you use the word "art" like this you're essentially saying "You are an idiot for enjoying techno." Whether this is your intention or not this connotation is still there and will offend anybody that likes techno and doesn't appreciate being called an idiot.

Of course, this goes both ways. When people insist that you acknowledge techno as art they might as well be saying "You are closed-minded for scorning techno." What is ostensibly a question of taste becomes a questioning of your intellectual integrity.

Though it's twisted that questions of taste invariably become wrapped up in questions of character, in my brief time on this earth I've seen that they are practically impossible to extricate. So, let's all leave it at everyone likes what they like and go home before this gets really ugly.

[Stephen]

Moved to the music board.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Techno is an art, but whether people think it's a good, great, bad or horrible art is opinion.

I'm just seperating fact from opinion. And what you state, sir, is an opinion, acording to the dictionary, which is the standard for the English language in America- even if the language has declined in quality over the years...

Well, I guess I'm a stickler of technicalities.

Whether or not you think it's art, I really don't care. I don't quite see why anyone else does either.