In going over the list of articles I’ve written to day, I noticed that I have yet to ask this question.
What is good music?
I love to open up a can of worms and this one should prove to be a whopper. We may even be able to go on a fishing trip after this one.
Okay, so what is good music? Good question. Can it even be answered?
You constantly hear your friends or people in general say things like “That’s a great song.” Oh, why? Because you say so? Who died and made you critic of the world’s music? I certainly didn’t.
Over the years, as I’ve acquired more and more wisdom, I’ve learned to never say things like “That’s a great song.” At best, I’ll say things like “I like that song” or “I love that song” or “I don’t like that song.” And I’ll leave it at that.
I used to say terrible things like “Rap isn’t music.” Talk about an elitist, pompous remark. Just because I didn’t like it I proclaimed it not to be music? Don’t get me wrong. I still don’t like pure rap though I do like Linkin Park.
See, the truth is, this is all subjective. However, having said that, there are times when you have to determine what is “good” music or you may be out of a job.
Let me explain.
While one’s love or hate for a piece of music is subjective, the masses love or hate for a piece of music, depending on what that music has been written for, is dollars and cents and can make or break an artist or company.
Imagine if a record label came into existence, we’ll call it Wagtunes Records, and every song it released was a total flop. After a while, the label would go out of business. I don’t care how good YOU think the music is. If the public doesn’t agree, you don’t make money. It’s that simple.
So, for that reason alone, we have to strive to make good music. But what is good music? Well, in this context, it’s music that is liked by the masses or at least enough people to keep us profitable.
Kind of horrible way to look at something that should be stirring our emotions and not our pocketbooks. But that’s kind of how life works. In many fields, how “good” something is, is solely determined by how well it sells.
Welcome to capitalism.
There have been many pieces of music that I have heard over the years that I have loved that didn’t sell. I am baffled by it but obviously my taste in music is much different, in many cases, from the masses. Does that make this music bad?
Well, if we’re talking dollars and cents, then yes. The music is bad. It certainly didn’t achieve it’s goal of making money.
Truth is, we can’t really qualify music as good or bad. Each piece of music written has a different goal. Not every piece of music was written to make money. And if you think that a piece of music can be classified as “good” or “bad” simply by playing it for a few people, that’s a pretty bad way of determining goodness or badness. The sample size you would need to do that would have to be quite large. I don’t know about you but I don’t have the funds for such an experiment.
As for my own music, I’ve had some people tell me they like it (maybe they were being polite) and others tell me they hated it and it stunk (maybe they just didn’t like me and were being mean). Who knows where the truth lies? And you can’t really evaluate your own music as you’re too close to it. Again, as I said in another article, it’s hard to look at your own child and admit that it has cancer. Few people can do that.
The ones who can, however, are the ones who are usually successful or, at the very least, realize that they have little or no talent and move onto something else.
It took me many years to finally realize that I am an average composer at best. Having said that, sometimes average is all you need to get the job done.
Think about it. How much royalty free music is really great? Most of it is pretty generic stuff. It’s supposed to be. It’s not supposed to distract listeners from the main point of the presentation, whether it be a advertisement or radio show intro or whatever. It is meant to add to the presentation, not overpower it.
For this reason, creating royalty free music is an art. You have to know when to hold back and be a little subtle and let the presentation do its thing. Can you imagine a company advertising fabric softener and you come in with horns blaring? That would totally destroy the presentation. The ad would not work because the blaring horns would be out of place. In this case, the music is definitely NOT good. It could be the most majestic and amazing piece of music ever written, but if it kills the commercial, it’s bad music.
When a composer can finally reach that point where he can look at the task at hand and understand what’s needed and what should be avoided, that’s when he can finally sit down and write some “good” music. Until then, he’s just grasping at straws. John Williams’ scores work not just because they’re great musical works but because they work in the context in which they were written. That’s why John Williams is such an amazing composer. He knows just what to do and when to do it.
I want you to do this. Go to YouTube and look up some commercials. It doesn’t matter which ones. I want you to watch them first without paying any attention to the music. Just watch the message. Then I want you to watch them again focusing solely on the music. I think you will find that is sounds totally different on the second listen.
What is good music?
You’ll know it when you hear it.
For The Love Of Music,
Steven “Wags” Wagenheim