Music for Network Thinking

When we think of music we often think of songs or symphonies. These have an expected structure, distinct themes and musical keys. There is a clear beginning, clear ending and distinct parts. No matter who plays the tune, we instantly recognize it.  We are expected to pay attention throughout the piece and follow the composer's intentions.  This is prescribed music.

There is also emergent music.  This music is not rigidly structured.  It is not random or chaotic, it is complex -- more like a network, with many connections, paths, possibilities and outcomes.  Various initial conditions do not insure the same progression or the same result.  The music morphs, yet can be molded by the performer.  Surprise and serendipity trump over prescription and predictability.
A popular style of emergent music is called Ambient -- it has many flavors.  A pioneer of electronic music, Brian Eno, describes ambient music this way:

"Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting."

Emergent music is not intended for a "full attention" listening session.  It is intended to provide a sonic background to help you think or do something else. It will waft in and out of your consciousness, but not interfere with what you are doing.  It will help you accomplish what you are working on. It helps you focus, while letting your thoughts and ideas flow. 

At Orgnet, LLC, we listen to emergent electronic music during periods of computer programming, data wrangling, writing, browsing the Net, and assembling presentations. We created Echoes as music to work by.  It emerges from networked electronic synthesizers that have been programmed with simple sequences, in specific musical modes.  When these simple sequences interact you get a complex, evolving soundscape. Once the process is started, the composer (programmer?), is just as surprised as the audience on what comes next.

Conversations are also emergent -- different listeners follow different themes and threads. Patterns appear, patterns repeat, and often they combine in new and interesting ways.  Again, you never know what path(s) a conversation will take, or how it will end. Interaction, flow, intersection, re-combination -- something new emerges.

Enjoy the emergence!