Saturday, July 26, 2008

Good?

Most people think that the definition of 'good' music is based solely on opinion. They call what they like 'good, and what they dislike 'bad' without further thought. The way 'good' and 'bad' are used then inevitably lead most people to believe in this opinionated system. I won't blatantly say that this logic is purely and utterly incorrect, but I'm going to disprove the best I can.

Music is defined by various qualities- if the music has even one of the following, they have some merit. Obviously, some traits outweigh others. Traits that are misused in the context of 'good' and 'bad' are also described here:

True Traits:

Diversity- The Diversity in music covers the range of human emotion, rhythm, and technicalities.
Technical- The Technical shows pure prowess in the art of playing the instrument.
Lyrical- The Lyrical displays the power to convey through word; related to the Emotional.
Emotional- The Emotional allows for the music to be accessible and powerful.
Structural- The Structural shows the musician(s) prowess in creating the song.
Stylistic- The Stylistic is the musician/band's capability to create a new, unique 'sound'.
Melodic- The Melodic is the sensibility the musician developed much like the lyrical and tech.

False Traits:

Aural Appeasement- Aural Appeasement determines whether or not you 'like' the sound, and does not contribute to the merit of the song or band.
Messiness- The sloppiness of the music played can be a genuine trait for disliking music, but often times it is done purposefully for Emotion or Style.

I think music can be defined as good or bad.


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