The other day I was looking through a large print book of Vincent Van Gogh and I could not help but notice the way that he used large dollops of paint. His strokes were unadorned and unpolished to the extent that the stroke itself became a character in his paintings. The great blobs of paint often cast shadows and created texture that were visible even in a two dimensional print.
It struck me that music has these shadows, too. Little details of the existence of humanity that can be wiped away if so chosen. Detractors will call them imperfections, proponents will call them personality.
These details range from pitch to rhythm to proximity (like the room or reverb). Much effort has been made to control every one of these aspects to controversial ends.
Pitch and rhythm are as personal as something like tone. Every musician has their own sense of in-tune and swinging. It is a large part of what makes some musicians recognizable so instantly.
I am certainly in favor of embracing the imperfections and personality of musicians and musical situations. The more we alter them with technology to the point of perfection, the more they become like so many Ones and Zeros.
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