Be warned: This thread is TL;DR, but if anything, please read the brief summary in the introduction below.
This thread is ultimately about how we, as musicians, write our music. I want to delve into the reasons why we write the way and things we do, why they sound they way they do, why we like the music we listen to, and why we hate the music we hate. I prefer this thread to become a discussion (although it's TL;DR so... well whatever).
Okay.
One's musicianship is how I like to define the intangible, deeply buried aspects of a person's influence and decisions they make when they have anything to do with music... whether they perform, write, arrange, compose, analyze, or simply enjoy. I wrap it up simply with this: what you like is what you are.
My natural tendency to the Dorian Mode seemed to be a strange phenomenon. I first discovered this mode when I was first writing music, and I discovered that there was more to than just the Natural Minor and Major keys. I didn't know it was called Dorian then, nor did I know what Modes were, but I found it when I was studying Hans Zimmer's Jack Sparrow, a piece to the score of Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest.
Soon, I started writing most of my music in Dorian. A Minor Key is awesome--it can be incredibly energetic, blissfully melancholic, soulfully moving, or just downright awesome. The Dorian's favor of the Natural 6 over the Natural Minor's flat 6 just makes everything incredibly brighter; what was once blissfully melancholic is now bright and hopeful. For example, the 2-chord progression, I-7 IV-7 in Natural Minor is melancholic. But in Dorian, the I-7 IV7 progression provokes a much more hopeful, composed feel. With the right instrumentation and type of performance, it can even be energetic, but the sole feel will stay. The bright change of the Natural 6 is powerful yet not conflicting with the minor-y relationship between the Natural 1 and the Flat 3, still giving that minor feel.
A friend of mine is an amazing guitarist. His favorite thing is the modal interchange of the I- chord to simply Imaj. A chord progression he would often play over was Emaj, Cmaj, then Dmaj. The Emaj here would be the obvious borrow from the parallel Major Key. But my question would be... why? Now, I love this chord progression. You can modify it a billion ways to get different things--you can tailor it to something specific, as with anything, but it's not my favorite. Why is it his favorite and not mine? What does he see in it that I don't? Unfortunately, I don't know him that well to formulate an answer, let alone a theory.
If I hear a song that was pleasant to the ears but provoked nothing at all, those songs will never become classics to me, which is not something I forced but something I noticed. There are songs that dig deep--deeper into your mind and soul and change you from within--you don't need me to tell you that. And it's clear that, although some (not all) music have things to say, it's more or less subjective, that our interpretation of a certain piece of music is the final form of the influence... whether or not the message was intended by the artist who created the work.
Interpretation also happens outside of music--in all art. Paintings can be interpreted in many different ways, but the people who appreciate those works will choose either the most logical interpretation or their favorite, and their favorite will probably relate to themselves or what they believe in. This happens in movies, poems, novels, music--anything that can be interpreted whether it be a symbol, a metaphor, a character's actions, or the choice of chords.
I tend to have a habit of judging those who say the phrase, 'if it sounds good to you, then that's all it matters.' I absolutely despise this line, because whoever follows this to me don't seem like any kind of patron of art, but rather just a consumer that takes art based on face value. Why is modern Pop so popular? It's no secret that most Pop music is tailored to appeal to the masses, and it's no secret that every single aspect--the sound design, the production, the composition, the arrangement--is all tailored to appeal to the listener instantly... most don't last long.
This is why I don't particularly enjoy modern Pop, because to me, it says nothing. It doesn't relate to me. Why is it that people enjoy dance music in the right place and time? Obviously that's what the music is about, that's what the music says... what it talks about--getting drunk, getting high, getting money, having sex, losing control, partying, having fun now and escaping the consequences--I'm not particularly that type of person. Don't get me wrong, I like alcohol, sex, and parties (I don't really care for money unfortunately) perhaps as much as the next person, but when it comes to expressing or participating those aspects in my life, the expressive, explicit way the music is portrayed doesn't appeal to me. The connotations of Pop that is played in clubs comes loss of control in favor of feeling good, among others... and especially control--losing it gives me anxiety. I am a control freak.
I know the way I said it seems negative and critical of Pop, but as we've established, it's also the subjective interpretation of the person listening to it... and of course, not disregarding the purpose of the music either. But this is why I find that I don't really click with people that solely only listen to Pop that is tailored solely for marketing purposes. What you like is what you are, and what you listen to define your values. (P.S. I do have my criticisms within the Pop industry, as we all do, as well as other genres).
Why is it that every person that likes modern Hip-Hop (that talks about drugs, sex, money, and crime) that I've met so far are complete tools? Every guy I've met that listens to this kind of music has been overcompensating with the alpha male attitude, talking about forcefully expressing their manhood and establishing their apparent dominance, sexually stereotyping women, oversensitive and unable to have a sense of humor, unable to pick up certain social clues, attempting to justify their gluttony of excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol, and undermining others in favor of petty greed. I'm sure there is someone out there that listens to this type of music but must be altruistic, angelic saints... or are there? If there are, I'd really like to know why they listen to that music and why they are the way that they are. I'm sure some of you may know people like this. But sadly, I haven't met a single one. Yet. But I have met people that listen to a different breed of Hip-Hop, and the rap seems to talk about ideas, tell stories, explain perspectives and hardships, and pulling through... and I've worked with them and they have great ideas. I've gotten drunk with them and they really get into discussing about music and what they express through it, passionately. Ultimately it's the messages behind the genre. A genre is just a classification... it doesn't necessarily define anything of value.
A lot of people even say 'everything has been done already.' I highly, extremely disagree. What is the hell is everything? There is a video that mathematically broke down if we will ever run out of new melodies, that there is a finite number of tones, and filtering out melodies that our brains don't have a tendency to like. But there are so many aspects that influence our liking of music, such as context, sound design and instrumentation, who wrote it, what it's about, composition, arrangement, rhythm, performance, external stimulus, emotional provocation, repetition, recycling of same melodies in different ways--the list goes on and on and on, and makes the answer an honest no. Even in the piano performance world, the interpretation of a certain classical piece differentiates every performer of how they perform that certain piece. Having that said, there is always more than just face value to music or any art to that matter, that 'if it sounds good to you, then that's all that matters' is downright, repulsively negligent and ignorant... SO FUCK THAT.
I was in Boston a year ago, going to school there. One time I entered a taxi, and the driver asked me straight away whether I was planning to use cash or card. I didn't have any cash on me, so I said, "I'm going to use my card."
"You Americans are so lazy," he said.
"What?"
"You know the card companies take 7% off every transaction?"
"Complaining about getting less money just because I use a card seems lazy to me."
And after a while...
"So, where do you go to school?"
"Berklee."
"Music?"
"Yeah."
"What kind of music?"
"Electronic."
"Electronic?" He spews, "That music is ruining the real music, man."
Needless to say, he didn't receive any tip.
So, the realism is, not too many care. Most people don't love music, they like it. That was the whole point of this little anecdote. Most consumers may enjoy a song in its entirety, but will not have a burning passion for music and search for a deeper understanding of why they like it--that's why they're not musicians. It may not be always 'it sounds good, that's why I like it,' and may go a little deeper than that, but most people don't go deep enough. They can't be bothered. Same thing with me--I don't analyze certain art forms too much, such as paintings from the Renaissance Era or books Ayn Rand wrote (I hate Ayn Rand) simply because I don't necessarily love them. It's a shame, but it's reality.
I understand the point of this post is easy to miss. It's not just about establishing a deeper appreciation for music, but how this affects us as musicians--how these things influence our understanding, interpretation, and most importantly, expression of music... others and our own.
I'm sure most people like it fine not to analyze too much, but it's not a bloody headache like it seems when I explain it. It's just something I've grown to notice when I listen to music or write--that there is always a reason why I like something. It's the same thing where you can look at someone and their fashion and sort of assume what kind of person they are or what they might like. To me, a world where the music I listen to has nothing to say and just 'sounds pleasant' is a fucking boring, monochrome, and soulless world.
But this is an issue I constantly find in others' music. A lot of music I hear says nothing--and I'll ask the writer what it's about, and usually there is no answer, nor is it skillfully expressed, or it's usually just an excuse to "verify the integrity of their musicianship." And the truth is, 99.9999% of the music I hear from peers is never something I'll ever come back to listen to. It doesn't become a classic for me. It usually never becomes something I admire or idolize within, nor is it something I truly regard as intuitive, creative, or beautiful.
But it doesn't need to be complex! A song can be ultimately beautiful even if the meaning is extremely simple. There have been poems about the gracefulness of a lion and the intricate, social precedent of its tribe--there have been poems about the gazing beauty of the infinite universe and the drifting, everchanging planets, stars, and ethereal gases that roam the galaxies... but there have also been poems about ice cream--just plain fucking vanilla ice cream and how much the writer loves it, written beautifully that can make you crave for it. Simple, but beautiful. Poems have something to say. Books have something to say. Whatever art form--art is expression. Doesn't it just make it a million times better when a piece of work can provoke your thoughts and tickle your brain, even if it's just a little bit? Don't you enjoy that much more?
I'm sure that this doesn't bother you as much as it does me, and that's okay. And please don't think of me as pompous--I'm not trying to say that my music is better or worse, nor am I a better person for liking a certain type of music over others--absolutely not... my music is terrible. My only goal is to explain the concept that the music we listen to and write define us, and if we are to let it define us, let us grow as artistically intellectual musicians, that everything is absolutely not fucking done and we can revolutionize music if we wanted to... and for us to reach that deep of a level, we can't listen to things and take them for just face value.
