songsmith wrote:Perhaps, Paul, you could figure out how Western music appeals to most cultures on some level (like your "pop" level), while Eastern music, which seems to be more complex, doesn't really fly outside Eastern cultures. I "get" that many songs in India are difficult to sing and require a great deal of training vocally... but it still sounds like someone letting the air out of a balloon to me, atonal and uncontrolled whining.
How can something move an Indian man my age to tears with it's beauty, yet sound so horrible to me?------>JMS
I know for me that I had to become a more "mature" listener of music to appreciate some of the more intricate melodies and harmonies that are out there, even in some popular music. A great example is the motiff chord in Pink Floyd's Shine on you Crazy Diamond. I remember when I first heard that song, and I just couldn't stand how dissonant that chord was. Then as I grew older, it started making sense. I remember that Mahavishnu Orchestra had a song called Resolution, which was nothing but a series of slightly dissonant chords that sounded like that they were going to resolve to a consequent, but every chord change just brought more tension.
I really am not sure about Western music versus Eastern music. It's definitely strange to be accustomed to the 12-tone, half-step chromatic scale of Western music and then adjust to the quarter-step scale of Eastern music. Most Western music is based around tertian harmony, where every note has a relative third, so that probably has a lot to do with things too. I don't know if it's an instrinsic thing or cultural influence. I'd lay money though that there's been some research done on it, perhaps related to the field of music therapy. I think that most people enjoy the resolution from a sus4 chord to a third or a V7 chord going back up to the tonic.
But can you really emprically study what makes a good musical hook? If so, there'd be a lot more John Hiatts and Princes walking around. One of my favorite quotes, by Kid Rock of all people (whom I don't think gets the credit he deserves for being as talented as he is) is "If it looks good, you'll see it; if it sounds good, you'll hear it; if it's marketed right, you'll buy it; but if it's real, you'll feel it." That's the most important things about music, and if music can't move somebody, then it isn't worth shit.
"He's the electric horseman, you better back off!" - old sKool making a reference to the culturally relevant 1979 film.
