The Music of Noise

What's the difference between making music and just making noise?

Music is an organized sound that has rhythm, harmony, and direction. 

According to Webster, Noise is “a sound that lacks an agreeable quality or is noticeably unpleasant or loud.”

Imagine the noise coming from a toddler with a plastic toy drum. Those drums can be surprisingly loud and unpleasant. As the kid explores the world of sound, he doesn't seem to mind if his instrument sounds unpleasant. He’s just curious to see how much noise he can generate.   

Here is what I want to tell you… It's still important to just make noise as an adult. Generating any sound -pleasant or unpleasant-  is an energetic, emotional, and physical release. 

Naturally, we want our music to be pleasant and agreeable so that people will listen. 

But, if we can find a way to get comfortable making noise, we may find a deeper connection to music.  

Noise is like the chaotic and ever expansive Yin 

And music is like the organized and focused Yang 

We can't have music without noise and we cant have noise without music.

If you listen closely to the seemingly random noises in a coffee shop, you’ll start to notice the rhythm that moves through all time and space. 

Now what if you make a some noise right now? Can you fully embrace how pleasant or unpleasant it may be? Can you listen to it with a curious mind? 

To be great musicians, we need to master the art of organizing noise.