Is noise music?

[elemenohpee]

What is that common ground? Why are there these emotions that we love so much...and seem to derive from music? And why are those emotions so often common to all people?

Those emotions aren't common to all people. Try listening to music from other cultures, a lot of times, you don't get the same feeling of a "groove" from it. This could be because music mimics speech patterns, tonal inflections, etc which vary culture to culture. This could be why it communicates emotions so clearly, and yet so elusively. Much of the way we communicate is on an unconscious level, music is a way of communicating on these levels.

I suppose my perspective can be summed up in this way: I do not believe that 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence is anything other than some silence. I judge music by paying attention directly to the musician(s). Therefore, music seems to be a very human activity to me, and electronic music lacks this human element. It sounds like 0's and 1's.

Electronic music is a very broad category, what do you mean by this exactly? You can't say that anything not coming from an analog instrument is not music. The sounds produced by say, a guitar, is just information. Everything about that guitar solo could be encoded in ones and zeroes. The underlying principles that make that sound so appealing can be utilized by people with computers. Listen to some Air and tell me that it sounds like ones and zeroes. I agree that 4'33" cannot be classified as music, check out my other posts for my reasoning.

 

[ebola?]

>>and electronic music lacks this human element. It sounds like 0's and 1's.
>>

er...electronic music is made by people. Per the prior discussion, you're going to have to continue to rely on your temporal argument.

ebola

 

[redeemer]

Sorry but I just find that kind of explanation totally boring. If there are sooo many varied definitions of music out there (that I'm just not aware of), then why doesn't somebody post one of them here?

So far, I am the only person that has offered an exploration of the concept we call "music." And I say that not to be arrogant, but to re-establish the original goal of the thread (to define or describe music). For me, it centers on the idea of a "groove." If you think about it, a "groove" is a very strange concept. It must involve multiple musicians acting together to create something that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. I'm not sure exactly how this occurs; I only realize that I have been a part of a groove many times, and I know that it feels good to fit into a groove and also to listen to other musicians participating in a groove.

I think the many definitons of music, like yours, are "something that I consider music". You've defined music as something that has a "groove", where "groove" is undefined or at least poorly explained. If you consider music to be something that has groove and the only music that has groove is music that you like, then basically your definiton of music is "music that I like".

My more "debate-able" idea, is that certain forms of electronic sound commonly called "music" in the popular culture are less able (or unable) to achieve what I believe to be a necessary component of music: groove.

Ie., you don't like electronic music? Here, you're basically just replacing "I like" with "has groove".

I consider music to be that which has groove. Electronic sound doesn't have groove, hence electronic sound isn't music.

 

[ebola?]

>>My more "debate-able" idea, is that certain forms of electronic sound commonly called "music" in the popular culture are less able (or unable) to achieve what I believe to be a necessary component of music: groove.>>

I'm going to present a counter conceptualization that is equally vague. Music, at its best, has the "it factor". This factor is a collusion of timbral, melodic, and rhythmic elements that creates a alienly powerful whole. It elicits a state for which English has no words, but which is emotional and also holds sway over the body. I have encountered this more often in electronic music than otherwise (probably because I keep listening to so much metal-core. ).

ebola