Long Form Instrumental Music - Say what?

So I’m taking a course at Berklee College of Music on Digital marketing and it’s been the best decision I’ve made since I got married.  Of the many aspects on the course, the one we are looking at right now is: “Who is the market for music2work2?”

Unlike my fellow students who are marketing everything from start out rock bands to singer songwriters, club DJs and established music celebrities, music2work2 is less concerned with who you are and who you hang out with and more concerned with what you do.

We know that having noise in the background helps improve performance and we’re familiar with the Mozart Effect; it seems that the idea of music as a study aid is becoming more prevalent, this article in Teen ink that puts forward the idea that music helps with homework and we agree entirely.

So – where do you go to get this kind of music, and what is it called?  For my own purposes I classify it as:  Long form, instrumental music.  Long form because when you longer have the need for words, you free the music from the 3 ½ minute “song” structure that has been so dominant over the last 70 years.

Of course if you go and Google “Long Form Instrumental Music” it doesn’t exactly come up with a playlist.  You see, when I start looking at the current categorizations of this kind of music – they don’t exactly make me think of stuff that I would play when I want to work or study: New Age, Spiritual, Holistic, Jazz, Classical, Ambient, Chillout, Trance, Dub etc.  I’m listening to a piece called Language of Silence by Deuter right now – it was written to be used by Reiki healers but it’s great as a writing accompaniment.

Most metal heads wouldn’t be seen dead listening to a New Age meditation, but that same metal head on a deadline might suddenly find the same tones exactly what they need to finish. One of the opportunities that I see for music2work2 is to introduce people to a whole range of music that they might not have thought they would like - the challenge here is not the music but the nomenclature.

The Deep C

Music2Work2's MySpace friend, The Deep C, is apparently a band of one member, Michael Dees, although it sounds like an orchestra of many. The music of The Deep C is classified as Classical/Ambient/Other. Unfortunately, there is no other information available about this artist other than that he is from Germany.

There are six sample songs available to hear on The Deep C's MySpace page. They are all beautiful instrumental music. Most of the songs sound to me like they could be musical scores from movies. They have the drama and intenseness that come to mind when thinking about the music from movies.

My favorite of the six songs are "Blue Tunes" and "Abigail's Letter."

I would like to know more about the artist and how he produces his music. The variety of instruments that seem to be involved in the music definitely do not sound like the work of only one person. But, it is lovely music and very well done.

Promoting Tim O'Neil

Usually the artist friends of music2work2 from MySpace are the musicians themselves. But, we have a friend named Kristy who is promoting the music of Tim O'Neil. Tim O'Neil is a composer/musician out of Detroit, Michigan. His music is classified as Ambient/Classical/Acoustic. Mr. O'Neil began playing the piano at age 2 1/2 and composing music at age 4. He is proficient in a variety of musical instruments, in addition to the piano.

On Tim O'Neil's own MySpace page, there are six sample pieces. They are all very melodic, beautiful piano pieces. It would be difficult for me to choose a favorite because I enjoy listening to all of them. I especially like "Amelia's Song," "Come to Me," and "Good Night Detroit."

It is easy to understand how Kristy is such a fan of Tim O'Neil's music. I am glad to have found his music and now I am a fan myself.

If you enjoy beautiful piano music, I highly recommend listening to his work.