[Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 25, Issue 48

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rosco wrote:

<"...My friend Chris M. (as usual, &  knowingly) goes overboard in
<making his points about tone, shape, &  rhythm. Given that, Richard, I
<would just add that listening to 1000 hours of  pop radio might not
<result in hearing  much good music, period, at least in  my opinion..."
< 
<...If "the genre of your choice" is so called world  music, jazz, much
<of modern symphonic music, etc., this point is not valid.  Trying to
<appeal to 'most of the people most of the time' is not necessarily a 
<good way to make music."  

I agree completely with all of the above.  However, the question was not
about which music sucks and which music sings.  The question was about
what most people hear and respond to, first.  Pop music by definition is
music that's popular, so it's a fairly reliable guide to what most
people respond to, first. 

The dominance of the human voice in pop music can't be argued.  Before
rap and hiphop, I would have argued that melody is supreme; but it
appears that a human voice doesn't need melody to be attractive, so long
as the words are worth hearing.  

In any case, purely instrumental music is way, way down on the list of
what people respond to first and foremost.  Total sales for all jazz
records combined in the USA last year was 20 million copies; that's less
than one Back Street Boys CD.  Classical sales, I think, are in that
neighborhood too.  Instrumental music, with rare exceptions, is niche
music.  

Again, this is not about what sucks or what sings.  Very few of my
favorite pieces of music are pop songs.  Many, maybe most of my favorite
pieces of music are instrumental.  But I don't confuse my own tastes
with what most people like.  Most people will tell you that they like
"every kind of music" -- but what they mean is every kind of music with
drums, guitars, and a singer, and it's the singer that's really moving
them. 

Action item for harmonica players: start working on your singing. 
Wouldn't hurt to work on your lyric writing too.

Thanks and regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com