So the upshot is that the name, visual music, has been widely appropriated and the field is being overrun by hordes of people attracted by the trendiness and sexiness of the name rather than the substance of the ideas involved. The trendies seem to be completely unaware that the notion of visual music grows out of the principle that there are both natural visual manifestations and invented visual representations of musical elements and musical structures. The roots of visual music go deep into the history of music and culture although the current form of the idea of visual music began to coalesce in the 1960s with the emergence of affordable and accessible electronic tools. It is possible to go back into the early years of the 20th Century and find references to the idea of visual music in its most primitive forms but with rare exceptions and for a long time visual music as it is known today remained in the idea stage. Music is a natural partner of all dynamic art forms covering the expressive gamut.
Music dramas have long integrated music, story line, and stage action.
Dance in all of its spins is inextricably bound up with music and most likely has been so connected since time immemorial in the context of religious and celebratory rituals. Among other studies the serious practitioner of visual music needs to be a lifelong student of the global history of the marriage of music, drama, dance, and all their variations and relatives. The writing of this essay came after a period of about a year and half of researching the iota list and being involved in many of its email exchanges . Researching the iota list is consistent with my lifelong approach to compositional field-testing , a process that includes examining whatever impacts my work in music and visual music composition. I joined the iota list at its inception searching for other artistic perspectives on plumbing the depths of visual music and as a field test of the tenor of those expressing interest in visual music.