My Dimensional Music Theory

[midnghtraver]

Take what you will form this. I'm sure most of you are thinking the same way I am already anyways. Carry on.
This was originally for a language arts essay (which is why I explain to you all what a VST is), but I figured you all might find it interesting.

My Dimensional Music Theory

I have spent many nights awake, thinking about my philosophies surrounding music and I have come to a few conclusions, the first of which is why music interests me in the first place, which has to do with evolution. Picture the most basic form of music, one tone, never changing, constant, no rhythm. This is the most “basic” form of music. I will refer to this as one dimensional music. The next tier is once rhythm is added to the tone. Now, the tone is no longer constantly persistent, this is two dimensional music. Then, the tone starts to change. The sound is no longer a single pitch, melodies are added. This is 3 dimensional music. The next tier, and the tier that most music today is on is different. Now you are layering 3 dimensional sounds to create the songs we hear today (by layering I mean putting instruments together). This is NOT, however, 4 dimensional music because you are not adding a new dimension to the prior, you are just layering the prior dimension on top of itself, which leads me to my next conclusion (which requires some pre-knowledge). I make the music I make digitally. This means I’m not recording any live instruments, but don’t get me wrong, I am still composing all of the music myself. Music, since music started has used physical instruments. While these instruments are great, they always make the same sound. I mean, no two guitars sound exactly the same, but they are both very obviously (by the sound they are making) guitars. What I am trying to say is that you can do a ton of things to a guitar to change the way it sounds, but it will always be a guitar. When I produce music electronically, I don’t use a physical instrument (other than my piano), I use something called a VST. This also requires some explanation. Obviously we don’t SEE sound, we hear it, but that doesn't mean that music doesn't have a physical manifestation. Sound is made up of waves, traveling through the space around us. A VST takes the most basic form of sound, a sine wave, and gives you a TON of customizable parameters that allow you (me) to manipulate that original sine wave and turn it into every sound you could possibly imagine and every sound you couldn't imagine as well. This means I could make a guitar with a VST, or maybe a piano, even a didgeridoo, or maybe something completely unique. What I am saying is I don’t just change the rhythm, melody, and amount of voices in a song, but also the sounds of the instruments playing those things. I am effectively inventing new instruments for EVERY new song I make. Welcome to 4 dimensional music. Before, people were restricted to the instruments available to them, now they have VSTs. A VST doesn't replace an instrument but instead is a workshop to invent new instruments. This is the major separation between electronically produced music and non-electronically produced music.

[swordmasterz]

I fail to see why your application of VSTs creates a fourth dimension.

Just because electronic music and digital workshops didn't exist in the time back then doesn't mean that the musicians weren't trying to use new sounds as elements of music. Consider for example musique concrete by Schaeffer who used various recorded noises as part of his music; what would you consider that to be?


I also find it interesting that you somehow disregarded dynamics in your dimensionality. Not to mention other musical qualities.

I'm not trying to hate on your theory or anything, I'm just offering criticism.

Also I'm not 100% sure this kind of post belongs here.

[midnghtraver]

I was debating putting it in the CT thread or not.

I realize that this "theory" is extremely surface, but you have to understand that I wrote this for my language arts teacher for an assignment literally called "information dump."

If I were to rewrite this for the sake of having it, it would be much longer, much more convoluted, and would have nothing to do with dimensions. That was just the best way I felt I would be able to communicate my idea to my teacher.

Recorded noises are still limited by what you have to record, a rock could still be considered an instrument, and a rock will sound like a rock.

Also, no need for a disclaimer, if anything, I want to hear what I left out/was wrong about/just stupid/etc...