What's to be and what's not to be considered as Music?"

[Karl Henning]

And yet again, we can apply these principles to our posts. If only someone could just explain to me what my intention is, we could set about it straight away.

Pour us a wee dram, there's a dear.

[Alexander_Bystrow]

So, in your opinion, a piece for unpitched percussion ensemble, is not music?

And: Why must music be tonal, in your opinion?

Thanks!

Well, thank you for your attention and questions!

Unpitched compositions, definitely, can't be music in any way!

Music can be made out of musical sounds, consequently, the pitched ones.

Unpitched sounds can be added as very-very secondary means.

Tonality provides the sound row with order, structure. That's what we need to build melodies.

A disorderly row of sounds cannot be properly organised to express intonation, sense, thought, and can allow the author just to ... paint or organise a theatre of sounds. But these are spheres of other Muses!

[Alexander_Bystrow]

This is obvious trolling. You guys took the bait again.   

Oh, no!

You are completely mistaken.

[Karl Henning]

Unpitched compositions, definitely, can't be music in any way!

But why, exactly? I've composed such pieces, and I am interested in how you would argue that they are somehow something other than music.

[Alexander_Bystrow]

And the inevitable follow-up question:  How do you define melody?

Well, this is not a very easy question to answer.

Melody has got a lot to do with orderly, structured combinations of sounds (and ordering of sounds by tonality helps here a lot).
Melody carries intonations, full sense, thought.

[petrarch]

Oh this is going to be fun and entertaining, even if predictable.

[Alexander_Bystrow]

But why, exactly? I've composed such pieces, and I am interested in how you would argue that they are somehow something other than music.

We should differentiate between Music and just Sound-compilation.
I suppose, a lot of authors were/are engaged in sound compilation or - in other words - creative work just with sounds.

You can play Debussy from the beginning of his composition up the the end of it.
You can play it from the midpoint up to the end and then from the beginning - finishing the performance with the midpoint.
Finally you can play it from the end up to the beginning.

In some cases such a performance will happen to be even better, more successful, accidentally making more sense, than the original!

Why so?

Because this piece was not music, not an indivisible whole, but this was a summation without essential internal bonds.

Dividing the indivisible whole, you loose the quality of the whole.
Dividing a summation, you get just two summations.

----
AB
http://aleksandr_bystrow.musicaneo.com

[Parsifal]

Ok, we've established you're from the "If I don't like it then it isn't music" school of thought.

Next thread...

[Beorn]

If I like it, it's five stars. If you like it, it's one star--unless I like it too, then it's five stars.

[Alexander_Bystrow]

So, Aleksandr, I presume you can arrange to not listen very often to what you don't consider music.

The rest of us will suit ourselves.

Well, Fëanor, I can suppose, that some people can even prefer to sit down between two chairs - and? - find themselves on the floor.

But will it be OK?

[Gurn Blanston]

Ok, we've established you're from the "If I don't like it then it isn't music" school of thought.

Next thread...

I wonder if Saul has moved to Russia finally. That could only be a good thing.

[Cato]

Mr. Bystrow: are you a mathematician?

[Alexander_Bystrow]

If I like it, it's five stars. If you like it, it's one star--unless I like it too, then it's five stars.

It seems to me there is a bit more in this matter, than just likes and dislikes - argumentation and direction of our development.

[Alexander_Bystrow]

Mr. Bystrow: are you a mathematician?

Well, a bit, I suppose.
You mean my using the term 'summation'?

An example of summation is litter-basket, or more exactly - the content of it.

The difference between litter-basket and the organism is the latter is an indivisible entity - dividing it you loose the quality of the whole.

Melody, its order brings organismic, indivisible quality to the composition, while without it the sound compilation is like a litter-basket.

----
AB
http://aleksandr_bystrow.musicaneo.com

[The new erato]

I wonder if Saul has moved to Russia finally. That could only be a good thing.

It certainly culd explain why things seem to go awry in Russia.

[starrynight]

It seems to me there is a bit more in this matter, than just likes and dislikes - argumentation and direction of our development.

There is more, but you have to judge things by more than just a narrow stylistic viewpoint.

[Alexander_Bystrow]

There is more, but you have to judge things by more than just a narrow stylistic viewpoint.

Why narrow?

I provided at least some argumentation.
You provided just likes and dislikes matter.

Do you see the difference?

And I add:
Melody is the most essential component of Music, its Heart.
If an author fails to provide it, then he does not write and deals with music.

[Alexander_Bystrow]

It certainly culd explain why things seem to go awry in Russia.

Awry?

Any argumentation?

[The new erato]

Awry?

Any argumentation?

No. Just facts.

[Alexander_Bystrow]

No. Just facts.

The word 'facts' is no argumentation.

Just a word.