I was having a discussion with a guy on a music forum not to long ago, in regards to musical appreciation. The discussion was about how some bands, are simply musicians bands, in that by definition, your average person doesn't listen to a certain band where as persons of inside the musical spectrum will. I put this down to knowledge of music(especially drumming wise). For example, Jazz music was previously something i found pretty boring, and I did in my early drumming days as well. However, now, armed with a good knowledge base in regards to odd time signatures, syncopation and some of the finer techniques of drumming, I appreciate and enjoy jazz music. So what Im saying is, do you believe that some bands/genres are only listened to by musicians(whether or not its intentional)?
Definitely. I've found exactly the same thing in my personal experience. For example, artists such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen are not really listened to outside of guitarist circles. To a guitarist, the technical intricacy of that kind of music is appealing, but it doesn't hold the same appeal for someone who doesn't know and recognise the advanced techniques used.
Thats how I saw it as well. In the same way, drum and bass music doesnt appeal to many people at all, because the music only applies to those specific instruments, and therefore because of the tambre the technicallity of the music must increase --> difficulty understanding the techniques --> hard listening --> musically orientated peoples only
My favourite in Instrumntalist Mike Oldfield that he has such a following its unbeleiveable (Yes He's done much more than Tubular bells) On his site forum their are too many members to count. The man has suchg a talent and can make such good music. yet these days he's barely recognised to the commercial world of musicians like Brian may and co.
I'd never heard of him before, though I just listened to Tubular Bells (the only instrumental song I could find with mediocre searching), and I liked it a lot. I only played a bit of bass/guitar and did some producing (wow, we could make a band, haha) but I guess I've picked up on some of that stuff as well. On an anime, Cowboy Bebop, they have a Jazz opening. I used to hate that when I first heard it, but now I could jam to it. I think it's partially exposure, but also understanding the complexities behind it.
Indeed, indeed. Thus, music sits still(effectively); The good will always get better. But whats on the charts, wont. Or something like that. Actually, this strikes an idea: someone made a thread not long ago about the state of popular/chart music. What was new, fresh and inventive back then is now old, stale and stagnant. But it was still simple enough for the average person of no musical background to listen to and enjoy.
It also comes down to the aural signature pathways in the brain (yup...I'm getting technical now). In the west we are so used to hearing what we refer to as "music" but if you were to take a trip to certain Asian parts of the world, such as tribal areas of China, and listen to the locals play a musical instrument, it would sound pretty awful or just not register to us as anything "musical". And that's because parts of your brain accustomed to taking in sound really has not gotten used to hearing sound in the way they utilise it. Same as here. If I took some primitive villager from outer civilisation and brought him back here to listen to the likes of anything ranging from pop, to rock to metal he'd sure be ripping his ears off. And for the same reasons as well. Other reasons could be due to mainstream and manufactured commercial fodder taking precedence over "hand-crafted" expert genres ranging anywhere from guitar bands/soloists to classical craftsmen/women, violinists, etc.
I believe what you're saying is that it was complex, yet still popular... right? My reasons as to why that would happen are that those that have lived through both of these eras will have a lot more exposure to them. Undeniably, music listened to will affect music that will be played to some extent. That being said, these ideas will seem older and older due to everyone basically taking the original and using it to their own means (possibly creating a schism between those whom transition with the eras). So when one traces the roots, it seems as though it is something you've heard before. Kind of like an evolution of music. To those who may not have heard the birth-origin, the relatively simplistic melodies could become more attractive; maybe even sounding 'new' in some aspects. Perhaps a better example: There's a series of books known as the Lensman series, and while this introduced a lot of concepts into the world of science fiction, it would seem outed dated and cliche-ridden today. Yet if one were to have little exposure to this genre, or had read something distant from this source, the Lensmen series could seem like a lost treasure of sorts. Not to mention nostalgia. Ah, the good old days, before I had to actually write to convince someone of my point. Back when I could just use methods of mind control.
