Aural Transformations

Consider simple expressions of perception.

If the composer strives to set aside, to the extent possible, expressions of ego and emotions, yet chooses to represent the atmospheric sounds of desirable environments with aesthetic care, the "human touch" remains light, though present, offering the listener a heightened sense of beauty through sound as an experience worth sharing in and of itself. The artist is present, but does not impose upon the listener.

Culture and Purpose

A simple thought: music can be more than diversion and distraction.

There is music for the dance floor, church, concert hall, bar, coffee house and grocery store.  There are personal listening devices that plug directly into the ear.  At home and at work, there is music.

But considering its purposes, one must return to entertainment and, at times, escape, usually from the pressures of the day.  Music takes hold of the attention, and the listener is absorbed by rhythm, melody, harmony, percussion, and dramatic effects.  For some, these are the absolutely essential elements of musical merit, the raison d'être of music itself.

For some, but not all.

Music has its place, yet the art of sound can be more than this, as an enhancement to contemplative thought and a compliment to aesthetically pleasing surroundings.  Rather than demand the listener's focus, the composer would do well to work against the grain of musical excess and creatively evoke atmospheres that liberate thinking and elevate state of mind.

Auditory Fatigue

Nearly everywhere, at any time, music is playing, but no one is listening.

Recorded music saturates, but does not fill, atmospheres.  No matter its original intention, narrative, or mood, it is reduced to clutter masking silence, or noise demanding attention.  Whether drowning conversation or acting as a palliative for disquietude, such music is out of place, and at times a sign of general malaise or cultural disorder.

The listener is more than a simple consumer of cultural artifacts and their imitations.  These settings, and the people within them, call for aesthetic sound compositions that enhance cultural environments and personal perspectives.

Turn

Within and without one may find answers, and more questions, but much is a matter of individual choice.

Perceptual awareness conveys sensory imagery, and the mind brings reason and experience to bear upon the impressions.  It is no difficult matter to sustain what is good, avoid what is not, and reserve judgement on the rest.  Rather than create distraction, bring to light that which is real.

Organic and Artificial

Follow sounds to their respective sources.

Humming of electric wires, breezes through treetops; presences in the natural human world. If such sounds are not those of music, surely they are not far removed.

Flow, Circulation, Involvement

Observe with care.

Subtle variations in sound evince changes in the surrounding atmosphere.

Sense and Sensation

The art of the narrative may reveal mysteries, or conceal them.

For those who choose to experience the fullness of the world of experience, the language of understanding is difficult, and, some will say, unnecessarily complex.

Yet, its complexity must be in inverse proportion to the simplicity it makes clear.