Unspoken, Understood

In the absence of a direct narrative, atmosphere and tone communicate a sense of meaning.

A work need not be content-specific to offer such things as refinement of perspective and nuance of mood.  In fact, these may be made more apparent without the association of direct exposition. 

In poetry and literature, a character description or sketch of a time and place alone may entertain and inspire insights, while music, painting and sculpture need not reference a specific account of an  imaginative tale or historical event to evoke feelings and ideas in those who encounter the works.

Consider the sounds of seasonal change, of the rise and descent of cultural phenomena, or posit those suggested by light in landscapes or the movement of time through generations.  Intuit and put forward tones and musical textures that bring these into being, and though they are nebulous, they reveal worlds within worlds.

Direct Experience

The appearances of things are multidimensional.

One does not gain an estimate of an individual's character by looking at appearance alone.  That is an absurdity.  Neither is it of any value to accept or reject works of art, from the classical to the the avant-garde, by mere surface impression.  An interpretation offered by someone else is not an informed personal judgement, and an "open mind" is no substitute for a critical eye or ear. 

This is the value of self-knowledge as well.

Fields of Perception

Fragmentation, fractured awareness, spatial and temporal dislocation, sub-textual meaning, and the idea of word and image propagating as viral constructs have provoked debate for a century or more.

That these concepts are influential in cultural consciousness is beyond doubt, particularly in the arts.  Setting aside the often trivial disputes associated with analysis of these cultural and social phenomena, there is much aesthetic pleasure to be found in the happenstance encounter with surprising justapositions of sensory imagery, particularly those sounds and images which are often ignored as unintentional or as mere by-products of the environment.

The interested observer might consider this an opportunity for an artist to be less obtrusive in the creation of works of art.  Not absent, certainly, but mindful of the nature of the inspiration.

Dimensions

Depth, distance, clarity, obscurity, reflection, texture, intensity, proximity, color, tone, and meaning.

Within human and natural settings-- the perceived subjective experience of environment and atmosphere, with its associated emotional and intellectual connotations--  these measurements, among others, serve as intuitive guides to our journey, our movements, and our actions.

If the senses are reliable and the chosen courses of action true, the journey is graced with integrity, balance, spirit and reason, especially in adversity.  If life is torn by contradictions, driven and dominated by the passions and appetites, perhaps some good will come of it, but whatever measures may determine that are vague at best.

Culture is ever in flux, ever subject to events and ideas, some meritorious, some ruinous.

Look and listen.  Choose with care.  The foremost of these measures is meaning.

Higher

If the aims of music are more than the perpetuation of vanity and greed, the listener will know.

Art exists for reasons as old as human existence, and music, as an art form, invigorates the senses and the imagination.

It may be crass, exploitative, absurd, and pointless from time to time, but whatever its negative attributes, it can always be more than a sign of the times and a signal of despair and desperation. 

It can symbolize, through sound, our higher ideals and most uplifting desires.

It can, and does, illuminate past, present, and future.

Between the Lines

As sensory images, sounds may be metaphoric, and so symbolic.

Symbols and metaphors conveyed non-verbally will be associated with universal meanings in many cases, and these archetypes-- in the case of sounds suggesting flight, for example, or depth, or solitude-- bring to mind concepts associated with such things as freedom, mystery, the serene and the sinister, the obscure or uncanny, the pastoral and the seasonal.

Music moves and is moved by culture and the imagination, and the transformational ambient sketches discussed here are designed to immerse the listener in an atmospheric hour for the refreshment and renewal of the mind's eye.

Synthesis II

Sounds are considered warm, cool, even cold.  When a sound or combination is hot, you know it.

Listening for other sounds and ways to describe them we may find them wet, dry, light, heavy, metallic, silken, glassy, airy, ethereal.  In terms of mood they might be called stormy, serene, highly charged, gloomy, bright, or anything related to the feeling they bring to the listener.

Composers and musicians always capitalize on these sensory images.  Any examples that come to mind are illustrative, past or present, in any genre, with any type of instrumentation.

It is the capacity of the electronic music synthesizer to access and generate an abundance of sounds that may be manipulated to breathe life into these aural images that make it a marvelous tool for sound design and collage.  And by marvelous, I mean evocative of magic.

Reality, Existence and Art

Chaos and order exist together.

Disordered thinking is manifested in daily living as impatience, emotional instability, clutter, hazard, and noise.  Chaos happens of itself; it is trifling, irrevalent, and easy to perpetuate. 

To create a perspective free of the pettiness of chaos is no small challenge, and requires effort and vision equal to the task.  Beyond the labor and choices involved, it is also an art.

Out of that art comes culture, and its strength.

Like Water

In the visual arts, a sense of movement may be evoked by line, pattern, repetition, and shading.

In music, these elements are produced over a period of time, in the course of the musical piece.

An "atmospheric" design made with sounds similarly gives this impression of movement.  Unlike a song or instrumental performance, however, created to move more or less directly from beginning to end, the ambient work suggests movement in multiple directions. 

These may approximate an ebb and flow, for example, or movements near and distant, high and low, in asymmetrical juxtapositions and in varied placements in space.  Technological developments in digital stereo and surround-sound recording greatly augment the capability of creating such apparent movements and perspectives with subtlety and clarity.

Ultimately, from an artistic viewpoint, these aspects of the work, with their simplicity and elegance, are meant solely to enhance of the experience of the listener. 

Total Effect

Combinations of elements and their arrangements contribute to the completeness of an artistic work.

In a work designed with sound, such things as the production of tones and elements of movement, contrast, and pattern develop a sonic environment experienced by the listener in ways that differ from those typically fitting the definition of music.  While there are no specific organizational structures that the piece must follow, neither are such structures out of bounds.  They simply may not be useful in contributing to the total effect of the work.

If the goal of a piece is to liberate thought and emotion from the dominance of standard musical patterns, for instance, or to engage listening in ways other than the insistently repetitive and predictable, elements of melody, rhythm and percussion may prove more shopworn than interesting or uplifting.

Balance and Emphasis

Our reactions to things are for the most part unconscious; our responses to events and information are more often thoughtful, well-considered, reasoned.  Both are subjective, both authentic.

Works of art are of a different nature than such things as provide what is commonly called instant gratification.  The enjoyment of an art work, even one appreciated fully upon first encounter, increases with repeated experience of it; it cannot all be absorbed at once like an ice cream cone or an intense sporting event.  Knowledge and experience gained between one viewing or listening and another may allow one's appreciation to increase beyond what was previously possible.

Art engages the intellect and the emotions when it elicits a response with time rather than an immediate reaction and nothing more. 

Mind at Large

Gradually things may become such commonplace parts of the environment they go unnoticed.  The ticking of an antique clock.  Scenery along routes traveled every day.  Music in a car, in a restaurant.

Patterns become too familiar to the senses and impressions grow weak and dim.  The radio is switched off and the brain continues to generate the illusion of sound out of habit and memory. 

The deliberate exercise of subtlety in thought, apprehension, and expression contributes to an awareness unburdened by bland routine and awakened to unbounded possibilities. 

It is not external sensation that elevates consciousness, but refinement of reason and will.

Non-Music

Sounds considered musical, that is, having tone, timbre, pitch, apparent texture, and so forth, and being subjectively pleasing to the ear, still lack qualities usually considered necessary to be termed "music".

Wind chimes, bird songs, the sounds of rainfall, crickets, and ocean waves are common examples.  They may be somewhat melodic, rhythmic, and repetitive in nature, but they are not fixed and defined by these qualities as are symphonies, pop tunes, or jazz arrangements, though the latter are stylistically free-form and improvisational.

Ambient sound design may combine any of these qualities, as the numerous ambient genres demonstrate, and it may also be digitally generated according to various programs and techniques.

The intent of the "sketch" music of Black Mountain School is to generate, pattern and evolve musical sounds that reflect the shifting, natural dynamics of real-world sound perception, these being ungoverned by formal structure.

Forms

Space and time are measurements of convenience.

Auditory perception structures environments, and our positions in them, according to such things as the placement or origin of sounds, their intensity, and their meaning.  Near and far, quiet or loud, sounds inform the listener in ways gross and subtle, simple and complex.

Processing spoken and written language and listening to music engage the intellect and emotions in communications practically infinite in scope, and they generally adhere to the technical "grammar" of their respective modes of communication, as do mathematics and the arts and sciences. 

Communication is but one aspect of life, and one exceedingly dominant in contemporary living.  One must, at times, consciously make time to contemplate, to ruminate, to reflect, to muse.  Such music as would heighten these faculties of consciousness would not be have to be content-specific, and might be more akin to environmental sounds structured in part by the listener's perception than to typical musical arrangements and song forms. 

Perhaps it can only be called music as a matter of convenience, and it will be considered something else entirely in the future.

Mirror and Nature

Art reflects the consciousness of the artist as well as the subject of the work.

The experience of the work reflects something of the self-knowledge of the individual, and, to a great extent, the attitude of the culture that is home to the experience.  Cultural emphasis on the value of the historic past or on a mind-set concerned with envisioning the future will produce differing responses to artistic works, for example.  Each way of thinking has its virtues, as does receptivity to the vision each offers.

Atmospheres

Fill an environment with sounds that the setting proposes to the mind.

Such sounds will represent diverse sonic properties; linear and random, loud and quiet, dissonant and harmonious, they will come from various perceptual angles and apparent distances.  Yet they will be more than combinations of natural and artificial auditory sensations in that they will imply a sense of emotional and aesthetic space as well as an enhancement of the physical surroundings.

Both the artist and the listener bring their respective sensibilities to such sound designs.

Sudden Winds Do Not Last All Day

Perceptual impressions, emotional associations, connections to ideas and combinations of experiences join together in the artistic impulse.

The exercise of creative thought demands discipline and stamina, and must, at times, be as vigorous and exhausting as an athletic endeavor.  To see, and hear, and know things that do not yet exist and to act to bring them into being may involve grueling effort, lasting patience, and depth of faith in the possibilities of the artistic vision. 

While the flash of inspiration is a phenomenon that comes from the same synthesis of sources, preparation, a critical eye and a steady hand are no less valuable.

Patina

Sounds are associated with sensory experiences, and this is especially true of those found in variations of musical combinations. 

Certain sounds are considered warm, cool, light, dark, rough, smooth, and so on.  As descriptive terms they are generally agreed-upon metaphors; one hearing a "sour note" will recognize it as such.  In the case of those who experience the neurological processes of synesthesia, sound and color may be experienced as a mingled perception, or a sensation in which the two are bound together in varying degrees.

In fabricating tones and patterns to combine in a sound design, it is interesting to consider what sounds a specific natural or architectural form might suggest, what patterns its symmetry bring to mind, and what musical characteristics might be associated with the particular shade and angle of light falling upon the scene that will evoke a sense of presence that endows the piece with spirit.

Events, Altered by Observation

Simplicity and ambiguity sometimes embrace to confound the intellect and charm perception.

A swirl of fireflies in deepening dusk, creak and groan of ancient maple limbs in still air, peppering of sleet against the windowpane.  The odd coincidence on a downtown avenue, laughing inwardly at sensing what a more "primitive" mind might call an augury, the appearance of someone or something that simply should not be there.

Capture such things as these in sounds that evoke their presence.

Speculative Music II

Collage, fragmentary combinations of images and words, and experiments with tape splicing and manipulation of electronic sounds are elements of the contemporary perspective, yet they have been in existence as art forms for quite some time, and in some cases for well over a century.

Art, obviously, does not replace reality, but rather represents aspects of it. 

While imaginary worlds and artificial sounds, as products of artistic vision, become more sophisticated with developments in technology, it is not the imaginary environment with which we are concerned here.

By design, sketch and transformation ambient music follows a progress similar to that of the consciousness of the dreamer, in which any sound may be music.  Such musical elements as define linear time or particular types of structure are not of paramount importance, but neither are they intentionally subverted for mere effect.

Arising in the environment of the mind, any vibration may be followed to realization in some form, and the intention in combining these sounds is to create an atmosphere that suggests or evokes experiences any listener may associate with the sound and movement of the work. 

Four Minutes, Thirty-Three Seconds

The well-known work 4'33" by John Cage is, to this day, more often than not described as four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence.

The point of the piece is that it is not silence, but the establishment of a context for the perception, on the part of the listeners, of the sounds of the environment itself.

Audience reaction varies, but neither is it the response of the audience to the piece that is important, and one might rightly question the legitimacy of the performance if it is staged solely for purposes of condescension or to exasperate listeners.

Rightly understood, 4'33" is an awakening.

Sketch and Transformation

Sound, form, proximity, and movement.

These elements (among others) order perception in time and space.  A great deal of this focus is visual, but conscious concentration on listening reveals a richness of shades and textures as well, whether in an exterior or interior environment.

Drone, hum, distant roar, voices both directly spoken and reproduced, rumbling, noises of animal, bird and insect, automobile and aircraft, timepiece, hiss and rush of air, movement of water, sounds made by metal, glass, leather, plastic, electronics, doors opening and closing, gravity settling and shifting  walls and foundations.  Just now, a siren, approaching and finally fading in an eastern direction.

The sound of musical instruments will be heard as well, and songs, whether fragmentary or complete, but setting those particular cultural artifacts aside, consider an approach to music and listening based on the seemingly random but perceptually ordered nature of sounds, tones and patterns within environments.

Listen:
Excerpt from "The Celestial Way is Like Water" (30:11)

Perception and State of Being

The mind interprets.  It will come to terms with perceptions outside its scope of knowledge by making connections to those things within its range of experience.

Such connections will be personal and cultural in nature, and may also involve abstract knowledge gained from a number of sources. The resulting interpretation, then, may or may not be reasonable or accurate, particularly in coming to terms with the creative arts. 

Still, the direct experience of an artistic work and one's subjective response to it is of great value.

Setting aside the impulse to narrowly define or place a painting, for instance, or sculpture, or piece of music, in one specific context or another may ultimately enhance the perception of the work, while depending on the interpretation or approval of others may spoil it. 

Between the Idea and the Act

Among the things that come to our attention in the world around us, some enter our awareness by conscious choice. 

These things must be actively sought out and actively encountered, and among them are the finer points of the arts and sciences, the philosophical viewpoints, and the abstract cultural concepts.  They may be met with serendipitously, but otherwise they must be pursued.  They are not in common currency, and will not be passively gained.

Expression means risks must be taken, or it will not be.

Glance, Listen, Question

What appears fragmentary may yet be linked to a greater whole.

The separate notes and tones in music, the separate colors of the spectrum, the separate molecules in a cell, the scattering of raindrops and stars and words on a page have an existence unto themselves, it is true.  But in combination they become anything and everything.

Breathing In

Observe the ubiquity of information and the compression of time and space. 

But individual consciousness is not perpetuated indefinitely.
 
The shared experience of art provides the opportunity to reflect upon the creative perspectives of, for example, Jan Bruegel the Elder, Hilda Doolittle, Charles Ives, or anyone, whether living or dead, celebrated or obscure.

The living artist, then, is a bearer of inspiration, and of fire and light.

Mirror of Consciousness

Contemplate, interpret, portray by bringing into representational form.

The reader does not see these old oaks, young cypresses and maples, tall grasses swaying in the autumnal breezes outside the windows here, nor hear the hushed whistling through the distant pines, but such things can come to light in the imaginary spaces of the reader's mind. 

The arts of image and sound and language, if allowed to absorb the attention, may return us to the things we know that sometimes are pushed aside amidst the tension and abstraction of our own endeavors.  Then events, and our actions, may be impelled by the motivation of a different, or renewed, perspective.

Obscure Knowledge

Aldous Huxley viewed the mind as a filter, and its function as a limiting of perception. 

The burden of the creative mind is that in many cases it has fewer such limits.  It is a problem of perceptual simultaneity, of observation and interest given diverse events, whether associated or disconnected from each other, at once.  Rather than approaching reality by ordering it according to learned constructs of, for instance, linear time or spatial relationships, as Huxley's "filter" would suggest, the sense of the imagination is open to more extravagant amounts of stimuli.  Rather than hearing the conversation alone, it is heard within a field of sounds, memories, impressions of emotional connections and intellectual references.  One is not merely reading The Iliad, but is a phantom presence moving among the black ships, hearing the murmur of the wine-dark sea.

The difficult nature of such thinking is easily imagined, and more difficult still is coming to terms with obligations of communication and empathy with those whose hearts and minds and ways of doing things are different, yet equally human and consequential. 

If one would actually create, one might be well advised to create equilibrium, that is to say, to develop effective method of execution, manner of presentation, and works with historical and cultural perspective that offer aesthetic appeal as well.

And there is no compromise necessary in doing so.

Intensity of View

Atmospheres, times, places, sights and sounds.

Whether perceived by the senses or reproduced by artificial or artistic means, these impressions enter our consciousness from external sources, from the environment, or, having been created by human intent, through external processes that reveal the perspective of the artist.  In either case there is an effect on awareness.

The question to consider is not that of which perspective is most interesting or valuable or "authentic" at any given point, as these will vary from one case to the other, but which offers the most insight into life.

Wealth in Solitude

Rainfall patter in wooded hills.

Shapes of the surroundings delineated by sound.  Low clouds and shadows broken by clear air and light, rustle of leaves overhead, birds alighting in branches with scolding calls.  Stir of movement, fragmented voices, laughter.  Music of the day.

Approaching the Phenomena of Existence

The mundane captures all our attention if we allow it.

If we were less absorbed in our subjective emotions and intentions, in the superficial and the sensational, and in the continuous flux of activities surrounding us in life, we should perceive with wider, deeper clarity the human condition and the immensity of what we do not know.

Some say, of ideas or beliefs, or of different viewpoints, "this is surreal", "this is impossible", "this is absurd, without meaning". 

To others such things represent both vision and experience, the results of efforts expended in reaching past the "given" in life.  Such habits of mind as they now practice may be common knowledge and custom sooner than one may think.

The possibility exists that, while such perspectives as these can and do grow into the future, so may they have had previous existence in ages past.

Process

Not every work of art that comes from an individual perspective involves developing ideas along with the means to bring them into form, but neither is every artistic endeavor an act of spontaneous generation. 

My goal in fabricating transformation ambient music sketches is realization of pieces that effect the perception of environments and offer the listener an engaging work suitable for contemplative activities.  The sound may be experienced as decorative, unobtrusive and aesthetically pleasing, or as complementary to active thought.

Observation, Observer, Reflection

Images invite sensations.

Landscapes and seasons; cities and their environs, villages; countrysides, harbors, hills and deserts; the first frost, bonfire on a riverbank, college common as darkness falls. 

Conception of idea, restraint of emotion, intensity of perception, manipulation of media, realization and presentation. 

Tapestry

The fragrance of rain becomes an abstract memory in the dry season.

Our sojourn appears at times to have resplendent clarity, then a glance in another direction renders it stark and bleak until light breaks again. 

The perceptions reveal the shapes and sounds, textures and colors of the fabric of existence; the mind and emotions interpret them with the cultural instruments they learn to use.

Yet the imagination conceives things that seem impossible until they are experienced.

Romance and Reality

The idea that life can be, or should be, art, is self-evidently problematic.

It can be an appealing concept, and echoes historical perspectives of every sort.  Some will atttibute the idea to the Beats, to the Black Mountain College, to Walter Pater and the Aesthetic Movement, or to any number of schools of thought reaching back to the Renaissance, and beyond that, to the Epicureans.

Given its rich history and broad scope, it is nonetheless an intensely subjective perspective, and difficult to reconcile with the vicissitudes of life.  It is one of many aspects of a vision of existence, sometimes fitting, sometimes untenable.

Nor should it be confused with the art of living well, and with fullness of purpose, regardless of circumstance or external challenges.

What is undeniable is that an artistic and creative point of view may realize the products of the imagination in concrete form, and in doing so establish a foundation for realities yet to come.

To Hear and to Listen

Much goes unnoticed.  Listening consciousness does not cease, but will be passive if not engaged.

That which is unusual or striking meets the ear.  We arrive on the scene at the moment bells ring; a fragment of conversation is humorous, interesting, or alarming; a curious piece of music, at first unfamiliar, drifts across the lakefront and with a sudden surge of emotional energy we recognize the song, followed by a host of connected images and associations.  The psyche is engaged, we are attentive to developments within and without, and we participate in the art of listening.

Synthesis

The ambient composer or listener may become preternaturally sensitive to the sounds of the surrounding world.

The drone of an idling car; bird call; light fall of rain; Doppler effect of passing truck with radio, briefly casting the aural shadow of an undefinable musical instrument; light hammering of minor construction work suddenly becoming multiplied in broad and deep echoes across a hundred yards of open field; refrain of crickets and cicadas downhill toward a distant riverbank.

Art and Consciousness

Aristotle considered art to be a representation of reality.  In broad terms this is clearly so.

Some view art as a vehicle for emotions or ideas; some as a means for expression of universal, idiosyncratic, or transgressive viewpoints.  Some may see the various arts-- painting, photography, film, music, architecture, performance media, and so forth-- for their cultural potential in persuading an audience to act or think in certain ways, or as mediums to be exploited for profit.  All these are legitimate positions recognized by critics and artists themselves.

Art may also be an approach to the phenomena of existence, a way to perceive the appearances of things and create representations of these observations. 

In this sense, art questions and assesses the validity of perceptions, then generates viewpoints of reality, as opposed to expressing those already in the mind of the artist.  By such means the artist and those who engage with the art may enhance their perspectives in ways beyond the narrowly limited and mundane, to gain certain degrees of insight-- and foresight-- as well as aesthetic pleasure.

Convergence

Consider the phenomena of existence, the sights, sounds, mingled impressions, historic and human elements and connections of interrelated events.

Music, noise, sounds of the street, voices, insects, animals and machines.  Clocks striking and shouting children, weather conditions, the stirring of air.  Travelers passing overhead.  Ring tones.  Birds and the fluttering of wings.  Back to music, footsteps, automobiles passing.  Wind in the ears.  Breath.

Vibrations, at times, that are perceived yet cannot be identified.

They are all the sounds of a journey.

Tone Poems

The idea of programmatic music, so called because it creates aural impressions of  "real world" concrete and conceptual phenomena, lends itself particularly to the "transformation" and "sketch" ambient forms.

Well known symphonic tone poems by Debussy, Sibelius, Richard Strauss-- and, of course, Gershwin's An American In Paris-- were composed to evoke images of times and places, ideas, events, legends and the like, and certainly represent some of the finest examples of program music.

Works such as Sonic Seasonings by Wendy Carlos, for example, and other ambient creations such as these, might properly be considered extensions of the "tone poem" concept, though developed in entirely different ways with different intents and purposes, and having more in common with impressionistic and other artistic styles than with classical music.

Sound and Relationships

Ceremony and ritual are forms and symbolic acts of community.

Musical expressions of all types imply this shared sense of association; some reflect common sentiments and fashions, others indicate similar interests in such things as the cultural arts, politics, spiritual beliefs, and so on, as distinguish particular audiences.

A notable attribute of ambient music is its quality of providing both interesting listening and contributing to an environment for activities both personal, like reading, and social, such as conversation. 

It is not designed to be the sole focus of interest in a given situation, and may, in fact, complement that focus, whatever it may be.

Vision and Sound II

Juxtaposition of sound elements in collage.

What the eye and experience may intimate, imagination and manipulation of tone, pattern, and movement may realize.

Speculative Music

The names "transformation ambient" and "sketch music" are meant to fit the peculiar sound designs they describe.

It is music that is neither minimalistic nor verging upon static in terms of its content and progress over time.  Rather, as ambient collage or fabrication, it brings varied sounds into contact as they might be heard-- or overheard-- in changing conditions, and in locales both public and "organic" in nature.

It represents, rather than imitates, the development of sound perceived in the course of human movement through imagined environmental spaces. 

Aural Memory

Symmetry and geometry suggest different sounds filling interior and exterior spaces.

Depth, volume, the sense of distance and spatial proximity, the qualities that reflect and absorb sounds in natural environments and in areas defined by human design and structure all impart shades and subtleties of tone color to diverse sounds. Various effects and instrument settings may be used to enhance, approximate, or manipulate these characteristics in a studio scenario. 

Accordingly, the experience of the listener is apt to incorporate personal recollections of the sound features of various environments in context with those generated by the musical pieces themselves.

The "sketch" of a transformation ambient piece is thus completed, in varying degrees, by the listener.

Art and Sound Design

Impressionism is suggestive of perceptions of the external world; abstract expressionism is often representative of the inner workings of the mind of the artist.

Conceptually, ambient music can be designed as work programmed to be produced in a completely artificial way, with almost no input from the artist, or it can be created by fabricating sounds in the manner of painting an aural canvas, upon which the artist renders his ideas, emotions, and intentions.

There are few limits for the listener as well as the artist.

Hawk and Hummingbird

Through a window, shadows of leafy branches swaying in a breeze are cast on the wall.

What comes to our attention is shaped by openness, awareness, subjective attitudes, and the things we carry in our minds; among them are responsibilities, emotional connections, pressures, and desires.

Perception may be refined by conscious attention to subtlety, which is both art and science, as the professions demanding insight and predictive analysis demonstrate.  Such perceptivity graces one's view of life as well, bringing with it the pleasures and satisfactions of foresight and choices well made, along with a greater sense of aesthetic beauty and the complexities of the phenomena of existence.

Wind in trees and the angle of late summer sunlight.

Transmission III

Boundaries of time and space are meaningless in the transmission of culture.

Artists complete works that can become part of anyone's experience, and thus may become suggestive of ideas that lead to the creation of new artistic endeavors in the present day and in the future.

Works of art carry the seeds of works to come.  They germinate in the minds of artists, and may be given form in any medium.  A painting may inspire another painting, a piece of music, a sculpture, a poem or novel, or an architectural design.

The creative arts become interrelated in the expansion of the forces of history, uniting such visions as those of cave painters, theoretical physicists, cubists, and jazz musicians.  So it is for ambient music, with its broad synthesis of artistic forms and ideas.

Earth and Water, Fire and Air

Elements of sketch music include representations of sounds within environments, some completely natural and others reflecting social settings with their equally unique panoramic and intimate aspects.

Both environments, the one entirely natural and the other predominately human, are subject to common phenomena, such things that effect sounds as atmospheric conditions, geographic features, variations in light and darkness, echoes, reflections, concentrations and dispersals of sound waves, and, most particularly, change over time.

These are not content-specific sounds, and so do not necessarily dominate thought, awareness, and perception.  As sound collage, such music (or non-music, if you prefer) is designed to respect the consciousness and activities of listeners and to enhance the surroundings with clarity and subtlety.

Inviting the Moon

Consider reading only books or watching only movies that are constructed around variations of the same plot.

Much music merely drives, in general terms, from point A to point B, repeats, changes pattern, returns to point A and B, and ends by repeating point B. Classic songs and imaginative, complex musical pieces are created with standard patterns and typical forms in which verses, choruses, and so forth are combined to best effect, and much that is atypical and avant-garde can be rooted in such forms.

Give thought to a vision of music that emerges, radiates, flows, shades and illuminates, drifts and surges, fills and occupies spaces, revolves, expands, unfolds and transforms sounds into atmospheres.

The sun is one source of light, the moon, another.

Pop

The ubiquity of pop music means easy accessibility; listeners will tend to hear it more often than other styles.  Listeners become receptive to an emotional connectivity associated with content and patterns of sound common to pop music genres. 

Whether in ballad, rock, or dance, these common patterns are built around repetitive rhythms and refrains, and are made cohesive with instrumentation anchored to bass guitar and percussion.  Listeners come to enjoy this frame of reference in the music they prefer; it is imprinted, to whatever extent, as a subtext in the listener's consciousness. 

Music that does not fit this paradigm, with its rhythm, instrumentation, tempo, and "hooks", is not as accessible. We can observe also the cultural conditioning that effects some listeners in their choices as they identify with certain musical styles, often to the exclusion of others.  The same set of expectations for what defines "music" is in play; classical music and jazz, for example, along with country music and blues, share the aforementioned elements in varying degrees.

While these elements, those of instrumentation, repetition, and rhythmic pulsation may be utilized in the creation of ambient music, they are not essential to it.  Yet the nature of the ambient style, which complements moods and atmospheres and times of day given to activities unburdened by stress and frenetic pace, can be enjoyed by anyone who experiences it in such a context.  In form and function, it is not unlike a kind of audio impressionism, expressionism, or pop art.