Comments on: Just Because You Don’t Like It, Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Music.

By: Joe Griffin

Joe Griffin — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:12:08 +0000

I think that the “good music/bad music” is just as much of a semantic argument than whether something is music or not…I tend to view qualitative statements like that to be pretty meaningless–or at the very least they should be translated into what they really mean: “this is bad music” generally just means “this is music I don’t like.” It’s not actually objectively BAD; it cannot be, as there are no established criteria for the relative goodness or badness of music.

On the other hand, as you say, music = organized sound in time. We have an objective definition that contains no ambiguity. We can absolutely point to what is and is not music.

In other words, uh, I agree with both of you. Carry on…

By: Wayne Kelly - MrKelly2u

Wayne Kelly - MrKelly2u — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:17:23 +0000

I completely take your point Heather and have known several people that have made similar comments about genres such as Hip Hop for example. Whilst it may not be my cup of tea I can still recognize that it has merit as a piece of music.

I also relate to the part where the other violinist said the section wasn’t music- just because it was repetitive and a bit boring to play. I have worked with so many musicians that fail to take a step back and listen to the whole sound and feel that they are helping to create that goes for an orchestra or a 4 piece band. It’s all about the song/piece- not the individual parts.

Ok- that’s my rant over! Thanks for an emotive post.

By: patty

patty — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:15:20 +0000

Saying “This is not music”, for some people, means, “In my opinion this is not music”, and maybe we have to accept that even if we disagree. I think it can be interpreted as “I don’t like this music.” Sort of like you run into an idiot of a man and say, “He is not a man.” It can’t really mean the guy isn’t male. Just more that he’s a jerk or something.

Or maybe I’m being silly? I dunno. I’m a wishy washy sort who never wants to make an absolute statement. Well … except that last sentence was a statement, wasn’t it?!

I’ll be following your blog now that I’ve “discovered” it.

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:36:50 +0000

Hi Patty! Thanks for posting.

You’re well within your rights to say, ‘this is bad music,’ – absolutely everyone is entitled to their opinion, just as there are some kinds of music I hear and/or play and I can’t stand, I accept that there are people who think the complete opposite and would think my taste in music is appalling!

That is a subjective viewpoint, still entirely valid, but subjective nonetheless.

My main bugbear I’m trying to get across is when someone will outrightly declare ‘this is not music’ simply because they don’t like it. Perhaps I’m arguing semantics here .

By: patty

patty — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:09:31 +0000

Is there any time when someone could say “This is bad music”? Or, if it is truly all subjective is that not a possible option? Of course we can always begin with “In my opinon” … which allows for the second half “and to me this is bad music”. That works, right?

But can anyone declare something flat out bad?

I’ve puzzled over this. I’ve played some music I truly dislike (I won’t say “This isn’t music”, though), and I might *guess* it won’t go very far into the future before the piece dies a quick unheard of death. Are there objective things that can allow for someone to say “This is bad”?

Just pondering.

Hope you don’t mind a random person jumping in here.