Help me identify this music genre.

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

I'm trying to identify the genre that's like musique concrete or soundscape music in a sense that it is composed of naturally recorded sounds (e.g. door creaks, rubber bands, gears, ratchets, shattering glass, bubbling liquids, animal roars, etc) but differs in the fact that the sounds are tuned to a scale, either by physically changing the acoustic properties of the objects that produced them or by just recording their sounds and digitally pitch-shifting them in the studio. Secondly, these sounds should be used in a normal musical context (if such a thing is possible).
These found sounds can be extremely complex and interesting. While not as pure as the sounds of a flute or an electric guitar, the sound of something like glass shattering has many intricate parts. There's the initial shatter, a sound which precedes the ripple of the large and tiny shards that scatter across the floor.

These found sounds are commonly heard in 20th century classical, musique concrete and a variety of related genres but these compositions reject melody and tonality, and the found sounds themselves are always unpitched, chaotic and dissonant. The works of these composers irritates me because their compositions are neither beautiful nor compelling. When I was a three year old, I used to create similar works of art when I took apart my mother's kitchen looking for steel spoons and pots to bang them on. The only difference is that they write their music down.

Now, keep in mind that I love classical music. I love listening to the grandiose sweeps of Tchaikovsky's horns or Beethoven's acerbic piano solos. I even love Stravinsky's use of textures in works such as The Rite of Spring. But even though I have tried, I cannot find any value in pieces such as Stockhausen's Gruppen, pieces that sounds like a bunch of dishes falling out of a cabinet onto a concrete floor, or the sound of a grand piano being hacked to bits.

So, these ordinary sounds are cool but I can't find any music (or genre) where they are used in a constructive way. After searching for a while, I found that the experimental rock band Neptune was the closest to what I was looking for even though they really only exhibit its characteristics in their percussion section. I also have heard that industrial music uses found sounds but I haven't listened to very much of that genre.

Any ideas?

tl;dr: The music genre (or artists) that is like musique concrete because it relies on found sounds but also has tonality, melody, etc.

Edited by Wheelspawn - August 15 2014 at 16:28

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
Wheelspawn Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: August 07 2014 Status: Offline Points: 30	Topic: Help me identify this music genre. Posted: August 15 2014 at 14:40
	I'm trying to identify the genre that's like musique concrete or soundscape music in a sense that it is composed of naturally recorded sounds (e.g. door creaks, rubber bands, gears, ratchets, shattering glass, bubbling liquids, animal roars, etc) but differs in the fact that the sounds are tuned to a scale, either by physically changing the acoustic properties of the objects that produced them or by just recording their sounds and digitally pitch-shifting them in the studio. Secondly, these sounds should be used in a normal musical context (if such a thing is possible). These found sounds can be extremely complex and interesting. While not as pure as the sounds of a flute or an electric guitar, the sound of something like glass shattering has many intricate parts. There's the initial shatter, a sound which precedes the ripple of the large and tiny shards that scatter across the floor. These found sounds are commonly heard in 20th century classical, musique concrete and a variety of related genres but these compositions reject melody and tonality, and the found sounds themselves are always unpitched, chaotic and dissonant. The works of these composers irritates me because their compositions are neither beautiful nor compelling. When I was a three year old, I used to create similar works of art when I took apart my mother's kitchen looking for steel spoons and pots to bang them on. The only difference is that they write their music down. Now, keep in mind that I love classical music. I love listening to the grandiose sweeps of Tchaikovsky's horns or Beethoven's acerbic piano solos. I even love Stravinsky's use of textures in works such as The Rite of Spring. But even though I have tried, I cannot find any value in pieces such as Stockhausen's Gruppen, pieces that sounds like a bunch of dishes falling out of a cabinet onto a concrete floor, or the sound of a grand piano being hacked to bits. So, these ordinary sounds are cool but I can't find any music (or genre) where they are used in a constructive way. After searching for a while, I found that the experimental rock band Neptune was the closest to what I was looking for even though they really only exhibit its characteristics in their percussion section. I also have heard that industrial music uses found sounds but I haven't listened to very much of that genre. Any ideas? tl;dr: The music genre (or artists) that is like musique concrete because it relies on found sounds but also has tonality, melody, etc. Edited by Wheelspawn - August 15 2014 at 16:28