Friday, February 21, 2014

Variables and Intensities

A wide range of experience exists between conscious listening and unconscious hearing.


Music, for the most part, is intended to dominate attention.  To the extent that this occurs, perceptual experience is reduced by varying degrees as listening awareness is concentrated on pulse and force.

Consider sound as an art form; rich auditory imagery is the primary element and focus of imaginative listening, and thus is given ascendancy over others.  The role of rhythm, percussion, melodic "hooks" and so forth is reduced or eliminated altogether, as it negates or contributes little to the total effect of atmospheric images in dynamic motion.

The result is not simply a different form of music, but becomes, in fact, a different way of listening.