Ambient music is a type of music that presents texture, tone, and mood. This music genre uses unique sound capes to create ambience out of waves of aural textures.

A History of Ambient Music

Although ambient music dates back to the 1960s, it was in the twentieth century that it finally got noticed. This was the era of electronic synthesizers.

Ambient follows in the tradition of furniture music, a French classical music genre pioneered by Erik Satie in 1917. The Erik Erikson compositions sat unplaced for several years till a composer, John Cage, revised them in the twentieth century.

The use of synthesizers: in the 1970s, analog synthesizers were available on the market. This sparked the interest of ambient music artists who were not in any way involved in classical music. The rise of synthesizers paved the way for a slew of ambient acts such as Popol Vuh and Tangerine Dream.

Combination with electronic music: In addition to ambient music, the rise of synthesizers in the 1970s also gave way to the rise of the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) genre. In the late 2980s, elements of EDM and ambient music merged to form a subgenre known as ambient techno or ambient house. There are ambient albums and songs released in this music style. The KLF ‘chill out’, Aphex Twins, and Autocoherer Incunabula.

In the twentieth century, composers experimented with ambient music and the avant-garde in classical music. Some composers embraced the concept of ambiance with drone sounds. Le Monte Young, Harold Budd, and John Cage all contributed to this experiment.

Indie Ambient: As ambient music became more conventional, it encouraged some indie and ambient artists. Many of these artists deliberately forgo synthesizers and clasp the drone sound. Artists like William Basinski and Labradford have helped bring ambient music to a wider reach.

Ambient Music Characteristics

Here are a few elements that are the roots of the subgenres of ambient music.

From the new age associated with ambience and texture to psychedelic sounds, ambient music aims to put atmosphere above everything.

Minimal harmony progressions

Unlike pop music that cycles through chords, ambient music does not do that. To create an overall atmosphere, it luxuriates in simple notes and chords.

Exploration of timbre

The ambient genre of music lingers on chords for a long time. Composers or artists can create vibrations by shifting the timbre of sounds, which can be achieved by adding new instruments.

Space for improvisation

Live ambient music has an improvisation aspect when experimenting with sonic textures. Although the improvisation aspect is limited based on the fact that ambient music does not have a consistent chord change.

Ambient music is divided into four subgenres.

The ambient music genre has spawned many distinct genres:

• Ambient house
• Ambient techno
• Ambient Dub
• Dark Ambient