Abstract music depends heavily on processed sounds where the concepts of rhythm and melody are dissolved and the sounds take on a complex inner structure that is constantly morphing and changing.
Abstract music usually focuses not on the known and familiar, but rather the alien and otherworldly, where the listener must find his own associations and meanings.

Abstract music can range from completely abstract soundscapes to songs that only implement abstract elements but within a more regular song structure with rhythms and melodies, with the latter type usually labeled abstract because of an unusual structure consisting of sound effects and unusual rhythms. A lot of times artists will aim for a psychedelic and dreamlike effect by implementing abstract elements.