From Hardware To Software
Technological progress has kept Live PAs evolving to this day. With advances in computer processing power and in software-based audio tools and instruments, the Live PA artist can pack a single laptop into a bag, go out and perform a show. This possibility creates a point of discussion, as the ability to perform one's own music live using a single, generic device creates yet another range of performative styles. On one end, a laptop-based performer has the option of simply playing a polished, premade audio file. On the other end, the performer can be creating sound completely from scratch using software-based synthesizers, sequencers, etc. Somewhere in the middle is where the majority of performance setups fall. Incredibly popular is the software tool Ableton Live. This gives a laptop-based performing artist the ability to sequence and trigger software synthesizers, external MIDI-controlled instruments, and internally stored sampled audio clips and loops. This can all be achieved in real-time, with the resulting audio being manipulated by Ableton Live's mixer and effect processors.
The feasibility of using a laptop computer as an all-in-one electronic music creation and performance tool created a massive wave of new artists, performers, and performance events. An international contest known as the Laptop Battle has gained massive momentum and is taken very seriously.
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