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Ok so ive got an unfinished piece im working on and it currently runs to nearly 45 minutes. Now, the side of me that previously produced Industrial and Dubstep says thats WAY too long so im now thinking do i edit it to make it shorter? whats the longest pieces you've all done?
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wow 7 hours! i dont think i'll be going that far but this is good newsComment
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Yep... but yeah, I think pretty much anything goes with ambient. I think there aren't really any rules as such.Originally posted by mikkha76 View Post
Actually at one point I was going to post about some (or all) of us around here doing a huge collaboration to set a new record, (lol!) but I thought better of it and deleted it before submitting the post. The longest continuous piece of music recorded so far... that would sure put us on the map!
That's also something that was and is a particular personal challenge for me as well. Slowing down and spreading out what I want to say. I'm used to thinking in terms of 3-10 minutes and being much more concentrated in my thoughts overall.My Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sequent7Comment
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yeah i get it, when i was doing more commercial EDM i had to think, how much will people tolerate but now its a case of retraining my musical mind to think, i can do what i wantComment
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Interesting ideas, Nemo you should check this out..., hard to beat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Slow_as_Possible , especially in this "performance: "The current organ performance of the piece at St. Burchardi church in Halberstadt, Germany, began in 2001 and is scheduled to have a duration of 639 years, ending in 2640."
As for me, I'll easily admit I'm intimdated by overly long track-length...sometime I do make a point of settling down and listen, and that's what I like ambient for, but if you're really resolved to listen intently, much shorter pieces often pose a challenge. I guess I am currently trying to refocus on listening - even if ambient music isn't always made for that, I think it's very much worthwhile.Comment
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It can be hard for a listener to find the time to listen to longer pieces in the 21st Century with familial, employment, bureaucratic, social and other commitments. Time is sadly the most precious resource of all.Comment
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i think that's why i listen to long ambient pieces at night, having a 5 month old baby doesn't facilitate much concentration during the day :whiteflag:Originally posted by seismic1 View PostComment
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Brian Eno worked on the sound for the never-repeating chimes of this clock, which will mark time for 10,000 years. Now that's long.
The Long Now Foundation
To directly address the question I can only speak from my own experience.
I do not have a following, so I have no real audience to consider. For me, a piece is as long as I want it to be. I have pieces that have gone 45+ minutes, and no one complained...lol.
For introducing people to your work, I would say 45 minutes is probably a bit much to ask, but it depends on the individual. You can always make edits so people can sample the flavor of the piece without the necessity of scanning or sitting through a piece they may not find a feel for, and have the entire piece also available, should they crave more. I always feel I would want a listener and potential fan of my work to not get enough of something, rather than too much.
That being said, I have sat and listened to pieces from artists that lasted as long or longer. Eno's Thursday Afternoon and Neroli come to mind. I have listened to Dax's "Beyond the Nightsky" which clocks in at over 50, if I remember correctly. At no time during any of those pieces did I check the time, so for me as a listener, the artists were on the mark.Comment
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Some of LaMonte Young's "Theatre Of Eternal Music's" pieces were quite long as well...Comment
but if this is the length of the complete track, you'll probably be ok. Ambient tracks do tend to run for longer than the average for other genres.
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