What is music?

[Nicky007]

Could also be "Yes, me too". These are all capspecs.

Nicky.

[PH]

Or Peter means Yesism. It means that bands are influenced by the great progband Yes.

Peter thinks bands that are influenced by Yes are making true music.


-Paco

[Peter]

Sorry for intercepting that discussion with such an absolutely unqualified comment, actually. It was a weak try to express the feeling that the subject is not really worth dicussing it, as far as it concerns me. Everybody knows what music is, to some the styles they haven't grown up with might sound ugly, nevertheless it is. To others again, the wind blowing from the cliffs sounds like music. Defining music is for people who want to study it and therefor need a literal basis to distinguish music from other physical effects.

All of this contradicts my first statement, though, that this subject needs no discussion. It obviously does. So my final statement is: music is basically what people feel that is music. If you understand... English not my native tongue and so on...

Oh, and concerning Yes, the band... I like "90125" very much, which was prodouced by Trevor Horn (-> Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC...) and therefor has an unbelievably distinguishable sound. Which I like... I have already said that.
Other Yes albums though have yet failed to "click" with me...

[PH]

Hehehe Peter, I was just kidding of course, about Yes.

And I know that music is personal.
But still I find it rather interesting that some people have other ideas of music.
My dad can only enjoy music if it exists within the boundaries set by the three elements of music.
This is a very clinical perspective and it lacks any kind of emotion.

This makes me think...
Can you appreciate music that's not nessesarily emotional, just technical?
I say yes.
I can appreciate music without liking it. As long as it is played with skill.
If I want to LIKE it, it has to have some emotion in it too.
I think this is the case with most of us proggers. Popmusic people won't look that far. (I'm really generalizing, lovely!)


-Paco

[Nicky007]

Sorry for intercepting that discussion with such an absolutely unqualified comment, actually. It was a weak try to express the feeling that the subject is not really worth dicussing it, as far as it concerns me. Everybody knows what music is, to some the styles they haven't grown up with might sound ugly, nevertheless it is. To others again, the wind blowing from the cliffs sounds like music. Defining music is for people who want to study it and therefor need a literal basis to distinguish music from other physical effects.

All of this contradicts my first statement, though, that this subject needs no discussion. It obviously does. So my final statement is: music is basically what people feel that is music.

All very true, Cap; however, some of us have been so crazy bout music that we actually have played instruments, studied music history and science, and tried creating music ourselves, and we have a need to exchange such things with each other.

> If you understand... English not my native tongue and so on...

Your English is ausgezeichnet, and I think I'v understood everything you'v written.


> Oh, and concerning Yes, the band... I like "90125" very much, which was produced by Trevor Horn (-> Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC...) and therefore has an unbelievably distinguishable sound. Which I like... I have already said that.
Other Yes albums though have yet failed to "click" with me...

If you like 90125, you should like Big Generator - same people, same style. And you should try out The Ladder - their best imo, very melodic and spiritual.

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

This makes me think...
Can you appreciate music that's not nessesarily emotional, just technical?
I say yes.
I can appreciate music without liking it. As long as it is played with skill.
If I want to LIKE it, it has to have some emotion in it too.
I think this is the case with most of us proggers. Popmusic people won't look that far. (I'm really generalizing, lovely!)

Here we have to be careful, Paco: What many people consider as technical, I experience as sublime. One of the best examples - that we've already discussed a lot - is the so-called noodling of DT. In fact, even with me, the first many times I heard their instrumental passages, I was amazed at what was going on, but not really emotionally moved. Today, when I hear them, they carry me away to higher regions - apart from some passages that I regard as mainly fun.

It's what one calls "acquired taste".

Nicky.

[PH]

Sure Nicky.

I was more talking about the ever-talked-about-and-spit-upon grunting, for example.
I don't like grunting in music. In fact it makes a song weaker (in my opinion).
But that doesn't mean that technically it is brilliant! I really can appreciate grunting because it's so difficult to make it sound right.

It's like farting. I hate it when I hear it (some people are really disgusting) or even more when I smell it. But that doesn't mean that some people have a very clever way of farting. Almost art. Technically sublime.

I made myself a fool now eh?

-Paco

[Nicky007]

Art or fart? That's the question, huh, Paco. In fact you can ask that with a lot of pop music.

Again, re growl, it's very much an acquired taste. With Opeth initially, I was gripped by the music, but the growl bothered me. Now I'm still not a big fan of growl, but I take it as an exotic spice along with the excellent serving.

Nicky.

[bluepony]

It's like farting. I hate it when I hear it (some people are really disgusting) or even more when I smell it. But that doesn't mean that some people have a very clever way of farting. Almost art. Technically sublime.

ROFL
I like your comparisons, Paco! 

[keyboardistmatt]

I always think that music is music if it can be notated.  That doesn't mean it has to be written out in musical notation, it just means that only music can be written out in this way. 

For example, white noise is not music because you can't write it as notation, these words are not music because they are written in a different way.   However an electricity substation produces a hum at about 50hz, which can be notated.  Even silence can be notated, believe it or not!

That doesn't change the fact that everybodie's interpretations of music differ to a large extent.

I could go in to sampling, but that seems unnessessary at this time.

[Peter]

Good point, Matt.

[Nicky007]

We just have to consider that what makes the difference is:  Who performs ?

When Gary Hughes sings "Through The Fire", it's great art; when I sing it, it's "OK guys, party's over, time to go home".

Nicky.

[maddox]

We just have to consider that what makes the difference is:  Who performs ?

When Gary Hughes sings "Through The Fire", it's great art; when I sing it, it's "OK guys, party's over, time to go home".

Nicky.

*stealing Pete's line:

Good point, Nicky. 

[PH]

Har har har

[Nicky007]

Har har har

That's very simple music, Paco 

Nicky.