I ended up with the question “Isn´t a spectrum the same as (layered) chords, at least when working only with sine waves? “

Well, let´s have a look how the pioneers of electronic music in the 1950s tried to deal with questions like that, now, that they were confronted with completely new kinds of sounds in music.

One of the most systematically proceeding composers of that time is Herbert Eimert. He divided all (electronic) sounds in the following categories:

tone

sound

tone mixture

noise

First of all, what is Ered Nimrais? Well, it´s a fictive moutain massive mentioned in Tolkien´s trilogy “Lord of the Rings”.

Let me quote the booklet of my last sample library:

“In the south of Middle-Earth there are the mountains of Ered Nimrais, also called the White Mountains. Here we find Helm´s Deep, the Glittering Caves of Aglarond, the Path of the Dead, and at the foot of the mountains the realm of Rohan. From Gondor to Rohan along the peaks of the Mountains men have installed the signal fires to call for help.”

It all seems like a labyrinth of questions and half-baked ideas, or the scintillation of a misled mind. So let me try to find the beginning of some threads, take them up and find my way through this maze like Theseus used Ariadne´s clew of yarn to find his way out of the Minotaur´s home.

I admit: part 1 was rather evil and vicious than constructive. Well, waking up isn´t always a nice thing. Anyway.

Where might we start thinking about new music, about new sound – and what´s even deeper – about new concepts for both?

Why I´m happy about old inedible yoghurt

or

What do yoghurt and Tolkien´s evil wizard Saruman have in common?

“The frequency of silence is 16 Hz” or “How a mayfly taught me the sound of life”

Let´s do a thought experiment to tune ourselves in and experience a bit of the spirit of these early days of electronic music.

To make in clear right at the beginning: this series of articles is not about having fun with or through music – not at all!

And let me begin in a rather vicious – and deliberately unfair – manner.