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.