Approximately Nothing
Approximately Nothing
.minimal piano music
and images
.
@d-pend
Audio Links for "Approximately Nothing:"
► Listen on DSound
► Listen from source (IPFS)
► Listen on Soundcloud
► Listen on YouTube (embedded below)
Musical notes
This piece is called 'Approximately Nothing' because in the grander scheme of things, that's exactly what it is. Technically something, but still asymptotically approaching nothing in terms of cosmic significance. Or approaching everything, if you must be an unrelenting optimist: but that's a piece for another day.
It's also the first time I've touched piano keys in approximately several months, which isn't rare per se, but I find it surprises those aware of the fact that it was the subject of my years-long undergraduate study. That's a long story, but this piece isn't. It's approximately 4 minutes and 44.447 seconds long, just so you know what kind of commitment you're getting yourself aurally into.
This is a very minimalistic improvisation, meant to have plenty of empty space, played mostly in the lower register—and mostly with the left hand only. Thus, the goodly too-muddy sonorities characteristic of the lazy and brooding soul too early in the morning on a cold rainy day. It is free-metered and tuned to A=444 hz.The single take was multiplied three times: once centered and normal, plus two additional tracks with complementary (mirrored) automated panning. The two tracks had large-space-simulating reverb and sporadic manually-automated ring modulation respectively.
Finally, a nine-minute recording was made of the light rain outside, halved, and panned ±22 to the left and right to add ambient depth and an authentic sense of the atmosphere in which the improv was created. This rain was also given a large-cavern-simulating reverb, which enhanced the already-box-sounding acoustics captured by my iPhone in the brick, concrete-and-wood-door-sided one-open-faced vertical rectangular prism that happens to function primarily as the front porch of my house.
Now that I have given you far more information than you care to have regarding what is, ultimately, the somewhat-pleasant-sounding-but-truly-astonishingly-low-effort-creation-of-a-once-rigorous-improvisationally-oriented-composer-realizing-with-chagrin-the-vast-stretches-of-time-he-lets-said-skill-atrophy-and-determining-to-make-something-approximately-nothing-on-a-cold-rainy-morning, and still too little information about other things perhaps mattering up to or exceeding a great deal more, I shall take my digital leave. { * walks out of room without saying goodbye * }
It's also the first time I've touched piano keys in approximately several months, which isn't rare per se, but I find it surprises those aware of the fact that it was the subject of my years-long undergraduate study. That's a long story, but this piece isn't. It's approximately 4 minutes and 44.447 seconds long, just so you know what kind of commitment you're getting yourself aurally into.
This is a very minimalistic improvisation, meant to have plenty of empty space, played mostly in the lower register—and mostly with the left hand only. Thus, the goodly too-muddy sonorities characteristic of the lazy and brooding soul too early in the morning on a cold rainy day. It is free-metered and tuned to A=444 hz.The single take was multiplied three times: once centered and normal, plus two additional tracks with complementary (mirrored) automated panning. The two tracks had large-space-simulating reverb and sporadic manually-automated ring modulation respectively.
Finally, a nine-minute recording was made of the light rain outside, halved, and panned ±22 to the left and right to add ambient depth and an authentic sense of the atmosphere in which the improv was created. This rain was also given a large-cavern-simulating reverb, which enhanced the already-box-sounding acoustics captured by my iPhone in the brick, concrete-and-wood-door-sided one-open-faced vertical rectangular prism that happens to function primarily as the front porch of my house.
Now that I have given you far more information than you care to have regarding what is, ultimately, the somewhat-pleasant-sounding-but-truly-astonishingly-low-effort-creation-of-a-once-rigorous-improvisationally-oriented-composer-realizing-with-chagrin-the-vast-stretches-of-time-he-lets-said-skill-atrophy-and-determining-to-make-something-approximately-nothing-on-a-cold-rainy-morning, and still too little information about other things perhaps mattering up to or exceeding a great deal more, I shall take my digital leave. { * walks out of room without saying goodbye * }
by @d-pend
1/3/19
This work of art reached me in a mood that calls for creativity. After a long family weekend, which was not only relaxing but also exhausting, I felt a bit drained and far away from my creative everyday life. The mood was depressed and so I surfed the net for artists who could bring me back on my way. In this atmosphere I now meet your sounds. The slowness and the long pauses between the tones are unusual and especially the rhythm only becomes clear when you hear it to the end. The idea with the rain is really very good! I wish you'd made it eight minutes instead of four. The finale is a bit sudden.
An extremely successful composition. The best I saw today and it leaves me grateful.
@d-pend This is awesome. I love it . Have a lot of catching up to do with all your poetry. It's time to connect.
Really nice stuff man.
Great. I can't expand on your comments so I'll just say I enjoyed it :)
Hahaha. I actually thank you for all the details. It gives sense to an otherwise inconsequential impromptu.
My daughter makes fun of me at the key board (I know nothing about performing, can't play any instrument, just have read about history of music and love all genres), but I think I will record some of the attempts at "playing".
I love the rain, so I loved every second of rain sound. There is a moment when a screen dooris open, i believe and the soft creaking of the door adds a very ominous effect.
It reminded me of the sound of rain under plantain leaves (different, yet...) or under zinc/tin roof. Those are my childhood's most loving sound bites.
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You only a lump of dust
And you are all the cosmos combined
I did not expect Aproximately Nothing to sound something like this. Strange in a good way and made me think of alien planets for some reason.
I feel that the compass between the musical sounds produced with the piano and the sounds of the raindrops splashing in the produced wells are interrelated and are able to recreate a walk in the rain in a film semi penumbra set just to feel and not to see anything. The abrupt end induces to feel a cut of the film. I thought it was great. Well done!
I had a feeling of too-much-time in the moment that briefly eclipses the too-little-time feeling of too many days in the frenetic society of stress. Perhaps the jarring end can be taken as a metaphor for the all-too-briefness of the majority of our experiences of solace in the modern world. Thanks for listening, @zeleiracordero!
I capture your artistic intention and it's very accurate. The whole sound passage is relaxing and the abrupt end reflects the ephemeral moments of relaxation in our society so committed to frenetic movement and activities that should be harmonious, but have been transformed into a shake by the complications that have been added over the years. Then, peace is changed by stress, with or without intention.