Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Creating music with the computer
By Ruwanthi Herat Gunaratne
To relax, to unwind, to uplift your spirits or to even make you hopping mad, there's only one force that you can turn to - music.

There truly is nothing that music cannot do. But as luck would have it, the music we have been exposed to is by and large, foreign. But during the last few years, this has undergone a major change.

Diliup Gabadamudalige is no stranger to the world of music. An active participant since the age of five, his life now revolves around music. On leaving Royal College, Diliup started working with The Experiments and other rock bands that were gaining popularity. Unfortunately though, the lack of a proper recording station in Sri Lanka for English music meant that the field could not progress. "We used to just bring along our own recording equipment, and try recording at the concert itself," he reminisces.

The recording studio he now works in is a far cry from the Vihara Maha Devi Park but his love for music remains the same, explains this music producer at Young Asia Television.

According to Diliup, the greatest upheaval in the music industry came in the '60s in the form of Clarence Wijewardene and after that appeared Rukantha followed by Bathiya and Santhush. "It is a difficult feat to introduce English music to Sri Lanka, simply because the market is very small and highly selective. It's only with an absolutely original piece of work that you can survive."

On realising this, Diliup went one step further than his predecessors had. Last June he opened The Institute of Computer Music Technology, an institute where anyone dabbling with the computer who has a slight creative streak can put it all together in the form of music.

The Institute of Computer Music Technology being the first of its kind in Sri Lanka offers a three-month course in three parts. Each part is related but can be offered separately. Part I offers MIDI Theory, General MIDI, MIDI Applications, introduction to MIDI Sequencing and MIDI Developments.

What exactly is MIDI? To the un-initiated it is a scenario where computers and musical instruments are brought together to produce a thoroughly new sound. It actually stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and is an art where musical genius alone is not necessary to create music.

Part II offers Analog and Digital Synthesis, Computerbased Sound Synthesis and Digital Sampling. Part III, the final stage offers computer- based home music productions. According to Dilup, it's not only professional musicians who are interested in this programme for, amongst his students is a budding architect who is simply following the programme for fun.

The greatest aspect of this programme is the fact that it is not necessary to be familiar with any instrument to benefit from it. Another interesting fact is that you could even start mixing your own music, a strictly DJ associated situation up until now.

All aspiring musicians watch out! The stage is set for the Sri Lankan computer-based music industry to undergo a change!

The Institute of Computer Music Technology is situated at 689/1 D.P. Wijesinghe Mawatha, Pelawatte, Battaramulla.

The institute also conducts classes in piano, guitar and electronic keyboards.

For more information please contact Diliup Gabadamudalige on 077-314413 or e-mail him at dilupg@slt.lk

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