Notes on the classification Plain Music
This is an analog oscillator that generates a square wave and can be built for around two to three dollars. If you search for “square wave circuit,” you will find similar projects. The beep itself is only a single tone, but by layering a resonator, an octaver, reverb, and so on, it can be transformed into a pleasant drone sound. Whether it deserves to be called a sound source is debatable, but it is an extremely simple one. That very simplicity is what I find appealing.
It is not only such simple devices that are appealing. More than the simplicity of the sound itself, it may be the simplicity of the production methods and tools that is attractive. Collecting and categorizing these kinds of techniques and approaches could be a very interesting endeavor.
I am considering a classification called “Plain Music” (the name may change). Plain Music refers to a genre characterized by simplicity, restrained production methods, ease of reproduction, plainness, conciseness, and approachability in a positive sense.
If you strip ambient music of its philosophical elements and simply play reverb-heavy pads, that might become “Plain Music.” For now, making something noise-like with whatever happens to be at hand feels like “Plain Music.” Simply copy-pasting a chord progression is “Plain Music.” Using only a Volca is “Plain Music.” Performing with nothing but a noise box is “Plain Music.” Even just producing sound at all can be “Plain Music.”
It may be music made with minimal tools, like a simple meal of soup and a single side dish, or it may be “Plain Music” born from the functional limitations of the tools themselves. It might be music created as a transitional step when someone has just begun learning a DAW. Or it might be the state of having just started experimenting with tools or software and only just managing to get sound out of them.
Although it is transitional, I want to classify this attitude of actively accepting what emerges from such processes as “Plain Music,” and to highlight it proactively.
A noise box can be considered a representative example of Plain Music, both as an instrument and as an effect. First, compared to other instruments, the barrier to DIY construction is low, and it can be made at minimal cost, which is a major appeal. I tried building one myself using a wooden box from Daiso. The way it produces sound is interesting, and because it is an electronic instrument, it integrates smoothly with effects. The idea of using the word “Plain” is highly effective precisely because of its simplicity and clarity. The word carries meanings such as “simple,” “uncomplicated,” and “unadorned,” indicating that the music itself has a straightforward, unembellished character. Such naming succinctly captures the simple yet compelling qualities of the music and clearly communicates its essence to the listener.