Not a Jedi mind trick, but musical creation via the medium of brain waves. Raymond Scott - unwitting composer of Warner Bros cartoon soundtracks (they co-opted his tunes for the Raymond Scott Quintet), electronic music pioneer and, latterly, inventor-cum-hermit - had the following dream in 1949:
"In the music of the future, the composer will sit alone on the concert stage and merely THINK his idealised conception of his music. His brain waves will be picked up by mechanical equipment and channelled directly into the minds of his hearers, thus allowing no room for distortion of the original idea."
Nearly 60 years later, something close to Scott's bonkers, sci-fi idea has actually happened. In this YouTube clip, Mick Grierson demonstrates the frankly unbelievable brain-computer-music interface he's developed, and which he's recently used in performance.
By simply looking at a computer and focusing on the note you want to play (represented by visual symbols that flash on the screen), you can compose simply through your thoughts. The implications are mind-boggling: spontaneous musical composition, a direct relationship between your brainwaves and real-world sound. I'll be strapping on Mick's music interface helmet to create my own mind-music for this week's Music Matters. Just hope there are no long-term effects of electrode exposure. Raymond Scott has been proved right: the future is now.
