Introduction

Laptop computer based music has come to the forefront as high-performance machines become cheaper and cheaper. There is a distinct disadvantage, however, to live performance with computers due to the fact that much of the interaction is not tangible.

''Laptop's Are Boring'' - The Scumfrog
''Every live electronic music performance I've seen in the past year and half has been laptop based,'' said the producer from his New York home.

''There's no entertainment worth in laptop DJing.''

''The laptop DJs might be doing rocket science, and creating amazing soundscapes, but it's totally boring for an audience to watch.''[1]

While digital music software and computing platforms offer a great advantage over dedicated hardware, such as effect units, sequencers, and synthesizers, the visual use of these devices is lost. Traditional acoustic instruments such as a piano or guitar draw a direct correlation between the physical action of the performer and the sound produced. A hand pressing a key produces a note, a plucked string results in a sound, the greater the action, the greater the level of sound or difference in timbre.

''With DJing, what you see on stage, is what you hear coming out of the speakers.

But with laptop DJing, that connection between stage and sound is lost.''[1]

An audience watching a laptop performance cannot make the connection between physical cation and sound, as the action is very subtle – a finger on a track pad, or an off board knob array. The performance, thus lacks interest for the audience as the energy and action done by the performer are lost through the computer interface.