To inspire & nurture the human spirit - one person, one mind and one heart at a time. Help people feel good and get more out of life.
The Benefits of Ambient Music
'What makes ambient music important to society?'
'What are the benefits of this type of music?'
'Why should we care about it at all?'
'What are the benefits of this type of music?'
'Why should we care about it at all?'
When I first heard these questions, I was at a loss for answers. I didn't know what to infer from the words 'important to society', or the concept of getting everyone to care about something that really just comes down to a matter of taste in music. What's worse is the fact that when I tried to search online for the benefits of ambient music, I was assaulted not by articles seeking to prove the intrinsic value of the genre. Rather, I found nothing but either experiments involving altering a person's mood using background music, whether it actually be Ambient or not, or people simply trying to sell their music under the guise that it will relieve your stress, and/or make you more productive.
Then I realized the problem. To truly understand the world of ambient music and its artists, and steer clear of people who are simply selling you half-baked meditation music with subliminal messages, the question needs to change from 'How does this music benefit society?' to 'How does this music benefit me personally?'. It's when you search for personal opinions on the subject that you begin to see the true value of ambient music. So, coupled with sources from other blogs and talk sites, I give you my four big reasons why Ambient music is valuable.
1: Ambient music teaches you patience.
People who are not initiated to ambient music after listening will usually comment on how they thought it was dull and repetitive, drones on for far too long, and that there simply is no action or climax to any of it. After all, most songs that don't fall into the category of ambient are three minutes in length on average, and are meant to grab your attention and be bombastic. Ambient music will appear to be long and drawn out at first, but if composed correctly will keep your attention should you be giving any to it, because despite its often simple base, it is intrinsically interesting. Of course, if you are at all looking to jump into the genre, but don't want to start with the really deep stuff, I foundthis list to be somewhat helpful.
1: Ambient music teaches you patience.
People who are not initiated to ambient music after listening will usually comment on how they thought it was dull and repetitive, drones on for far too long, and that there simply is no action or climax to any of it. After all, most songs that don't fall into the category of ambient are three minutes in length on average, and are meant to grab your attention and be bombastic. Ambient music will appear to be long and drawn out at first, but if composed correctly will keep your attention should you be giving any to it, because despite its often simple base, it is intrinsically interesting. Of course, if you are at all looking to jump into the genre, but don't want to start with the really deep stuff, I foundthis list to be somewhat helpful.
There is at least one parallel I can find in the world of cinema as well. Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' is a movie that really draws itself out and revels in its atmosphere. For that reason, many people find it boring to sit through, but the story and atmosphere you get from the movie, at least in my opinion, is phenomenal. For that reason, I like to refer to 2001 as an 'ambient movie', even though it was made nine years before the genre was officially born.
2: It's a good way to escape the noise of the outer world.
If you are like me, then you get tired of the constant dribble that you hear around you daily, both at home and outside. To escape that noise, nearly any genre of music will work, but I find ambient to be somewhat more effective than any other genre I've listened to. I say this primarily because ambient music doesn't throw sound at you, but instead surrounds you with it, giving you a space to think and be calm. For this reason, it often feels like an audible barrier, protecting you from invasive sounds.
Now, this may or may not be desirable, given your circumstances and preferences, but I personally find it indispensable at times. To borrow the words of another artist, it is 'an antidote to noise'.
2: It's a good way to escape the noise of the outer world.
If you are like me, then you get tired of the constant dribble that you hear around you daily, both at home and outside. To escape that noise, nearly any genre of music will work, but I find ambient to be somewhat more effective than any other genre I've listened to. I say this primarily because ambient music doesn't throw sound at you, but instead surrounds you with it, giving you a space to think and be calm. For this reason, it often feels like an audible barrier, protecting you from invasive sounds.
Now, this may or may not be desirable, given your circumstances and preferences, but I personally find it indispensable at times. To borrow the words of another artist, it is 'an antidote to noise'.
3: Ambient music is pure, distilled emotion.
I can't think of another genre that is more basic at heart than ambient and its subsidiaries. The feelings you receive from listening to a specific song, when done right, are direct and powerful. While generally people use ambient music to induce calmness, it has its darker side as well. Generally referred to as Dark Ambient, these songs are often used to invoke fear and dread, and are heard in more horror movies and games than one can easily count. The reason why these songs are prevalent is because they do their job very well, most of the time. If you want proof of this, try playing a horror video game you consider genuinely scary that lets you turn off the music exclusively, and play without music for a while. The results may surprise you!
I also find that if I am suffering from negative feelings, it helps when I put on a positive ambient tune. This is also a matter of preference, though, considering that non ambient can do this too, and more effectively for some people, just not myself. However, I would highly recommend giving the genre a shot, because you never know if it actually will help you or not until you've given it a good test run. If you want to give it a shot without emptying your wallet, I've found an excellent site for listening to and downloading deep ambient music for free!
I can't think of another genre that is more basic at heart than ambient and its subsidiaries. The feelings you receive from listening to a specific song, when done right, are direct and powerful. While generally people use ambient music to induce calmness, it has its darker side as well. Generally referred to as Dark Ambient, these songs are often used to invoke fear and dread, and are heard in more horror movies and games than one can easily count. The reason why these songs are prevalent is because they do their job very well, most of the time. If you want proof of this, try playing a horror video game you consider genuinely scary that lets you turn off the music exclusively, and play without music for a while. The results may surprise you!
I also find that if I am suffering from negative feelings, it helps when I put on a positive ambient tune. This is also a matter of preference, though, considering that non ambient can do this too, and more effectively for some people, just not myself. However, I would highly recommend giving the genre a shot, because you never know if it actually will help you or not until you've given it a good test run. If you want to give it a shot without emptying your wallet, I've found an excellent site for listening to and downloading deep ambient music for free!
(If the lengthy list of unfamiliar music on this site scares you, don't fret. I will shortly make my next post with a list of recommendations for this site, and others.)
4: There is no better fuel for the imagination.
Most of the artwork I do was inspired by various ambient albums. The Dream States I mentioned in the last post of this blog were fueled by ambient music. I sleep easier if I'm hearing some sort of ambient in the background. Whenever I get or see reviews for the music that artists like myself make in the genre, I always tend to see people describing the atmosphere or world they envisioned in their head while listening to it. This even happens in more or less professional reviews. If just the right mood strikes me while listening to ambient songs, entire worlds will unfold in my mind, to the point where I might just get lost in them for a while, and those can inspire more works of art in the near future, including future songs! Some may say that I've become addicted to this form of music, but really, I have trouble seeing the down-side, especially when I'm opening my imagination to long-formmasterpieces like this!
4: There is no better fuel for the imagination.
Most of the artwork I do was inspired by various ambient albums. The Dream States I mentioned in the last post of this blog were fueled by ambient music. I sleep easier if I'm hearing some sort of ambient in the background. Whenever I get or see reviews for the music that artists like myself make in the genre, I always tend to see people describing the atmosphere or world they envisioned in their head while listening to it. This even happens in more or less professional reviews. If just the right mood strikes me while listening to ambient songs, entire worlds will unfold in my mind, to the point where I might just get lost in them for a while, and those can inspire more works of art in the near future, including future songs! Some may say that I've become addicted to this form of music, but really, I have trouble seeing the down-side, especially when I'm opening my imagination to long-formmasterpieces like this!
Hopefully I've done a decent job explaining why ambient music is so compelling, and deserves a place in the hearts of everyone who admires it. Please leave comments if you want to support or contest this argument. If I have your attention, stay tuned, because next up, I'm going to list some of my favorite albums and/or artists within the genre!