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Alym Amlani Inner circle Canada 1464 Posts |
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and am not sure what it is about certain songs that makes them sound better than others.
What do you think: what is it about a song that makes it sound good?
Logic Defied
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hkwiles Special user Howard Wiles 797 Posts |
If you can hum it after only hearing it once..
Howard |
Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-09-01 17:13, hkwiles wrote: Kind of like the best tricks are the ones the spectators can describe in one sentence. What makes a song sound good? Aesthetics, and personal preference.
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
Alym Amlani Inner circle Canada 1464 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-09-01 17:49, Michael Baker wrote: What do you mean by aesthetics of a song?
Logic Defied
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Jerrine Special user Busking is work. 629 Posts |
I prefer melodic content and words I can understand.
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Re - aesthetics: Certain combinations of sounds, rhythms, and words tend to be more appealing than others. The perception of these goes to personal preference.
My own preference? There is very little music that I can't find an appreciation for. Those that I tend not to like are usually because of the lyrics, and rarely because of the instrumentation or style.
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
In a way the question is a very simple one, but it is also very deep.
J.S. Bach is reputed to have said, "Once you get their feet tapping, then you have got them hooked!" But there are certain things that make a song work. One is that it needs to be simple enough to be remembered and recognized. There are reasons for this. Even early musicians knew that if people couldn't remember a song, they wouldn't ask to hear it again. Sometimes all they had to go in was "you know, it was the one that went like this -- dum, dum, dah deet dah dah." It can't have too many surprises in the melody. If it jumps around a lot it will be hard for people to wrap their ears around. It should be distinctive but familiar.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Partizan Inner circle London UK 1682 Posts |
I feel that most people if not everyone have internal music, a sort of musical structure in the mind.
If some external music fits into parts of your internal expectations then you would find the music of interest, conversely any external music that did not fit would cause dissonance in the mind and you would find the music obnoxious. Even down to things like a poor sound engineer or composer letting dissonant frequencies exist in a product can make a piece of music grate on your nerves.
"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."
- Mark Twain |
Reis O'Brien Inner circle Seattle, WA 2467 Posts |
Three words... ripping guitar solo!
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saxmangeoff Veteran user Moscow, ID, USA 353 Posts |
There's a reason songs like "Summertime," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," "Stormy Weather," and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" will always be around. I think Bill nails it nicely with the statement "It should be distinctive but familiar." All of these songs have a strong melody that is "distinctive but familiar."
In recent years, we've had albums of standards released by Rod Stewart, Queen Latifah, and now Carly Simon. Clearly, these songs have staying power. Many Beatles songs, similarly, have very strong melodies. Compare that with, say, the Bee Gees. They were around for many years and had many hits, but how many Bee Gees melodies can you hum? How often do you hear a Bee Gees song vs. a Beatles song or a standard? Geoff
"You must practice your material until it becomes boring, then practice it until it becomes beautiful." -- Bill Palmer
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hkwiles Special user Howard Wiles 797 Posts |
And if you want to know how to make the modern pop and rock song s be remembered ...sing them like this..
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN......-1306243 Howard |
Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-09-02 12:44, hkwiles wrote: ...and they said you couldn't find good cheese in the UK.
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
rossmacrae Inner circle Arlington, Virginia 2475 Posts |
The listener's mood also does much to make a song sound good at any given moment ... or totally irrelevant.
Remember when you lost your first love? (O! Tragedy of tragedies!) Sad songs of failed or doomed romance, and maybe a few "He's/She's gone and good riddance" songs were your favorite wallow, cheery songs were lies for idiots to anesthetize themselves with, and mindless surf music made you want to throw the radio out of the window. Compare that to what you'd consider "a catchy tune" right now. |
funny_gecko Elite user 436 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-09-01 21:17, Jerrine wrote: So you prefer hardcore gangster rap do you? |
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