Für Elise through Different Mediums
Assignment Components:
- Title: Digital Creativity Visual Project: Für Elise through Different Mediums
- Brief Project Description: Watch this video for a unique musical exploration comparing Beethoven’s Für Elise across three different mediums: traditional piano, a mobile piano app, and AI-generated music. This project examines how digital technology affects sound quality, timing, and musical expression, revealing differences in key weight, sound duration, and overall musicality. Join me as I demonstrate how modern technology is transforming the way we create, perform, and experience music.
- References:
Beatoven AI:
The Piano:
Canva:
- Transcript:
Courtney: This project explores the differences in sound quality, timing, and musical expression using Für Elise by Beethoven. The comparison provides insights into how technology mediates musical performance and potentially transforms the listening experience. In the traditional physical piano video I recorded on my iPhone, you can hear how the keyboard keys are not weighted much more noticeably than you can when I play it in person. The sound is much clearer on “The Piano” mobile application and “Beatoven AI,” which I screen-recorded on my iPhone. There was a noticeable musical timing difference as well through these different mediums. There was a much shorter key sound duration on the app, versus the traditional physical piano, while the AI musical generator rarely had a silent moment and moved fluidly. In regards to musical expression, the AI composition sounds nothing like Beethoven’s Für Elise, which I played on the traditional physical piano and app. Based on the project I created, even though the mediums varied through composition, I think if I had to rank which one sounded the best or had the highest quality music, I would first rank the “Beatoven AI,” then the traditional physical piano video, and lastly “The Piano” mobile application. When first creating this project, “The Piano” mobile application and “Canva” proved to be difficult tools as sometimes the sound would stop working randomly, the uploading of my videos would be upside down, and I could not figure out how to add free audio to some of my video clips. Luckily, I have not had any of those same issues or any new ones during my revision process. iPhone recording and screen recording were much easier to use, but I also had a lot of experience with those tools going into this project. “Beatoven AI” was easy to navigate, but I felt like it did not follow the prompt I entered which was: 15-20 seconds of Für Elise by Beethoven on the piano keyboard. I learned how digital transformation impacts musical performance in a direct, experiential way, and I hope you did as well. Thank you for watching.