What Music truly is

[Human Mint]

I think this discussion falls into the intellectual subforum.

I want to share what it is a very powerful idea about music which I've been contemplating for a while now, this will probably resonate to those who like to compose their own music. And I'll try to explain it simply for the majority that doesn't play music.

When you study music theory you are just learning to play the Infinite Song. Every song in existence is just part of one big song, which has every note, every scale, every harmony progression, every rhythms changes imaginable. As a limiting being the challenge is to produce beauty out of different combinations and configurations of notes. You're like a scientist experimenting with different combinations until you find the ones that work. And then you make a business out of that.

All of your study of music culminates in you being able to playing effortlessly anything that you want beautifully, that's what's so compelling about the art.

The more I study, the more I see the similarities between different songs, and the more I know how to reproduce them. Those songs which at first seemed like a mistery what exactly made them sound so good, now I can pinpoint what makes them the way they are and I can reproduce the art and add my own touch. Because you understand the mind behind the creation of that song.

I'll refine my explanation more and more the upcoming years but for now that's what I am intuiting. I always dreamed to crack the code of music for more than a decade, this is my life purpose.

[Joseph Maynor]

Each genre in music is an artform that has its own rule set or what artists call tropes.  Rock is different than Jazz, Jazz is different than Indian Classical Music, Post Rock is different than R&B.  Some forms of music are heavily centered around harmony like Jazz but some forms are less so such as drum circle music.  Even harmony is not always emphasized in all music.  Some music has very little rhythm comparatively like Western Classical Music.  It is interesting how the musical variables are seen in light of a particular genre of music.  Rock is more focused on lyrics whereas Jazz is more focused on tone for example.  You can get away with playing 3 chords in Punk Rock.  And also the use of distortion in Rock differs from the pure tones in Jazz.  

[Hojo]

Computer sounds from the simulation.

[PolyPeter]

11 hours ago, Human Mint said:

All of your study of music culminates in you being able to playing effortlessly anything that you want beautifully, that's what's so compelling about the art.

In a way this is true, but what if studying music opens your brain to learn math?

Seeing the similarities between different songs, seeing the patterns between different equations

There is something deeper goin on, I think, when you go inside the music rabbit hole, and not all is for you to be able to play effortlessly, which is a weird word bc a lot of effort must be put into learning the techniques and instruments. it seems effortlessly to the outside world, but the practice must be done.

 

[PolyPeter]

Music is -many at the same time- doing as One

Music can also be silence

Contact with music makes the brain understand how many things become One when Consciousness puts Intelligence to work under the constraints of the current dream.

Think about a different zone of the universe where there are different rules. Do you think music would still be possible, or even a thing separate beings do?

 

@Human Mint

[Human Mint]

10 hours ago, Joseph Maynor said:

Each genre in music is an artform that has its own rule set or what artists call tropes.  Rock is different than Jazz, Jazz is different than Indian Classical Music, Post Rock is different than R&B.  Some forms of music are heavily centered around harmony like Jazz but some forms are less so such as drum circle music.  Even harmony is not always emphasized in all music.  Some music has very little rhythm comparatively like Western Classical Music.  It is interesting how the musical variables are seen in light of a particular genre of music.  Rock is more focused on lyrics whereas Jazz is more focused on tone for example.  You can get away with playing 3 chords in Punk Rock.  And also the use of distortion in Rock differs from the pure tones in Jazz.  

The exercise would be both to see the similarities and differences. The differences are very clear in a lot of examples. But also you could view punk as jazz but with less chords and notes.

[Human Mint]

10 hours ago, PolyPeter said:

In a way this is true, but what if studying music opens your brain to learn math?

Sure, I used to draw that connection too.

10 hours ago, PolyPeter said:

There is something deeper goin on, I think, when you go inside the music rabbit hole, and not all is for you to be able to play effortlessly, which is a weird word bc a lot of effort must be put into learning the techniques and instruments. it seems effortlessly to the outside world, but the practice must be done.

All the effort you put is to be able to flow effortlessly. It really is that simple. When you speak a language you don't think what words will come next, they just come effortlessly, you just know what to say next. Playing music is not different, you know what notes to play and you are familiar with every scale the same way you are familiar with words. OF COURSE it is only possible after insane levels of practice. There is no other option.

Playing is a mystical occurrence, being absorbed in the sound and chords, that's what we call music. Not math, music.

Edited 10 hours ago by Human Mint

[Human Mint]

10 hours ago, Hojo said:

Computer sounds from the simulation.

I can simulate a sahara desert song for a videogame.

 

[Joseph Maynor]

4 hours ago, Human Mint said:

The exercise would be both to see the similarities and differences. The differences are very clear in a lot of examples. But also you could view punk as jazz but with less chords and notes.

Yes.  Blues generally has 3 chords too.  Jazz is kind of an extension of Blues in that it adds more harmonic complexity.

[Human Mint]

3 hours ago, Joseph Maynor said:

Yes.  Blues generally has 3 chords too.  Jazz is kind of an extension of Blues in that it adds more harmonic complexity.

And also you can track back the evolution from classical music to jazz or modern music. Functional harmony is present in every song made.

You could think jazz or modern harmony as made out of trying different plausible ideas that ended working good. Kind of trying different logics and see what happens.

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Human Mint