They control automated orchestras. They swap themes over phone lines. They've even invaded the concert hall. In a field that has traditionally resisted new ideas, computers have become indispensable. But there's a hitch.
Computers are lousy things to make music on.
The answer is power. Computers offer musicians the power to transcend physical limitations and to explore the outer reaches of harmonic theory. Harmonically, instruments are constrained by overtone reverberations and a fixed scale. Computers blast these barriers away. Unfortunately, no one quite knows what it will be.