Rise of the Humanoids!!

rhumbagirl

Senior Member
Are we becoming extinct? Are we becoming a dying breed? Certainly the age of digital drum tracks and sequencers has made the job of a studio drummer a thing of the past.

Now Humanoids are just now coming out (of Japan) that can walk, dance, kick, get knocked down and get back up on their own. How long will it be before we tell the next young kid that wants to be a drummer, a "beginner", that "not to waiste your time, we have humanoids now that can do that. You just stick in your favorite song and artist and let them do the work"?

10 yrs I say.

(Imagine the possibility of a humanoid being able to play the same song, but with the nuances of any specific drummer, eg Jack DeJohnette vs Dave Weckl??)
 
Last edited:
Oh man, this reminds me of that old thread about a year back where the guy played what he claimed to be an Elvin Jones solo on a keyboard. I probably threw my share of gas on that fire by ridiculing his thread right off the bat and everyone joined in. Poor guy took a very brash attitude with everyone and was eventually banned.

For the matter what ever became of that guy that claimed to not practice then went to DC's drumoff? I was having fun reading that thread.

Rhumba, I can't remember if your name is Stephanie of Cynthia, don't you worry. Us Jazz cats will never be replaced by some ordinary machine. Now the metalheads better get their act together on the other hand...
 

Awesome! I don't know what to say!! Blows my mind!!! Of course, being an engineer myself, and probably uniquely qualified to work on such projects :), I will add that "Stickboy" is a six limbed robot terminator looking thing, and hence not a Humanoid. So in that sense, yes it may be 10 yrs (more like 20) before we see skin covered robots (aka Humanoids) that have the minute hydraulics to operate individual digits of the hand, being able to utilize Moeller and finger technique. And that's fixing the stick to the hand. Another 30 years to figure out how to get a Humanoid to pick up some sticks off the snare and play with them.

But for now, it would be extremely cool to see a four limbed robot terminator, with sticks fixed to the hand, and torso firmly attached to the throne, play any tune you plugged into it. And it would be extremely useful for teaching students how a particular riff is played. Could slow it down!! Or imagine a webcam and an internet site that drummers could upload material in whatever music sequencer file it needed!!!

Better yet, and I'm extremely serious about this... a computer animation tool. Is there anyone working on that?? I can see that happening in the next 5 years or sooner, if it hasn't been done already :)

Just Wowwwww!!!!

Now the metalheads better get their act together on the other hand...

Made my day :)

Stephanie
 
Oh it's inevitable. I don't know what people will do in the future once all the hard labor is removed from our lives. I know I would love a humanoid to keep my house clean, do the shopping, go to work for me.

The times they are a-changing.
 
Actually with respect to learning riffs by slowing it down, does anyone know if the new YouTube Slomo tool will work on videos other than ones own? I found this tool on my YouTube channel, in the Enhancements section. I think it's available only for edits, which would mean your own videos.

On the other hand, I think computer animation would allow the note of a drum to sound normal even though the playback was half the speed.

Imagine a computer animation of Dave Weckl in 3D!!! And the animation let's you pinch him while he's playing to see what happens :) Maybe you take a picture of yourself and then get animated to join the party. I wouldn't mind that. An "adult" version where Weckl is playing "Trance Dance" and I run across the room, tackle him to the ground, and make love to him!!!

LOL
 
This is just an intermediate phase IMO.

If we (and our technological infrastructure) manage to survive the next 100 years or so I suspect that the future will be seamless integration of humans and machines - that combination will be way more powerful and capable than either by itself. I'd imagine that the new cyborgs to be less soulful than us in the same way as, say, most new music is less soulful than blues.

Red, I remember that guy. He actually did an incredible job with just pads, just that his claims were overblown.
 
People will always want to jam together whether it involves making money or not. No robot can replace that. One thing I know...kids love the drums! Like the little girl who visited our jam session the other day. Which instrument was she interested in? The drums. It's always the drums...
 
Eventually Jack and Dave get boring...and we want to hear what YOU have to play...


...lack of creativity has been/will be the shortcoming of human replacements in music.
 
I think it will be just like anything else (food, beer, wine, clothes, furniture, etc.); you can get the mass-produced crap cheaply, or you can pay more for the good, hand-made stuff.
 
Lol Stephanie you're a trip!
 
Back
Top