Gear Videos for Non-Musicians

Don’t mistake a piece of gear appearing prominently in a YouTube video as a sign that it’s a “gear” video. Think of it, instead, as a potential étude, a study of a particular approach in the form of a piece of music. In this case, it’s Andrew Tasselmyer reworking cello samples in a popular “performance sampler” — that is, a device, here the Octatrack, that can sample audio and that was designed to act on those samples during a live performance, such as this one. There’s always discussion about the “dehumanization” of music due to electronic instruments, processing, software, etc. This concern can be especially an issue in live settings, where the player inscrutably touches a few buttons and might as well, from the point of view of the audience, be doing their taxes. The beauty of a YouTube video is it flips the scenario. The player’s hands are shown close-up, even larger than life, allowing a clear alignment of action and effect, of gesture and sound. The resulting track is a magnificent exploration of held chords, of long tones layered, intertwined, and modulated. You can watch along — or just close your eyes and drift off. (Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Tasselmyer currently lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a member of Hotel Neon, Gray Acres, and Mordançage.)