What follows is my first entry into a series where I create music reviews via music analysis. With this entry, I intend to outline the overall characteristics of sound that are consistent in music regardless of genre using this acronym: SMRHG.
The five factors of musical expression are sound, melody, rhythm, harmony and growth. These are the components that combine in artful ways producing what we call music. Lets look at each one individually.
Sound- The timbre or quality of the sound that makes one know the instrumentation or how electronically processed a certain track is.
Melody- This is the catchy hook or “earwormy" sequence of frequencies/pitches that become the memorable aspect of a particular song or composition.
Rhythm- This factor is the embodiment of the dance of music or what makes one want to tap your foot or clap your hands, etc. Rhythm is a primal aspect of music making.
Harmony- Harmony is the chordal development or stacking of frequencies/pitches. Harmony is the tonal characteristics of a song or composition that allows the progression of the song’s structure. Harmony follows rules of tonality, and those rules are based on where the ear naturally wishes a certain sound to resolve.
Growth- Growth is the way a song develops over time. This aspect of musical analysis is more ambiguous than other facets. Think “big picture” here. Growth is the way a song is organized through time.
Beyond SMRHG, I’m interested in understanding how certain songs become excellent or even timeless. Brainstorming now, I think some of the aspects of music that cause them to be adored as “classics,” “excellent,” or “timeless” are innovation, replay value, and how culturally relevant the piece is when it’s released. In other words, a great song innovates and stands out, becomes more enjoyable with age, and accurately depicts what it feels like to be alive at the time it is released.
By taking on this task of reviewing music based on the commonalities all music shares, I hope to add a bit of objective perspective to taste, and though taste is subjective, I hope my appraisals, as well as the curation choices I make, will influence the way you listen to music. If I do my job well, perhaps you will be able to listen to and appreciate music with greater depth.
What facets of music do you look for in an excellent piece of music? Have I forgotten anything? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!
Music is superb
I believe that the fact music exists is excellent as well! Cheers for the input!
What I've always thought about music is if it's heavy, it should be technical. If Technical, it should have groove not chaos. If it's simple, it should convey depth of emotion. Electronic music should be intricate enough to mask its repetitive nature. No matter what, all music should take us to another place for however long it lasts. I just never understood the concept of background noise.
Here's one of those bands that were too good to get made. This is a demo that was completed before taking a 14 year haitus. There first album titled Focus, is considered a classic by the fans in the know and is a fusion of metal, jazz, and new age. This iteration of Cynic is equally good in a far more accessible style. Enjoy. Tracks 1 2 3, 5 and 6 are the standouts in my opinion.
I love what you've said here. Balance in the construction of a piece of music is crucial. If done well, a balanced piece of music is transporting and almost healing because it helps us come back to reality with a new perspective and hopefully a renewed sense of wonder! Thanks for sharing the track as well! It champions all that you have said music should be above! Blessings!
Edit; I was curious why you said thanks for the "track" and come to find there is only one track! It was supposed to be the complete playlist. The track above is one of the worst out of all! I'll link the standouts in another reply.
Thanks. You know, I was that guy that could sit there alone or with friends and listen to music all day long. It's always been my goto escape from the day's troubles. One thing that urks me are those folks, when asked what kind of music they enjoy, answer with "I like everything." I say that's great and then put on some Slayer! :D
And My Personal favorite:
Here's a cutout from an interview I did that is related to this subject:
Here's the whole Interview: https://steemit.com/music/@gunternezhoda/one-of-my-favorite-interviews
Who are your favorite bands and performers from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and now?
There are way too many to list, but I would like to say something here. What's up with so many musician buddies of mine who say in interviews that there is nothing good out there? They complain about electronic music and that it's all computers that make the music.
They say it's not honest. I get really upset about those statements. Every musical performance uses a tool unless it's vocals only - and even that's changed over time. The first band ever (I think they where called 'Meet The Homo Sapiens') had only a couple of rocks and some wood sticks.
Now compare that to anything that came afterwards. If we play an electric guitar we look like we use very advanced tools to the guy who plays the rocks. I'm sure you saw 'Back To The Future' where Michael J. Fox plays that red 335 Gibson in front of an audience that has never heard anything like that.
There are always changes in tools and techniques and you have to accept and respect it. I don't like rap either but there is some good stuff out there and if somebody sells millions of records the music must be pleasant to the fans and that does the job.
I remember when my parents generation rejected John Lennon. Today he is an icon and in 100 years he will have the same place in history as Beethoven. They said the Beatles and the Stones don't play real music and sound like a bunch of animals in heat. They said rock creates violence. Just compare the Lyrics. How many songs can you name that promote violence - of course there are some but the majority are about peace and love. Even the oldest Book of all promotes violence if you wanna see it that way. "Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth", remember. If you are at peace with yourself, you don't need to be violent, no matter who or how many people tell you to be. Motivation is the key, not restriction. If we as parents f!&#$ up, (and we all do, don't we?), then how do you expect our kids not to? So be a good example and motivate your kids, then they will be invulnerable to bad outside influences. Nowadays these kids use lots of computer chips but they are as much creative and talented as we are. I have a 19 year old son who is into that stuff and sometimes he comes up with things that blow my mind. And it's not all made by machines. Led Zeppelin used all kinds of technical tricks to achieve certain sounds and effects. Listen to Pink Floyd, how they where using effects. I would love to hear 'Brain Damage'in a completely dry mix. Maybe I wouldn't like the song anymore. That's the way we used electronics in our music. How many Heavy Metal guitar players do you know who can actually get something decent out of an acoustic guitar compared to Al di Meola or Paco de Lucia? The majority of them, if you take their distortion pedal away, they are done, and I don't mean that in a negative way, it's just not what they do. They are good in their genre and deliver lots of enjoyment to their fans but they need their tool.
What's wrong with taking computer software and create beats, write lyrics, sing, or rap, and make that all into a song. These are the tools of a new generation. It's all music, whether you like it or not. Musicians use the tools of their times. The art is to deliver a message in a song and entertain the listener. If somebody does that, don't ask how it was done. If you don't like it, don't listen to it but respect it. Music is always honest. It's all about soul. There is no backwards in art. Let art grow. LET THE CHILDREN PLAY.
Wow! Love this part: "The art is to deliver a message in a song and entertain the listener." Also, I fully embrace the way technology enables art, in this case music, to grow and thrive. Thank you for saying it so well above. Would you say that the "soul" in music is the key to motivating the innovation of art?
gunternezhoda said:
No matter how hard I try for the sake of some of my friends, I cannot get into hip hop. I was concerned for awhile because I enjoy Rage Against the Machine, a little Limp Bizkit, and I've always been a fan of Mike Patton of Mr. Bungle and Faith No More who released their single Epic. All these acts have elements of rap, but I still enjoy them. One night when I was talking about this to a friend he started razzin' me calling me racist! I got a little concerned for a second until I said, that's not true because Eminem and Rittz suck worse than all of 'em!
Anyway, I would sometimes think about why it is that I just can't seem to appreciate the rap/hip hop style. The answer I came up with is 1; Pure rap is just to lightning fast on the words. It's frustrating to me when the artist is actually thoughtful because, by the time it registers in my mind when a rap expresses something worth pondering, the artist has already moved on to another thought. And 2; It's the inverse of traditional "music." in that it's the words themselves that carry us through the song. Traditional music and singing can both be what carries a song. Plus, a complete song can be written to include the use of one or the other, or both to create rhythm, melody, and harmony. Most importantly, none of it requires any words at all to convey a message and/or evoke an emotional response. Hip Hop on the other hand is very limited in it's musical capacity. First, it is the words themselves that carry the song, and without the beats it's just listening to a rhythmic talking. Can you imagine listening to someone machine gunning their opinions in your ear all day with out some fresh beats to keep it interesting? The same goes for the dj. Without the rapper, he might as well be spinnin' some trance or break beat, because you just can't have one without the other.
This is true, but if anything has taught us anything it's the fact that popular music is created with the intent to attract as wide a range of an audience as possible. To this end it must be simple in form and base in message. Therefore, it could be said that popular music is objectively the worst kind of music! Nutshell, Pop is to music what fast food is to cuisine.
I don't know. David Gilmore could probably pull it off. I don't know if "pink Floyd: Unplugged" would go over very well though. They were pioneers with experimenting with electronic sounds, so it just wouldn't sound right.
edit: I hit the post button accidentally before I was finished so, here's the rest:
Here, here! Classical snobs are the worst of the lot. The ones I've encountered have no use for any music that requires anything to be plugged in no matter how creative the arrangement or how difficult to perform. It's that pure sound that is all important. I respect this, but I find it strange how this utter devotion to sound blinds them to the fact that modern tech makes it possible to create music with any and all sounds that exist! If it can be recorded, it can be made into a song. I think that's amazing!
LOL!
I don't believe that I could've put it more eloquently as you have. Good music to me is either a song or a peice that you can either relate to in someway or that can pull on certain emotions. Music has the ability to harm or heal. To inspire you or cause you to reflect upon yourself or some facet of life whether it directly affects you or not. It can heal old wounds or reopen them. It can make the very feeling of love itself seem and feel deeper or castrate it entirely. One should never feel that they own something so magnificently & torturously miraculous and terrible. It is unapologetically both wild and tamed. Beautiful and majestic with the ability to build up or tear down.
Music is a both a gift and a curse but I for one am extremely happy we have it. And I am very very happy that you shared this wonderful article. Thank you my fellow Steemian. Wonderful👏👏👏
Thank you deeply for the kind words! I love how you worded your understanding about the nature of music's affect! The polarities of how music can touch us are real and almost if not more powerful than the capability of language. Crazy how many things can be said with music without having to utter a single word!
Thx for sharing
Thanks for reading and commenting! xx
My answer is: "No, because we are all subjective beings" :-)
"Beauty is [certainly] in the eye of the beholder," @n3bul4! There's no getting around that fact! ;)
That's it :-)!
I'm going to quote myself because I can, and it's relative:
I as a musician and as an artist, believe that music is a medium for expression, albeit a very powerful one. It is hard to see one existing without the other. Perhaps you could take a look into the "art" itself: What's the message? What's the context? What were the resources available? What's the artist like? All of those things that make a piece more than notes and rhythm put nicely together.
Nice article! I upvoted and followed you. I invite you to read my ROLLING #1 on Mike Love's Permanent Holiday here https://steemit.com/music/@spokerman12/rolling-1-mike-love-permanent-holiday-acoustic
I take to heart where you are coming from with your suggestion. I agree with you that the music isn't just the notes written on a piece of paper. Music comes from the emotions the performer puts behind the notes played. Be on the lookout for more thoughts in this direction, and thank you for taking the contents of this post further in reply! Hope you have a prosperous day!
Have you ever listened to Carbon Based Lifeforms ? I think you should write a review on the phenomenal music!!
Love the idea! Will be searching for what Carbon Based Lifeforms sound like!
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Nice post @rusty-
Thanks! Love the pictures in the posts you create as well! Seriously great work you've got there!
nice post, thx for sharing!! congratulation!
Cheers! I hope to contribute more thought to this area! Thank you for reading!
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This post has received a 7.37 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @d-pend.
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STOPSo are you going to go all the way and compare studio to live, or original to remasters? Will you judge different genres by the same criteria, or will you have a scale that differs with style? What about plugged in vs. unplugged? Can't wait for the first comparison. Great idea! Also, will you be taking requests?