I’ve been thinking recently about the miniaturization of music and sound. For instance, at one point in time, to create a significant piece of music scores of instruments were needed to be involved — strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion. With the onset of the baroque period, the birth of the orchestra took place. It swelled to titanic proportions and ultimately peeked during the early part of the 20th century. Not only were the orchestras big, but the pieces were even bigger, statements, entire cosmologies, human dramas and epochs set to music.

Fast forward to 2008 and the medium through which we listen to music has shrunken to MP3 files and even smaller in the form of clips truncated into ring tones. What started off as grand and magisterial has been reduced to the essence of miniscule ephemera, which got me to thinking more about ring tones and while they are primarily a social currency of youth, I think that they could have some real power as memes for people who want to stay awake. Imagine the possibility of hearing the Dalai Lama’s laugh as a ring tone every time someone called, or the playful song of a dolphin, or a bold thunderclap followed by light rain, the sacred polyphony of Gregorian chant, the rousing bark of the didgeridoo, light strains of Satie, or the uninhibited cries of a lone wolf, all reminding us of some greater reality, broadcasting it into the world at large for all to hear. It may not replace Mahler’s “Fifth Symphony” in the ranks of human achievement, but conscious ring tones would allow us to regain a modicum of control when it comes to the shrinking values and esthetics of the post-modern world.

by Robert Phoenix
Robert Phoenix moves freely among a vast array of realities, but tends to focus-in on music and human evolution.