In academic settings, we expect young people to engage in scholarly pursuits as fully as they dive into the popular diversions of the day, yet we appear shocked when they only touch upon them superficially or avoid them altogether. Absurdly, we fail to recognize these same errors in our own approaches to problem-solving and conceptual thinking, and place the blame upon some nebulous demon we call stress.
Clearly, the mind is resilient and adaptive to stimulation of all sorts, and to simply eliminate stimulation altogether leaves an environmental void rather than a pleasing transition into a more rational or receptive state of consciousness.
The music of Black Mountain School and Ghost Radio Orchestra evolved over the course of a decade in close association with such scenarios in the academic workplace, the teaching and learning environment. As a teacher of literature and writing, I found that certain ambient compositions contributed to a classroom atmosphere of a pleasant and rewarding nature, as such music enhances, rather than dominates, attention and thought; the mind clears, yet the imagination remains alert and engaged. And unlike recordings composed in predictable patterns with repetitive elements, whether pop songs or classical works, its presence does not insist on undivided attention. One may ruminate over an idea, engage in conversation, read a book, paint a canvas or engage in some everyday task, and be elevated, to some subtle degree, yet undistracted, by the music.
Clearly, the mind is resilient and adaptive to stimulation of all sorts, and to simply eliminate stimulation altogether leaves an environmental void rather than a pleasing transition into a more rational or receptive state of consciousness.
The music of Black Mountain School and Ghost Radio Orchestra evolved over the course of a decade in close association with such scenarios in the academic workplace, the teaching and learning environment. As a teacher of literature and writing, I found that certain ambient compositions contributed to a classroom atmosphere of a pleasant and rewarding nature, as such music enhances, rather than dominates, attention and thought; the mind clears, yet the imagination remains alert and engaged. And unlike recordings composed in predictable patterns with repetitive elements, whether pop songs or classical works, its presence does not insist on undivided attention. One may ruminate over an idea, engage in conversation, read a book, paint a canvas or engage in some everyday task, and be elevated, to some subtle degree, yet undistracted, by the music.
"Waning Moon", from the album Elevation:
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