Quote Originally Posted by machina
that's simply not true - at the very least it's a gross generalisation. Different people make music in different ways - some people go for the trial and error approach (ie. experimentation).. but it is totally possible to program music as a composer - ie. writing lines and tracks that you hear in your head...
The fact is that anyone can do it if they want to. It's part of what I find appealing about techno. Is anyone here going to seriously say that programming a computer requires the same skill as to play an instrument like Yo-Yo Ma? For the most part, I don't even see people play their synth lines during a live PA. It's just buttons pushed on a sequencer.

it is no different to a classical composer - some classical composers use a trial and error approach and others write music which is already pre-conceived in their head. I'm a fully trained violinist - have played in the melbourne symphony orchestra blah blah whatever... and make techno - and they are as challenging and difficult as each other, just in different ways...
See above. I wasn't talking about appreciating a composition. I'm talking about the genre snobbery where someone has to explain to me why a song programmed on a computer is so groundbreaking even though I don't feel it. Sorry, but that doesn't move me and I often find it to be unfounded hype. So, when it comes to such music/discussion, I'd rather listen to someone playing an instrument before programming a computer.