There are supportive examples for both side of the argument of whether or not it is constructive to analyze music rather than to simply listen and enjoy it. Some say that you can only enjoy the music if you sit back and listen without tearing it apart into a million tiny pieces. Others state that if you want to truly appreciate and understand the song, then you have to break it down, whether it is by scale, chord note, tempo, or other factors. While both analyzing and listening can be a positive event, I feel that there is a certain amount of compromise that needs to be present.
While there are some songs that can simply make you want to get up and dance, or put you in a specific mental state (which is sometimes unintentional), many songs for me need to really be examined in order to really become appreciated. But that’s not saying that we need to rip it down to a series of pitches and notes that were produced at one point in time. Instead of trying to figure out what chords the guitarist is using, or what specific scale, we can use our ears to tell the major (happy sounding) scales from the minor (sadder sounding) scales, and that is something that almost everyone can pick up on. It may not be the level of analyses that professors desire, but it gets the job done. Even as a musician there are some songs that I do not want to play note for note, maybe just by singing the lyrics over a different scale (let’s say change the D minor scale to an A major) I can completely change the feeling behind a song. At that point, the song can take you to a new romantic high of finding that true love instead of moping about the one that got away. And it can also work in the other direction as well.
But then there are the songs that just need to be taken as a whole and left alone- “Hotel California” by the Eagles for instance. Yes, there are seven or eight guitars on that track (depends on who you ask, really) but if you were to take out just one of these, then you would lose the whole feeling and vibe that is associated with the song. Or even as Quindlen stated in paragraph 6, “…rock-and-roll is a lot like sex: If you talk seriously about it, it takes a lot of the feeling away- and feeling is the point.” This can be held true for any kind of music- rap, country, jazz, swing, metal, the list goes on and on. We all have those songs that we know and love that put the special twinkle in our eyes, or the flutter in our heartbeat. If we were to analyze these down to the note, then that special feeling associated with them would be lost forever, and that would truly be a tragedy.
If a song has grown on you over time- didn’t do much for you in the beginning but slowly gave you specific memories, then I say go for the analysis; break it down and see what it is about that song that makes you feel the way you do. But if it has been the song that has made you tear-up from the first time you heard it, or made you smile and shake your groove thing, leave it alone, just take it as one of your personal little moment and let it stay that way.
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ReplyDeleteI particularly like this quote of yours:
ReplyDelete"While there are some songs that can simply make you want to get up and dance, or put you in a specific mental state (which is sometimes unintentional), many songs for me need to really be examined in order to really become appreciated."
If someone really enjoys certain songs, he can't really help but analyze them in some form. A listener is going to want to know all the words and melodies by heart. At least, that's how I am. If I hear a song that I absolutely love, I learn the words as soon as possible, even if it means listening to it 20 times in a row!
At first, I disagreed with how you said, "If we were to analyze these down to the note, then that special feeling associated with them would be lost forever..." I felt as though you would just gain a deeper understanding of a song. It would still mean something to you. However, thinking about it, I agree that it is possible. Aerosmith's "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" holds a very special place in my heart due to memories. If I broke it down to the individual notes and then listened to it later on, I may not immediately think about the memories I once associated with that song. Instead, I might think about what notes are coming and how I had spent so much time dissecting the song.
I like, I truely love this. Like you said "there are some songs that simply make you want to get up and dance, or put you in a specific mental state". And that's excatly what music is for. To help you through a bad time, or to get over a broken heart, or to just plain make you feel good about your self. So why do we have to break it up into little pieces? Did you see that seen on waiting to exhail,one of the ladies know all the words to the song that they played towords the end of the movie but they all said "this is my jam" now that is how music is suppose to be just loved not broken down to the last componet. Sit back,relax, and enjoy the feeling that you get in that moment. Become a part of the music, not a person that rips it's to shreads. We associate just about every weaking moment of our like to music, bad times and good times.Now think about it, The last funeral you attended what did you hear? If it was a special song, how do you feel every time you hear it now. did you tear it apart or is it just linked to feelings? Like i said it is to be loved, and felt. Not Broken into jigg saw puzzle,
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