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Music and its effects on society
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Music and its effects on society
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Analysis: The Hunger Games As Allegory Of American Pop Culture
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Recommended: Music and its effects on society
Gavin Webster
Professor Watson
QS212 – The Hunger Games as Allegory of American Pop Culture
21 April 2015
The Lack of Creativity in Popular Music Today
If there is one thing anyone is close-minded about, it is music, especially which types of music people consider to be the “best.” Generations may overlap in what genre they prefer, but in nearly every case, someone will always consider his generation to have the best overall music. The youth of today will tell you “their” music is the best, adult generations will insist their youth decade of music was the greatest, and the elderly generation will demand that music played off records is the most superior. Music types seem to shift drastically from one age to another, and are easily distinguishable
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and effortlessly assigned to a time period by nearly everyone. However, there is one aspect of music that can be argued, and not solely by opinion—a song’s originality and authenticity. Throughout the semester in MU215, applied piano lessons, Dr.
Lyerla and I have discussed the difference in music now to that of music from the Classical period. The appeal music offers to young adults now is very distinct from the appeal that intrigued listeners 200 years ago. In correlation with how media has impacted and affected youth culture today, music can be viewed as one of the most influential types of media on today’s society. As mentioned in class, the impact of media has taken up a big bulk of our QS212 course. Therefore, with discussion about the comparisons from music of different time periods in piano lessons, and an analysis of how media affects society in quest class, this paper seeks to create a link between the two. The information in this literary work will explore how music in today’s time is considered to be less original and more uncreative than it ever has …show more content…
before. Technically speaking, there are two key elements of a song that differentiate it from any other song, aside from the lyrics. The first of which consists of the notes or chord progressions that essentially make up the song. As a rule, most musical works are created within the same key, such as C major or A minor. As an experienced pianist, Alberto Gonzalez was asked to be the choral accompanist at a concert, which allowed him to analyze every piece of music he played. Gonzalez stated, “I remember cringing at the thought of sitting down to play an insipid ditty whose uninspiring accompaniment consisted of the same chord progression being played ad nauseam” (Gonzalez, 2013). One of the major criticisms music from the 21st century receives is how repetitious it can be, but at the same time, repetition is known to be an element that intrigues many young adults to certain songs. Even so, the tremendous amount of repetition that is so evident in many songs is just one example of why music today is considered to be less genuine than music of other time periods. Regarded as one of the most comical parodies of music from the last decade, “4 Chords” is a song created by a group known as Axis of Awesome. In the song, three guys sing nearly forty different songs while playing the same four C major chord progressions over and over again (“The World’s Most,” Axis of Awesome). This video has received over 22 million hits on YouTube (4 Chords, 2011), which may indicate the popularity of repetition to youth, or more realistically, indicates how enthralled people are with the idea that a great deal of music sounds so very similar when words are removed. The last line of the song states, “That’s all it takes to be a star,” (4 Chords, 2011), implying that all anyone needs to do to be famous is learn the same four chord progressions and create some semi-thoughtful lyrics, then combine the two together into a song. This video provides just another case as to how music from the last decade is not as legitimate as it once was. The second element of a song that separates it from any other includes the dynamics heard throughout the tune.
Some might think that dynamics can be created by simply adjusting the volume of a song on device playing the song; however, this is not what is meant. Today’s music lacks the variation in dynamics that was once claimed to be such a big hit long ago. Rather, the popular music from the 21st century uses only one dynamic, loud. In a studio, music is recorded at a much higher volume so that songs play back louder than those recorded at a softer volume. As a result, when you turn down the volume on your personal music device, the songs will still be fairly loud. This makes older songs that were originally recorded at a normal, softer volume seem old and out-of-date (Newcomb, 2012). Like the Axis of Awesome video, this article finishes by sarcastically suggesting that all you need to do to create a hit pop song is use the simplest, most pleasant chords and crank up the
volume.
In the age of auto-tune and such large amounts of other editing techniques, experts conducting an assessment of the current music industry might say there is less talent among artists and writers. The phrase “being in the right place at the right time,” has never been more appropriate in conjunction with many of the new, successful musicians. Filip Nikolic, a member of the band Poolside out of Los Angeles, insists that everyone uses auto-tune. It presents itself as a very convenient alternative to making corrections in a recording, and while there are heavy users such as T-Pain and Cher, there are also artists who utilize the tool to make simple changes like adjusting a note played from an instrument (Anderson, 2013). While the youth and artists now-a-days have struck a liking with the auto-tuned sound of music, it allows for less meaningful music. In an article collaboration with David Tao, an award winning songwriter who asserts auto-tune should be done away with, it is stated that “Constant Auto-Tuning promotes lackadaisical, unmotivated recording, as more artists rely on technology to correct growing lists of flaws” (Tao & Bushnell, 2009). Even some singers and songwriters, who utilize the tools regularly, believe auto-tuning and heavy editing creates unoriginal, lazy yet popular, music.
Although many people say money does not equate to happiness, the economy would tell you otherwise in a time where if someone has money, that person likely has power. This is evident in everyone’s lives, as the entire U.S. population is continuously looking for careers that will lead to rich and luxurious lives. Of the thirty highest paid musicians, the average amount brought in during 2014 reached more than $75 million, with Dr. Dre and Beyoncé topping the chart at $620 million and $115 million (Greenburg, 2014). With numbers like these, it is a no-brainer as to why artists are so focused with creating a large quantity of albums, rather than focusing on the quality of each album.
In addition to being more focused on money instead of creating truly inspiring music, musicians feel the need to gain fame. In many people’s minds, fame is equal to having power, and power is coveted by nearly everyone in society, which is why fame is such a large motivation for artists today. Some musicians, once they gain the fame they once desired, tend to become too relaxed and stop creating the prolific music that earned them so much success in the first place. Consequently, fame does not always lead an artist to producing creative music, and in many cases, can limit a person’s potential in the music industry (Haigh, 2013). Together, money and fame hold a great amount of the responsibility for present-day unauthentic music.
Of course all music from its designated period sounds somewhat similar, but to certain degrees. Some music from the Classical and Romantic periods may have been written in the same key, but two songs could not be found consisting of the exact same chord progressions, or each song repeating itself more than one or twice in the duration of the tune. The same is true for the majority of music until about the 1980s. In last decade, however, music has taken on a whole new meaning in terms of creativeness and originality. The success of repetitious, generic pop songs with similar chords, sounds, and loud dynamics has led to the creation of music that all sounds the same (Campos, 2009). In terms of how this media could affect youth culture, this music provides a more relaxed listening experience with possibly little or no benefit. This idea is contrary to the music created 100 years ago, which has been proven to help students better focus and critically think (Cossar, 2013). All in all, the music of today contains elements of being too simplistic and a lack of genuine, authentic techniques. The combination of factors discussed throughout this paper provides examples of how music is considered to be less creative than it has ever been before.
Bibliography
4 Chords. Perf. Jordan Raskopoulos, Lee Naimo, and Benny Davis. YouTube. Axis of Awesome, 20 July 2011. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.