It is amusing to note that, so far, the subject seems intriguing without eliciting any comments or reflections on it. Yet several bridges link the world of modular to that of artificial intelligence applied to music :

  • The use of random.
  • The self generative capacity.
  • The integration of computer science, at least in digital modules.
  • A common and progressive appearance in the Music of the 20th century.
  • A remarkable shared development at the beginning of this 21st century.
  • A strong potential for innovation, and even for mutual articulation...

I still have this beautiful reflection by Brian Eno on the subject of computers and sequencers that comes to mind, and which, I think, applies equally to these two worlds:

"The great benefit of computer sequencers is that they remove the issue of skill, and replace it with the issue of judgement.

With Cubase or Photoshop, anybody can actually do anything, and you can make stuff that sounds very much like stuff you’d hear on the radio, or looks very much like anything you see in magazines.

So the question becomes not whether you can do it or not, because any drudge can do it if they’re prepared to sit in front of the computer for a few days, the question then is, "Of all the things you can now do, which do you choose to do?".

I read in this Forum dozens of topics related to the choice of modules or the correct configuration of a setup. I am not saying that these questions are not interesting, on the contrary. I notice that the best answers, and by the best of us (I don't quote names, we'll recognize them) refer us most often to this same question from Eno: "Of all the things you can now do, which do you choose to do?

Is there any musician here for a comment, or even an answer to the initial question?

'On ne devrait jamais quitter Montauban' (Fernand Naudin).