What is good music?
I think I have found my definition of what good music is. Music is present in all cultures. It's called a language which all can learn and "speak". Good music is music which is able to convey a message. Bad music is music that fails to do so.
For a long time in my life I avoided music. Why? After learning about narcissism and personality disorders I came to realize that the reason was prejudice. In every school and every group of people you'll find that each person has a different taste for music. There are thousands of musical styles out there. I didn't reject each and every type of music, but I avoided discussing music and exposing my taste as much as I could. At school is just normal for people to be attracted by different styles and music can both bring people together or, also, set them apart. I guess I was somewhat afraid to be part of group and be subject to opinions from people who weren't part of that group. Somehow, in my mind, I had this belief that to avoid stereotypes and music is full of them, the solution was to not be part of a group such that I'd avoid stereotypes. Which stereotypes? Music for old folks, for girls, for rich, for poor, for losers, for this or that sexual orientation, so on.
I once heard in a radio interview that "funk", a type of music in Brazil which is often associated to sexual slurs, violence and crimes, is a reflection of the reality of the people who write the songs. I don't remember the interview, but it was Fabíola Cidral interviewing someone and one of the radio's listeners sent a message or made a comment which she read aloud. That person was stating that the language that you see in the lyrics of "funk" are a reflection what the people from the suburbs live daily. You can't ban some words or themes from the lyrics because that would equal censorship and we aren't living under a dictatorship anymore. At least, most countries aren't under a dictatorship regime.
To add a brief note here: I had a teacher of english and the class once had one of the most common exercises, which is for each student to choose a song and bring them to the whole class to listen to discuss the lyrics. One of the most common ways to learn a language. In that class she said that most heavy metal songs carry a weight that most people miss. Most people fail to recognize that the lyrics carry much more weight than what the surface level reveals. A long time, more than a decade later, I was in a birthday party of a long time no see high school colleague. He said that in rock and metal bands (he was a member of a band for years) there are always going to be fights, arguments, disputes, friction. In that party his cousin was also present and said that people wouldn't believe in how different that colleague of mine was in the past. A much more aggressive and wild personality. What prevented that colleague of mine from losing its way completely was him, his cousin. One line struck me as very enlightening about that colleague of mine, he said "Some do cocaine, but I don't. It destroys your mind. It's not fun." What is common in drugs and music? Strong emotions! But that's not what I want to talk about in here.
André Rieu is criticized for ruining the classical music, or rather, for proclaiming himself a classical musician when he is not. There is a class of puritans who believe that classical music must remain classic and what André Rieu has done with his orchestra was to disrupt the classical traditions in a bad sense. While the pop music side also criticizes him for mixing up two distinct and opposite types of music. One of the points that members of his orchestra made is that they've became famous while the critics didn't. I agree here. Music has to reach an audience and no matter what type of audience that is, music dies if it doesn't have an audience. I'm not going to debate whether having a larger audience means better music or not. That's not the point.
The point that I'm trying to make is that music conveys a message and the stronger the impact of that message is on its audience, the more memorable or remarkable that music is. The audience may be large or small, but as long as the message was conveyed, the music has reached its goal. What goal? If the message has been conveyed then the music has reached its audience. If you listen to André Rieu's words and music, his message is that good music resonates with one's feelings. I'd argue that even the most hateful music with hateful lyrics. Football chants to cite one example. Are able to convey a message and cause strong emotional reactions in its audience. I'm not supporting hateful chants here. I'm just saying that the people who chant hateful songs are doing that because they somehow resonate with the lyrics of them. To provoke thought, here is a question: If football fans choose to chant hateful messages, why didn't they choose another chant without hate? Why is hate being more powerful than something else such as love? What is stronger: to love your own team or to hate the adversary?
Politics and national anthems are great examples of music being used as a means to convey messages. Be the messages hateful, loving, blinding, deafening or full of hope. In the past I used to criticize music without understanding it and without even paying attention to what it feels like to listen to that music. I believe that judging music without listening to it is prejudice. In the same way we have the saying that states that we don't judge a book by its cover. Have you at least gave yourself time to read the book beyond the cover? This is what I question: Do you understand what you criticize or judge? You may dislike a certain type of music, but do you understand the message behind that music? Going deeper, do you recognize the emotions behind a song and what are the emotions telling about who created that song? I don't have the answer for this, but if the audience is seeking a certain type of music while avoiding another, there is something about society in that.
I wrote all this after reflecting on what music do I listen to? At school I used to avoid paying attention to music and learning from it, but as I grew older I slowly began to look for music and to learn from it. There are lots of soundtracks from various movies. Different types of music. Music from Japan, from Ireland, from Australia, from all around the world. I was remembering a scene from the movie "Mr. Holland Opus" in which Gleen Holland criticizes some music because it relies on just two or three notes. A shallow song, in contrast to classical songs with much more depth. I think a lot of boybands and girlbands play such simplified tunes. Yet they sell millions of copies and have a huge impact on a lot of people. You can't force everyone to follow music as a single interpretation with no room for different cultures and styles. That's why I agree with what Andre Rieu has to say about good music being music that touches one's heart. Celebrities may do evil or may be narcissists, malignant or whatnot, but their music has this property of reaching an audience. I mean, even hateful or contemptuous music carry a message and whoever wrote it had something to say. For a long time in my life I was kind of deaf, forbidding myself from the pleasures of music and this has had severe implications.
One last comment: André Rieu says that there are some female stalkers that chase him everywhere, something that is common to happen to celebrities. What has caught my attention is that he told that many women throw knickers at his stages. Due to my research on mental health and personality disorders I can draw a parallel. Is it possible to compare André's luxurious and grandiose concerts, including women dressed like princesses with the histrionic personality? Yes, but be careful with bias and prejudice! We cannot state that André's target audience is histrionic, that the women that throw knickers at his stages are histrionic or that his orchestra is composed of histrionic members. We cannot state that his music is histrionic because his concert is mesmerizing, with a shallow music that lacks depth as his critics say. André says that he went to therapy because he had a troubled relationship with his parents until their deaths, but I wouldn't know the impacts of this relationship on his concerts.
References (english)
- Andre Rieu opens up about 'female stalkers, jealous critics and Christmas lockdown'
- André Rieu on the Criticism and Jealousy Surrounding His ‘Schmaltz’ – How the Dutch Violinist Divides Critics but Captivates Audiences
- Manoe Konings
- Anyone else cringes at André Rieu performances? (Reddit)
- A Maestro for the masses, if not the critics - The New York Times
- Why is Andre Rieu criticized so much? (Quora)
- Why this choir is a huge hit with China’s stressed out millennials - James Griffiths, CNN
- Twenty years, twenty lessons - Mark Rosewater (every lesson where Mark talks about an audience)
- Because salt mistakes taste great - Mark Rosewater
- Mr. Holland's Opus - This movie's message is that music is an important part of everyone's lives. A very important one with critical implications.
References (portuguese)
- André Rieu e a Espetacularização da Música Clássica - Fernando Gonzalez
- Fabíola Cidral, Rádio CBN (não me lembro quando)
- Crítica da cultura de massa ou da cultura da performance? - Leonardo T. Oliveira
