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Welcome to the first edition of the new segment of "The Lab" which explores music in ways that are theoretical in nature.
Basically, these are experiments I conduct which help me to understand the nature of music based on my observations and ideas.

The first experiment has to do with my "synesthetic" experience of music, and the particular dynamics of music that I'm drawn to most and least. If you've used Pandora, you'll understand the basic idea of what I'm going for. This experiment is something like Pandora's music genome project, which categorizes music based on its musical properties and characteristics, such as the type of vocal, the instrumentation, the pacing, and the style. There are hundreds of tags used in the genome project, not many of which explore dynamics such as mood or atmosphere.

My system is loosely based on my own synesthetic experience of music; the various images and symbolic references my mind spontaneously assigns to music. It also brings into the mix the emotional experience the song creates (at least, from my own experience, as the same song can be percieved differently from one person to the next).

This experiment came about as an attempt to organize and categorize the kinds of images I associate with different music, to make sense of them and give them some kind of rhyme and reason. I noticed that with two similar sounding songs, I would experience similar synesthetic "visions" : the same kinds of images, colors, textures and symbols would present themselves in my mind's eye.

To organize these images, I wanted to use an existing categorization system as a kind of metaphorical structure. The first categorization system that came to mind was the Animal - Vegetable - Mineral system, which is elegant and allows for little to no overlap of its categories. I figured that since my synesthetic experience doesn't ever produce any images of living things, I decided to find a system that addresses the Mineral Kingdom only. I began thinking of the periodic table of the elements, which led to thinking about The Four Elements- earth, air, fire and water. A ha! I have my system. The elements of earth, air, fire and water can be used as metaphors for color, movement, and emotion.

From there, I assigned each element a defenition in its relationship with music.
I'll start with my definitions for music I associate with the element Air.

DEFINITIONS for AIR-BASED MUSIC:

A
(Air)

AIR- Music that is calm, aloof, gentle, slow, mellow, smooth, open and spacious. This is music that is non-invasive and corresponds with the sensation of cold, coolness or softness.

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AE
(Air with Earth)

Mixed with Earth, Air music remains aloof, but becomes somewhat less slick and more grainy. Any smoothness Air brings to the picture is tempered by textured instruments, or rough vocals. A lot of slow-paced jazz falls into this category, as long as it's generally detached and instrumental. This becomes the sub-element of SMOG.

Images I associate with smog music tend to include greyscales and sepia tones; drab colors and dusty surfaces.

A good example of "smog" music is David Brubeck's Take Five. Smooth arrangement with lots of musical textures, primarily from the use of saxophone. This isn't an emotional piece, but instead is more on the detached and aloof side in its sophistication. A true "smog" song would be less energetic than Take Five (which has elements of Fire in it, due to its somewhat upbeat tempo). Therefore this song would be tagged AEF (air - earth - fire).


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AF
(Air with Fire)

*Edit: renamed from Electricity to Ultraviolet. In a lapse of memory, I actually switched the two names.

Mixed with Fire, Air music remains slick and somewhat aloof, but is more energetic and electrrified. The sounds are like the sun's energy suspended in air, in resemblance to how a keyboard's electric sounds create a sense of atmosphere. This becomes the sub-element of ULTRAVIOLET.

Images I tend to associate with Ultraviolet music are things like electrons, beams of light, and faded neon colors that can only be produced artificially, or by bioluminescence.

"Ultraviolet" in its purest form is best exemplified by instrumental electronic tracks of low to medium pace. Because of the somewhat emotional tone of this track, it would be tagged AFW (air - fire - water), with maybe a hint of Earthy texture (AFWe).



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AW
(Air with Water)

Mixed with Water, Air music becomes more human, emotional and accessible, often with sweeping synths and airy vocals; and remains gentle and subdued. Air and water together are smooth and flowing, like water droplets suspended in a fog or a cloud. Both air and water are cool, so there is still that feeling of blue coolness that makes me feel relaxed and at peace. This becomes the sub-element of MIST.

Images I tend to associate with Mist music are cool blues, clouds and fogs, water droplets and gentle breezes.

Amarantine by Enya is a little on the warm and passionate side (like sun shining through a thin veil of cloud), so it could possibly be tagged as AWF (air - water - fire).




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