MoreCowBell wrote
Fair enough. I was just about to edit my reply. Things like dynamics or solos are often "written" into a piece though - they're planned, not coincidental.
Other qualities of "good music" could include good instrumentation (Diablo Swing Orchestra - who plays what, when. There's little redundancy. Ditto for Mr Cat and the Jackal.) and arrangement (Apocalyptica - Metallica on four cellos?!), correct voicing and counterpoint (there are recipes for this depending on what you want to achieve. Think Bohemian Rhapsody), musical style (ZZ Top swinging the blues like they're back in the Delta in '33), overall structure (Dreamtheater), modulations and their resolutions (again, established recipes for what do to depending on your goal), interesting, well-placed solos, layered over a simple harmonic progression (AC/DC, Hendrix), memorable lyrics (Queen), unusual vocal melodies (Led Zeppelin). And then there's what Singemonkey would refer to as musical "hooks". Some good examples of these: the bass triplet rhythm in Roadhouse Blues (which keeps the entire song motoring along), or the piano intro to Coldplay's Clocks, or just about any Queen melody line. The first four notes of Beethoven's 5th Symphony too. These are catchy motifs that you remember long after the fact.
This list applies as much to Mozart as it does to any "modern" music and I think you'll find these are the same metrics by which serious composition competitions are judged. (I'm actually quite intrigued now that I've had to try and condense my thoughts on this - definitely want to give it more consideration & discuss with some colleagues).
This is good stuff (to borrow a Squonkism). ?
I'd assert that many of the things you're talking about add
complexity and
subtlety to music, but that does not necessarily result in an increase in "goodness". Dream Theater is a good example: their "Live in Budokan" concert is astonishing to watch, and Petrucci (as just one member of the band) has a very solid grasp of orchestration. But I can't say that because of the complex time signatures, or the unison lines Petrucci plays with Rudess, or whatever crazy melodic bass-lines Jung is tossing into the mix, that it's "better" music than, say, Bruce Springsteen (or Bob Dylan) strumming on a single acoustic guitar and singing along. If a song modulates into another key (which plenty of pop tunes do) does that make it "better" music than a song which stays in one key? I actually find Dream Theater's
music to be intriguing and quite powerful, but the vocal delivery and lyrical content to be mediocre, which is exactly the opposite perspective I have of Bruce Springsteen. I certainly can't say which one is "better", only which one I
prefer, and possibly I prefer it because of some of the inherent complexity, whereas another listener might be put off by that and would prefer the blue-collar charm of Springsteen.
Even then, it's funny when people say "I love blues music" or "I love classical music". I mean, I can listen to some Bach, or preferably Chopin (I love piano) but Rachmaninoff is a bit lost on me. I can listen to Guthrie Govan all day, but Scott Henderson goes completely over my head. I can appreciate the groove and vintage tone of "Beano" Clapton, but I'd rather listen to Joe Bonamassa. All of the guys I just mentioned have plenty of the right ingredients you've listed, so I guess they're all "good" music, but really they're just favoured by different tastes.
Hooks: I'll agree that any great music I can think of is full of great hooks. But again, knowing that hooks are needed: coming up with them is something else entirely. Fortunately there are only 12 notes in the western music system, right? ?
Once you understand a bit about musical structure and you learn that there are indeed guidelines for how to construct songs in every genre, it's easy to become disdainful about some four-chord fluff on the radio - there's that new song on the radio with a synth chorus that is literally just four repeating chords over electronic beats; I don't even know what it's called but my kids love it, and allegedly plenty of fully grown adults do to. It's mildly baffling to me but then, as a musician, I listen to music slightly differently, whereas most people are just humming along to whatever makes them feel happy.
