Blog Review-Of Sound Mind

What is music? One definition is that it is the organisation of sound. This hardly seems adequate. Not all organised sound seems musical and some noise may seem musical without being very organised. This confusion is aggravated by the fact that many experimental musical forms purposely blur the distinction between music and noise.

I don't mind not having complete answers to these kinds of questions. As an experimental composer, I find it to be far more enjoyable to challenge definitions and categories than to settle on traditional views.

Of Sound Mind is a great blog for learning about sound and the ill defined border between music and noise. This blog chronicles the adventures of an imaginative sonic explorer. He shares his thoughts and audio clips. These audio clips are unique. They are generally not finished compositions. Sometimes, they explore isolated elements of music or unusual recording techniques. Listening to them provides a rare glimpse into a musical mind at work.

This approach may seem somewhat strange in our modern world of readily available, polished, professionally produced music. It is easy to forget about the ingredients of music. It is even easier to forget about the fascination of sounds that may not be musical in any traditional sense.

There was a time when things were different. Attentive listening to sounds was often a matter of life and death. You may not see the approach of an enemy or predator, but if you were alert, you might hear it. When darkness fell, hearing became even more important for evaluating your surroundings. I am sure that there was much greater respect and admiration for the power and mystery of sound.

Today, sound is frequently a nuisance, something to be blocked out. When we use it for entertainment, it is often trivial and played in the background. I can only speculate on the consequences of this sensory imbalance, on the peculiar shift of attention from the auditory to the visual world that has taken place in modern times.

If you want to learn more about sound, if you want to experience a broader range of sonic possibilities, I recommend that you pay a visit to Of Sound Mind.