silence?

[John Locke]

not read the loefah interview, so can only go on what the original poster quoted of it, but it seems to me nearly everyone responding on here has completely missed the point:

(according to the poster) Loefah didnt say silence was sound, he said it was an instrument. not the same thing at all. obviously silence is an absence of sound, but that doesnt mean it isnt an essential part of music, but whether that makes it an instrument or not is another matter of course...

and anyone that thinks that loefah's trying to look like a "deep thinker" by saying this either ...

a> doesnt know much about music: its not profound, its a very banal and obvious observation thats been made a million times before ("its not about when you play, its when you DONT play that matters")

or...

b> is trying to make himself look like a "shallow thinker"

[utopian]

If I sat in a silent room, I'd hear ringing. Fortunately, mine's extremely mild, but watch out for the tinnitus, folks.

[twitch]

U cant play notes with silence.

[subbasshead]

Is it not like saying black isnt a colour,
it is the absence of colour....

[suitcasepimp]

I can't stand John Cage, I study sound art and design, and its always JOHN CAGE THIS, STOCKHAUSEN THAT... grrrr

[Hide_One]

i once thought i heard anti-sound, scary and a whole world different then silence.

[caeon]

i don't think it's pure scientific science that loefah means, just the gaps and sustain between notes; it's the notes and the "silent" sustain after notes which give them their punch i think

about the "silence" and actual silence thing, i once listened to a constant tone in a recording and i didn't hear it after a while. so i think your brain ignores constant sound after a while and so then their could be silence in sound-sort of - that's probably why if you're in your house for a while you don't hear humming of electonics or w/e and it just sounds silent

another example if you type an essay to music your brain eventually stops concentrating on the music, you know it's still their but you forget about it

[somejerk]

the anti-matter of music

[justin roche]

"i was reading a loefah interview a while back and he was talking about how silence is an instrument...."

I wish my ex-wife had taken up that instrument, and played it on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, she took up the "Hysterical Scream" and the "tears of emotional blackmail manipulation" instead.
And played both of them almost everyday.

I do not miss being married to that one, I can tell you.

Now, silence is my best friend and if any one wants to play it.
Please, feel free!

[ELLFIVEDEE]

Hysterical Scream

available in VST ?

[Sharmaji]

As for music, was it not once said by a famous musician (can't remember who) that the notes you don't play are almost as important as the ones you do!

that was a big part of Miles Davis' thing. But in general, that's just taste-- there's the great story of miles hiring herbie hancock for a weeks worth of sessions. for 3 days, herbie didn't hear anything he should be playing on in the arrangements. He finally said this to miles, who then said something like "good... that's why i hired you!" the ability to know when to leave yr mark and when to shut up and let it go on is, you know... taste.

it's also one of the things that drew me to dubstep initially, and is still one of the best parts about the best tunes-- restraint, space, respect for the parts, efficiency in arrangment that leads to just tremendous effect. Pinch's 'war dub'? 'horror show'? huge in what's NOT there.

[q_steppa]

silence can be used as an instrument for sure.

[auan]

Ask a scientist, they'll tell you black's not a colour, black's the absence of colour. Ask a painter though, and they'll tell you of course black's a colour, they use it all the time, and if it's not, why does a pot of black paint cost anything?

Same thing with silence innit.

[rendr]

Ask a scientist, they'll tell you black's not a colour, black's the absence of colour. Ask a painter though, and they'll tell you of course black's a colour, they use it all the time, and if it's not, why does a pot of black paint cost anything?

Same thing with silence innit.

Don't get all deep and philosophical on me.

It makes my brain hurts!

[dnab]

True silence is in a vacum

As long as there's air - theres a good chance of sound.

I wonder what yould happen if you were in a vacuum, you wouldn't be able to hear your blood pumping and it would be interesting to find out if your mind really did start to make up noise... although if you were in a vaccum you'd probably be dead

[auan]

Yeah you would, the sound of your heart pumping would reverberate through your bones up your neck to your ears and you'd hear it.

That is, if your blood wasn't being sucked out of your ears at the time. Then I doubt you'd hear anything.

[paradigm_x]

Yeah, but you could then argue that its not a sound as its not 'heard'

Its a different form of stimulation.

Sound is defined as fluctuations in air pressure. Hence no air = no sound.

Hi Alan!

[drwurst]

theres a lot you can hear even without you ears ( through bones and body)...
even "the sound of silence"...
and theres nothing so special about an anechoic chamber...
in a normal room that is isolated
(and silent )
you d have the same feelings
cause no sound, theres no reverbration
...
?