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9-24-07: The Spontaneous – In-between Random & Patterned

Pretty much the only music I listen to while driving around town is my music.

Why is that?

It’s the only music that interests me.

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The rest sounds too much the same.

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Ah, you know. Chords – triads – melody and harmony – that sort of thing.

How is yours different?

Mine is like hiking up a mountain stream. Each moment is indescribably different. Never the same. But I don’t know why.

Other music certainly must fall into that category as well.

Perhaps. But most cultivate order while I attempt to push the limits of random.

If it is too random it sounds like noise.

Similar, but distinctly different.

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Noise is random from moment to moment. This is boring because it’s so predictable.

How can the random be predictable?

In terms of central measures. (See my scientific paper on Multiple Levels of Random.)

Central measures?

Let’s just say that sheer random is predictably random. I attempt to balance predictability and the random on a variety of levels. My random extends into time. It’s not just based on each moment. There is no interest in that.

Bullshit. You don’t try to do anything. The process is much more spontaneous than that. You just play. Brain is just being clever – using your scientific research to explain why some of your musical improvisations sound better than others. As usual Brain attempts to co-opt the process, when his analysis is after the fact.

True. The only thing I really do when creating is attempt to express my underlying emotions. A subtle phenomenon – not so easy to attain.

Too much Brain – no gain.

Precisely. On a different but related topic. When I was testing my recordings to see which would be included on CD #8, ‘Barely Here’, I noticed that although I haven’t been improvising as much that the quality was still high. I had thought that lack of practice would cause my improvisations to degenerate.

L: Not me. I would think that less frequent improvisations would sound better because they would be fresh.

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L: If your patterns aren’t fresh in your memory, you’re not as likely to repeat them.

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L: Repetitive patterns are not as interesting to the ear. Music is boring when it is too predictable. The ear becomes habituated and tends to tune it out.

Repetitive patterns - a downside of improvisational music?

L: Exactly. Another downside is lack of structure – too random.

True. A good improvisation is Spontaneous – the Balance between Random and Patterned.