What is Music?

[Shadowmancer]

Now I don't want the facetious answer of Music being the sound that people that use instruments produce. This is a slightly different music thread, inspired by something that Xfear said in the thread on Music Piracy. As well as from working with my neighbour on his 21st music.

The Question I pose is What is Music to you? How do you see music within your life? Try and put it to one word and explain why it is that way for you.

One word answers will be infracted due to the instructions that I issued above being very clear.


For me Music is: Exploration

The reason for this is because I listen to the music that is out there and let the music take me on a ride if it is there to be taken. Good music will take you on a journey through a song that potentially continues through an album which is dependent upon the way that the people involved in the recording/writing intend it to be.

I also mean Exploration in my personal approach to music I, search out new things to listen to on a fairly regular basis, whether it is new music, old music or something that is relatively different to that which I have listened before. This also adds to the previous point about exploration of the music itself, a wish to hear more stories, of being taken on many journeys, some will be good, some will be bad, some will be something that you will always remember. It is the travel to get to the destination that is where you explore. Layers in the music allow for the accessibility of a song/album over multiple listens and yet does not allow for one to become sick of a song/album in a quick time period.

 

[Blade]

Truly great music for me, means escapism.
When I listen to my favourite music, I hear the places and people that made the music. I think of how interesting and exciting these things must be. I let the music show me what it's like to be in those places and to be those people who wrote that music, people more interesting and complex than I'll ever be.
Music is supposed to take your places, and you, as the listener, is supposed to let it. Music is so hollow if you don't let it take you on some sort of adventure with it's instruments.

 

[Freddy4190]

Music is: Relaxtion.

I get so absorbed in the music I listen to. It helps me out, it calms me when i'm mad or down in the dumps. I get angry with something/someone and I put on some Eminem and just let the lyrics take me away, there's no better medicine then a good beat or a solid guitar riff. I'm a huge Eminem fan and he's helped me out so much in my life, in terms of just keeping me going, keeping my spirit up. I listen to his verses and his flow and hear the passion he put into his songs, the fury and seriousness in his voice. It just relaxes me. That's what music is to me, it's not just there.

 

[Nitafrong]

I think the closest word for me which can encompass what I feel is: Inspiration.

I don't know about you guys but I find that music can have a direct impact on my feelings at the time, if chosen judiciously. Different pieces of music help focus my feelings, whether they be frustration, anger, heartbreak, sky high, or simply happy with the world. I find certain songs fire my imagination, they can help push me towards certain actions. I have a run I like to go on when I am at home in the countryside, the only problem with it is that it passes a farm and there lives quite a big sheepdog who always just to run out at me when I passed barking away which always scared me and put me off going that way. One day though I was a bit annoyed at the world and I had my angry music playlist on. Coincidentally as I passed the farm, the DMX, ODB and Ozzy Ozborne song from Chef Aid came on. I don't know, but it fired me up and for the first time I was more angry than scared. The dog never came near me

Last Christmas I kinda had a bad breakup and I can remember going for long walks in the cold and rain (really it should have been snowing to suit this story- but the weather doesn't always answer for beauty's sake) and it was about this time I really started to get into Sigur Ros. I can't say it was the only thing that got me through the next couple of weeks but the inescapable beauty of their music, coupled with its other worldly feel lifted me up from trivially running over conversations and to consider higher, more important matters.

So yeah I think I probably waffled a bit there, but I think that’s why I like so many different styles of music. As long as it has a message or a meaning inside it and it has been crafted with care and attention I think I will like it. Then again I also really like The Blizzards and Patrick Wolf, so sometimes happy fun dancing music also works

(Oh yeah I think we are matching Freddy )

 

[NSL]

Escape

Music has always been there when the world was at it's darkest. On more occasions than I'm comfortable naming, there was no one there for me, but I could put on a song or CD, and I knew everything would be OK. This has carried over to even just sitting in the car with the radio on, getting over the asshole that cut me off, or going to a concert and just disappearing into my own little world, as if the band was playing for me, and me alone.

 

[Mr. TM]

The heartbeat of emotion.

Music can be described as a crutch for humans to use to inspire an emotion. I'd rather think of it as as a heartbeat of emotion. I live my life in a routinemost of the time, and for those times music that I listen to is routine. Same songs for the same day. However, if I needs burst of energy, for when I hit the iron, some harder music is needed. For when I getdoen to an essay, I need passionate music. For all of these daily interactions, where plausible, there is a musical heartbeat.

 

[Mr. Steve]

To me is :naturality

It's just something that will naturally either hype you up or shoot you back down at any given time. Whether it's me trying to get a handle of things, I hear music and realize that I'm probably not the only one to be the first one to go through whatever the hell kind of mood I'm on the moment. To me, music is something I'll be able to take to heart, no matter if peopel like what I'm listening to at the time.

TO me, the music doesn't matter; if it fits my mood, I'll listen to it.

 

[Ty Burna]

I like this thread idea Shadowmancer, good work.

Anyway to me, music is: Life

Let me explain, I don't believe music to be the most important aspect of our lives obviously, but what I meant by life is similar to what TM talked about. Typically whatever mood I am in, or the situation I may be currently under, music can be put to it. When I'm sitting alone and not having a good day, it's either some softer melodic music that soothes me or I put on some energetic upbeat music to raise my spirits. Either way I have some kind of music that either matches how I'm feeling, or contrasts to change my perspective on life.

All around my life I hear music. Even when there's no actual sound there, it's still going on in my head in the form of beats, lyrics and full songs I have memorized. I keep beats in my head to sounds that aren't even in rhythm with one another. I'm really not sure where I"m going with this, but music has been very important to me always in my life, and I don't ever really seeing that change. I am a borderline audiophile, I like high quality sound when listening to music. You look in my car and I have aftermarket 6x9's, 6 1/2's, tweeters, and a 12" subwoofer in the trunk to go along with my aftermarket deck with a port for connecting my iPod. Why? Because I love my music that much that I want it to sound as clear and loud as possible. And really that's where my love of music is the strongest, in my car by myself with the stereo turned up. Music allows me to escape my problems for a little while, it allows me to alter my mood with just a few beats, and it also helps me remember great memories with a specific song. I mean looking at everyone else's responses, I can almost say that I agree with all of them, and it's difficult to select just one word to describe music in my eyes. This is why I said life, because music can translate to all aspects of your life and even alter moments and situations in your life. Music makes me think, it makes me laugh, in some situations it makes a person cry, it gives me energy, it calms me down, it sets a tone for the evening, it can change the tone all at the same time.

Music has so many variables that to me it seems difficult to fully cover with just one word. Music is life is about the closest I can come up with to possibly cover all those variables.

 

[Shadowmancer]

There is a reason why I said to try and keep it to one word because it is hard. I flaunt the random 5 and put down 10 because it suited me and it was an open ended thread, this one is supposed to make you think hard about music in a way.

I made that discovery and now I have gone further and realised just how true my statement about music being exploration is. To quote Sgt. Shultz "I Know Nothing". That is one of the biggest aspects of Socratic method in three words. The ability to understand and listen to music is something that I will go out on a limb and say is the thing that makes humans special and different. Just in the last couple of days I have looked at what I listen to and then gone this is very restrictive, I saw a top 10 playlist thing and I looked at it. I recognised a two of the names and I had/have never listened to their stuff in any detail. I then realised how restricted my search for music is. Mainly based within the english language and yet music is a universal mode of communication for humans. It is this that the concept of exploration is the most important one in music to me personally and everyone on a somewhat lesser scale.

 

[Ty Burna]

To sort of follow up on your post there Shadow, I've been thinking a bit on this thread since yesterday and on exploration of music more importantly. I think in this day and age we are bombarded with so much music choices that it becomes difficult to be relegated to a specific genre or to a certain style of music that is out there. We now have iTunes and other programs that allow us to explore a vast amount of artists and music that we didn't really have in the 90's, and especially far more than our parents' and grandparents' generations did before us. What they heard on the radio and were able to purchase on vinyl or cassette is all they had a choice of. And even back in the 90's all I had available to me were cassette tapes and the radio. I had maybe 20 cassette tapes and even created different mixes of those tapes, and yet that's all I needed. I didn't need 50,000 songs at my disposal, I just needed those few cassette tapes to get me by.

Now let's fast forward to today. With the mainstream usage of the Internet as well as Peer to Peer file sharing, we all have bloated music collections. In some cases we have a large amount of music we've never even listened to. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, but our appetite for new music can be easily remedied with a simple download or even just browsing Youtube, Myspace, or Facebook. The exploration aspect of music has become easier in today's world than it was even 15 years ago. Even sites like Pandora give you suggestions on music you may like, just based on your likes and dislikes of previous songs. It may be easier, but it's just as exciting as it was 15 to 20 years ago. The process has been streamlined however, and the available music to explore has expanded exponentially.

Music, in a way, is the backbone of different cultures. Scientists believe humans some 10,000 years ago were making music then. While it may have been simple whistles, it was still music to them and was often used to communicate. Music has also evolved quite a bit since the first musicians existed. We now have so many different types of music, and yet they're all connected by music theory in one way or another. What music can tell about a society or a different culture, is their views on life, their philosophy and their religious aspects. It can tell you about their history as a culture, and even how that culture evolved.

I believe another one word answer for What is music? could be Evolution because it is constantly evolving and changing into newer forms and yet we often do not recognize that change or evolving until much later. Musicians are constantly changing their melodies and rhythms which leads to the meshing of old styles with new to create a different style that is unique from the styles meshed to create it. With the help of computers and other technology, suddenly actual physical instruments are not even needed. A musician can sit at a computer and compose a beat or a sound without ever needing to know how to play a guitar or a piano. As someone who has played around with creating sounds and beats on a computer, it makes it easy, but at the same time it feels as if the genuine feel of the instruments is lost. While music evolves with technology and the cultural aspects of our society, I believe we must preserve the old methods of music creation. We should cherish the piano player, salute the guitar player, and appreciate the complexity of a saxophone player. If we don't and music creation relies more heavily on electronic editing, we will lose that raw sound of music and be stuck with canned refined music.

 

[theviolentmessiah]

This is a tough question, I've not had too long to think about it and I may change my answer but mright now I'd go with...

Music is Passion.
There's something about watching someone perform their music with passion that makes me tingle. I'ma particular fan of The Dresden Dolls and its a whole new experience watching them than just hearing, I don't usually buy any CD's, but a few DVD's of Dresden Dolls changes everything. They believe every word and change things about a bit. They dont just repeat a hit that was on the radio, each time its a different personal intimate performance because its their lives, it's the passion I feel for wrestling that I see across their faces and that I feel when I hear them. Not just them, they are just my example, a few of Rage Against the Machine's DVDs and many others I'm sure. But that's my example to try and help with my description.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Music is the soundtrack to my life. I don't force myself to listen to music, I rarely turn it on for extended periods, but I remember the song that was playing at the important times in my life.

I remember my first real kiss with tongue and groping was during "I'll Make Love to You." I remember running out to The Deftones before every football game. I remember their playing The Freshman at prom (the song came out my freshman year). I remember getting in fights listening to Z-Ro and I remember listening to the Trae album Restless while sleeping with the only girl I've ever really loved.

Music serves as a sign post in my life. It marks the important moments in my life, and for that, music will always be an important part of my life.