Tribby Greevs asks the question Do You Use Music To Enhance Your Creative Process. I say yes! I have always used music, particularly ambient music, to help inspire my writing. Brian Eno (Music for Airports, Thursday Afternoon), Stars of the Lid and Vladislav Delay are three artists who create ambient music that I regularly use when writing. When I listen I feel ensconced in a creative cloud and feel free to dig deep and spill ideas onto the page. The brain is soothed and the words do flow. Strangely, it stops my mind from wandering; I become entirely focused and immersed in the moment. It is a clarity that allows words to rise. I must admit that a glass of red wine helps with the process.
Check out this beautiful music video featuring Vladislav Delays music.
I have often thought that a worthy government project would be to install speakers on selected street corners and fill the air with ambient sounds. How would this influence our day, our attitude, the way we interpret our surroundings? What of a violent Saturday night on the streets of Melbourne – would it soothe the aggressive impulse of angry young men? I feel ambient music could be a calming, even illuminating influence in a frantic and at times aggressive world.
Although not necessarily ambient music, there is a new application for the Iphone called rjdj that allows the user to turn the city into a musical composition. Check this out:
[…] This is an interesting post on Jordan Lacey’s blog about ambient music […]
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[…] Ambient Music This is an interesting post on Jordan Lacey’s blog about ambient music. […]
Thanks for continuing the discussion on using music for our creative process! That’s great! (By the way…my name is spelled “Trilby Jeeves”…just sayin’ ;)) Thanks Jordan!
That’s a pleasure. It was interesting to read your post. Sorry about misspelling your name – Trilby Jeeves! Jordan
Music has been trialled by some Victorian councils in a bid to stop loitering in certain areas. Frankston Council installed speakers and play classical music around the train station due to the problems that the area had with vandalism and such (although they claim it is ‘to create a more relaxed and inviting atmosphere’) whereas Stonnington trialled playing jazz, country & western and classical music in the Cato Street carpark to keep away ‘bored teenagers from other suburbs’.
This is a practical application for music – a kind of crowd control. I guess this is the reverse effect of pumping US soldiers heads full of metal music before they go in for the kill in Iraq. Let’s hope they don’t get it the wrong way around or I’m never going to Frankston again.