Uncle Roger's Notebooks of Daily Life

What is Music?

The subject of Rap Music came up today. I voiced my opinion that it is not truly music, per se, but rather a form of spoken word. Craig disagreed heartily. His definition of music requires only rhythm, while mine includes a need for melody as well. A little research shows we might both be right -- or at least within the acceptable range of values.

I turned to the Wikipedia for help. Their definition of music page is very non-committal. It appears one definition requires only "sound organized in time", but I, as well as many others, have a problem with this. Webster's has two definitions for the meaning we're interested in:

a : the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity
b : vocal, instrumental, or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody, or harmony

I find the first to broad and the second to restrictive. I don't see harmony as being a necessity for music, but I do require some sort of melody. Interestingly (and, in my opinion, incorrectly), the Wikipedia categorizes spoken word as a type of music. Given my feelings on the matter, I see spoken word as being a different art form, just as sculpture and painting are similar, yet different visual arts.

Music is an auditory art -- it is sound waves of varying frequencies and frequency. While it can be presented as part of a larger performance that includes a visual (or other) component -- such as a concert, laser light shows, and so on, music is only the audible portion of such larger, more complex works.

With this in mind, I find it significant that the Wikipedia describes rap as merely one component of Hip Hop music, rather than a genre of music in its own right. Not that I would necessarily declare the Wikipedia to be the definitive resource for all things musical, but this does make my point -- that without the addition of a melodic component (which may not be a melody in the strict musical sense), it isn't music.

But does music really have to have melody to be music? Can spoken intonation qualify as music? Does Ernst Toch's Geographical Fugue count as music? What about percussive music? How about Cage's 4'33" and other such works?

I think this might just be too big a subject for me to handle; it requires (and has received) serious study by those far more intelligent, knowledgeable, and musically inclined than I. And yet, I stand by my assessment that to be music, there must be both melody and rhythm.

What do you think?

Related Links Wikipedia definition of music Webster's spoken word laser light shows Hip Hop Geographical Fugue 4'33"

[ Posted: 18:00 | home | print ]

difference of opinion

i think the wikipedia entry mentioning "rhythm, melody, or harmony" is important; and notice the "or" in its statement. what many consider to be pure rhythm is often very melodic if you have an ear for it. take, for example, a simple kick, snare and high hat combo. a kick has a deep boom. a snare can be smacked, it's surface bent to create pitch variations, and with a brush can make smooth jazz a bit smoother. the high hat can be variations of tight and loose creating slight pitch variations as well as note durations. you would be, in essence, playing three different instruments. there are some very percussive piano bits out there that lack what we would traditionally consider a melody (let alone a harmony). alot of rock and roll, without the vocals, would fail a definition of music if it were only melody, too. spoken word, i believe, can be considered music. not all of it, but some of it. some voices can be very melodic in their reading, with definate rhythms. mind you when this is applied to a lot of modern poetry readings i often want to vomit... which brings me to preference. music, and what we call music, is a personal preference. i wouldn't consider that crud poetry reading "music" per se, but it could potentially fit a definition of music. we may not like some "music" but it is, potentially, music none the less. i think that's one of the beauties of the form: it is, no matter what definition you use, always going to be a subjective form where only you can say what is music for yourself.

Posted by dugh