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Music as a language
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I’m going to have to watch this movie, Jung. That dystopia appears to have more rays of hope than the one we’re currently living through.
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Lol…. Jung and David…As much as all this stuff on Classical Music, Music Theory, etc is fascinating, it’s just too deep for me, ongoing confusing to me, and I’m prone to panic/anxiety attacks, so listening to certain negative, dark music, some examples you’ve put here which I chose not to listen can cause a spell for me,…I appreciate your ethusisam, enjoy reading the postings but can’t really put in my input to the calibre you both have….All I know is, music to me is poetry in motion, yes, certain notes, melodies, etc… invoke immediate emotional reactions…as for left brain, right brain stuff…I’m a visual concept person, creative, emotional, social…I’m not concrete, analytical, and whatever else the opposite to what I am applied….Classical music for me is an acquired taste, something that I am not overly keen on, never was, or will be…I just can’t really relate to it…. Please carry on with your input here both Jung and David, as I say, it’s quite fascinating but I just can’t grasp it the way you two are so, I’ll continue enjoying reading your thoughts, unless something strikes a chord, then I’ll add my 2 cents again…lol
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Jacki, I guess because I know classical music better and in more detail than other styles only because I exposed myself to articles and documentaries about it over the years the most, not necessarily because I like it more because there are rock/pop songs I enjoy just as much or more, a lot of my examples I cite in the discussion of music theory are classical examples. I know most people aren’t into classical music, and in my younger days I wasn’t either, in fact I couldn’t stand it when my parents would put it on, but I hope my reference to it doesn’t put you off on our discussion of the fascinating topic of music and why it moves us so much. These musical theory concepts apply to all genres and not specific to classical. The Beatles utilized it very effectively to make their music so special and timeless. 🙂
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In all the discussion of music theory and it’s meaning and and how it expresses feelings of the human experience, one of the most powerful songs from MLT that come to mind is “Close To You”. Can really feel the pain and longing in:
“As the shadows grow longer my heartache gets stronger And maybe it’s time to move on.
“But it’s hard to ignore what has happened before, And I cannot forget all the times I was
Close to you….”
The song is so moving, takes you right into the heart of the emotions Lisa expresses as she sings this beautiful song. Love the Duo Session acoustic version so much. It helps express and resolve pain from your own experiences listening to this. The beauty in the song does not make one depressed though, but rather resolves sadness and gives peace and makes you feel better after listening to it. That’s what good music does. It’s like Beethoven’s 5th or Moonlight Sonata with much pain or longing and conflict in it, but resolves to peace and joy by the end. The Wide Wide Land, June, Count On Me, Still A Friend of Mine, are other examples.
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The first time I listened to Close to You, the general sound reminded me somewhat of the classic doo-wop song Earth Angel. But when it got to the passage you just cited I heard something musically unique that nevertheless flowed well with the rest of the song, at a point where I thought all the structural elements had already been revealed. Verse, verse, refrain, verse, refrain, and… hello, what’s this?
I think that’s one of the underrated properties of a lot of great songs: when they give you that unexpected extra treat toward the end. I felt something similar in Count on Me with “the great escape has only just begun”, which with a chord progression of C , Bb , A sounds like it might be… Mixolydian mode!
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David, good point. It feels like in all MLT songs, while it follows that verse – refrain or chorus structure, the melody and lyrics keeps evolving and progressing, like a spiraling staircase instead of a circle, never completely repeating itself. The emotions keeps changing or growing throughout the song, never remains still, a hallmark of a great song.
In Count On Me, that part immediately before “the great escape has only just begun” is the best part of the song, I love it, a real emotional and beautiful lift and surge in the vocals and melody. Maybe Myxolidian or Dorian mode, but whichever one it is, it is very special and moving!
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I’m more about the emotional , sensitive impact a song has lyrically, the melifirs, rhythms, etc that make up the song, , To me it’s best defined as a moving poem that dances to it’s own freedom….I’m not one for analyzing, technical, mechanics but rather, sense, feel, touch, visual about songs…if I love the sound, it’s going to inspire me, feel good, etc…. whereas a song that sounds very ominous, sad, etc triggers negativity for me and even panic/anxiety triggers….Thankfully, MLT music does not do that to me…. Thus, I prefer listening to music that is lively, upbeat, good sound, nstrumentaion, rhythmic, good lyrics, etc, poetical…Classical music does not do that for me….never has and more likely never will.
My parents, my 2 older brothers, myself, were never fans of classical music, unless someone else in my family enjoys it, that I’m not aware of, we ( late parents, my bros) pretty much enjoy similar music tastes, thus being whatever records our parents had, what my bros had, I had, what radio stns we all enjoyed listening too…Oldies, Rock n Roll, Country was what was going on in our house, and of which I was exposed to, to begin with….????
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Jacki, I’ve finally recorded the demo of my song, if you’re still interested in writing lyrics for it. I could give you my e-mail address in “coded” form here so that spam bots and such can’t decipher it, and you could send me a message that I could reply to. Or you could do the same and I could send the file to you that way.
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Hi David, WooHoo…Please do send it my way…..I’m looking forward to this challenge, I’ve been looking forward in anticipation for this… hoping I can decipher your coding….I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram too, where you can also send me a PM to, as well as the email way….Thank you for allowing me to tackle this challenge, hoping I can come up with the ideal lyrics….?
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Well, I’m not on anything but this, so we’ll just have to make an adventure of it. Here’s the “formula” for my e-mail address:
1) first initial
2) last name
3) at
4) the opposite of south
5) the singular of states
6) dot
7) the thing that you catch butterflies with
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Okay, Jacki, I think we’re good to go.
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LOL! Well done David. You do have a very creative mind. I’ll have to remember your formula next time I need to transmit my signature over the net securely.
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Jacki, David, that will be a great collaboration. Hope we can hear it one day when you’ve finished it.
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I think that’s the plan, Jung. Given that it’s completely inspired by MLT, this would be the natural place to share it.
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David, here is an informative video about how to write music using the 7 modes as well as doing modal interchanges (borrowing chords from another mode) within a song. Much of this is beyond me right now until I learn more of the scales and chords, but it’s great to be able to listen to the modes played on the keyboard here to feel the difference in mood, and the chart looks really helpful in understanding how to create the chords in each of the modes for the guitar and uke I imagine.
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