Saturday, January 05, 2013

Depths, Heights, and Futurity

Sounds are set in motion and combined; compositions emerge and may be recorded, transcribed and performed.  In the listening imagination, sensory impressions appear spontaneously, as if out of echo and shadow.


Beyond this point listening takes on a unique and individual dimension that neither the casual listener nor the self-absorbed "fan" discovers without encountering a sense of the uncanny.  One's attention is wholly given over to sounds, as happens in thoughtful reflection upon works of art, and in listening one becomes detached from the sense of self and its distractions, entering a contemplative state of mind and being.

The composer devoted to realizing such a fusion of sound and art cannot be content with transient nonsense and mundane chaos, and strives for representations of environments and atmospheres that reflect elevated perceptions and stimulate the expansion and evolution of consciousness.

Friday, January 04, 2013

Direction and Movement

Contemplative thought and listening, well considered action, and fullness of perception do not come without conscious effort and choice.


Reality is not scripted, regardless of cultural or social expectations. Listeners may be conditioned to types, genres, and forms, but these do not define music any more than external conditions define being and humanity.

In the arts, one may observe both expression and sense of purpose.  As the apparently formless moves gradually toward clarity and breadth of scope, the glaring intensity of the mundane and predictable dissipates and grows dim.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Simplicity and Complexity of Pattern

One may be lulled into a pleasant state of mind by the sounds of wind and rain, waves moving in and out against the shore, or traffic passing through the night.



Removed from surrounding noise, which can, in fact, include recorded or transmitted media, the listener may encounter sounds that do not fit preconceived expectations regarding music, yet be capable of finding these aural images appealing.

Combine sound elements in such ways as to conform to such diverse patterns and atmospheres, including those that occur in cultural or "man-made" environments.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Myth, Music, and Mind

Music appeals to the senses, toward physical movement and ecstatic experience.



These basic and emotionally charged qualities, driven by rhythm and various traditional musical elements, do not form the sole parameters of the arts of sound.  Without intellectual and spiritual energy, expressed in ways perceptive of their natures, what is commonly considered music loses meaning, interest, and value.

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Potential Unknowns

The senses and imagination strike together to ignite vision.


Reason balances the process, but the creative act is one of intuition, that is to say, faith.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Sway of the Modern II

There is no "Year Zero" in any real cultural sense.



Modernity eliminates nothing of value, recognizing the existence of the past in the moment now, along with the future.  Discernment, choice, reason, judgement, and vision make that moment new and illuminate things to come.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Expectancy

It is necessary to explore.  Repetition is not viable.


The artist today does not compromise, because there are no incentives to act in accordance with anything less than aesthetic vision and reason, that is to say, truth.

Anonymity has become more highly prized than fame; commercial success offers little more than dubious remuneration; musical styles once universally popular have devolved into feeble, indistinct shadows of their originals.

While what is called music may cease to grow, change, and unfold, the art of sound must do so.