By Michal Seta.
In this paper I draw a parallel, based mostly on my own experiences, between the sense of freedom involved in the use of Free Software and Free Improvisation in music. I have been making music with the Linux operating system and software libre for the past ten years. Incidentally, I have been involved with so called “free improvisation” for about the same amount of time. Recently I have given some thought to the fact that there are points, on the ideological and/or philosophical level, common to these two concepts, otherwise seemingly unrelated. For an electroacoustic musician/improviser, the use of software is simply unavoidable. Below I explain why, in my understanding, a free improviser in the context of electronic music will feel right at home with free software. This paper is simply a collection of personal reflections and thoughts about the subject.
Link (via Jane Tingley)