Prot Asks: Hjalmar about Emacs for music, the joy of art, and Internet sociability
Raw link: YouTube OR Internet Archive
In this 2-hour video, I talk with Hjalmar about using Emacs to write music, the joy of artistic expression, and sociability in the Internet era.
Hjalmar is a viola player and composer who currently studies composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music. We start our discussion with me asking how it is to study music. I learn about Hjalmar’s experiences in that regard.
Hjalmar writes music in Emacs using a setup that involves Org, the Org Babel system, and the LilyPond music notation. Hjalmar describes in further detail how this process works.
I was curious how Hjalmar discovered Emacs to learn that it was a hobby that developed during the Covid pandemic. We discuss how even though Emacs is known as a programmer’s tool, it is equally capable for people who do not write code, such as musicians, academics, and journalists. A large part of that is Org and its wider ecosystem of extended functionality.
I ask about Hjalmar’s creative process. It is an iterative process of accumulating lots of pieces and then jumbling them to produce a result. Hjalmar will typically settle for the second version, given that it is an attempt to address all the mistakes of the first draft.
A large part of our exchange is about the process of artistic expression. Hjalmar is interested in creating playful interactions with the audience, to blur the lines between what is and what is not music, and to make everyone present a participant. I learn more about how this works and the relevant ideas that inform the approach.
The other big theme of our talk is the human experience in the context of digital technology and the Internet. This is about artistic stimuli as well as interpersonal affairs. We discuss the community aspect of art and how that relates to the feelings of connection and creativity. The gist is how we benefit from face-to-face interactions in ways that our technology cannot replicate.
Links from Hjalmar
- Personal website: https://hjalmarbjerner.com/
- YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@hjallis22
About “Prot Asks”
In this video series, I talk to anybody who is interested to have a video call with me (so do contact me if you want!). The topics cover anything related to Emacs, technology, and life in general. More here: https://protesilaos.com/prot-asks.