Music is sound, sound can be music

@frogman This idea that rap is, “not music” is simply incorrect. 
Personal preferences and opinions aside, saying it is “not music” is simply incorrect.

One could say, “I don’t like rap music.”  To say it doesn’t qualify as actual music is incorrect.

These incorrect statements can be debunked on a few levels:

1) When people say it, “has no melody,” that is incorrect.  Countless rap songs of the last 30-odd years feature a distinct vocal melody sung by a vocalist during the choruses. 

2) A rap song that isn’t occupied by a distinct vocal melody for 1/3rd to 1/2 the song is still music.  Why?  Because every rap song ever features the rap vocal over…whuddya know…music. Music being defined here as: a percussion track, a bass track, a chord progression featuring musical instruments playing notes/chords, perhaps even backing vocals singing a distinct background vocal arrangement.

3) Is avant-garde music “not music?” Is John Cage not music?  Is Einstürzende Neubauten not music? What kind of definition of music holds any water? To just call it, “art”…I mean, I guess that works in an extremely broad way.

4) Is James Brown music?  The music that accompanies Mr. Brown’s vocal, on many occasions, is as repetitive and simple as the looped sample in a rap song.  The lead vocal, in turn, very often features little melody, but instead sort of a speak/sing approach.  We could point to many other instances of this.  Dylan, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and on and on.  The instrumental arrangements on many such songs by these artists can be extremely primitive.

”Who Do you Love?” by Bo Diddley, 1956, one single chord the entire song, no bass, with very little variation in the percussion arrangement, very primitive guitar fills, and that’s it :

”Tombstone hand and a graveyard mind / just 22 and I don’t mind dyin’…Rode a lion into town, use a rattlesnake whip / Take it easy Arlene, don’t give me no lip”

Plenty of folks in 1956 said, “this primitive garbage, this Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, it ain’t even music. It doesn’t even have melody, blah, blah, blah…”

“Subterranean Homesick Blues,” Dylan, tons of James Brown songs, etc., etc…

I guess that’s not music.

@tylermunns + 1 

@frogman This idea that rap is, “not music” is simply incorrect. 
Personal preferences and opinions aside, saying it is “not music” is simply incorrect.

One could say, “I don’t like rap music.”  To say it doesn’t qualify as actual music is incorrect.

These incorrect statements can be debunked on a few levels:

1) When people say it, “has no melody,” that is incorrect.  Countless rap songs of the last 30-odd years feature a distinct vocal melody sung by a vocalist during the choruses. 

2) A rap song that isn’t occupied by a distinct vocal melody for 1/3rd to 1/2 the song is still music.  Why?  Because every rap song ever features the rap vocal over…whuddya know…music. Music being defined here as: a percussion track, a bass track, a chord progression featuring musical instruments playing notes/chords, perhaps even backing vocals singing a distinct background vocal arrangement.

3) Is avant-garde music “not music?” Is John Cage not music?  Is Einstürzende Neubauten not music? What kind of definition of music holds any water? To just call it, “art”…I mean, I guess that works in an extremely broad way.

4) Is James Brown music?  The music that accompanies Mr. Brown’s vocal, on many occasions, is as repetitive and simple as the looped sample in a rap song.  The lead vocal, in turn, very often features little melody, but instead sort of a speak/sing approach.  We could point to many other instances of this.  Dylan, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and on and on.  The instrumental arrangements on many such songs by these artists can be extremely primitive.

”Who Do you Love?” by Bo Diddley, 1956, one single chord the entire song, no bass, with very little variation in the percussion arrangement, very primitive guitar fills, and that’s it :

”Tombstone hand and a graveyard mind / just 22 and I don’t mind dyin’…Rode a lion into town, use a rattlesnake whip / Take it easy Arlene, don’t give me no lip”

Plenty of folks in 1956 said, “this primitive garbage, this Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, it ain’t even music. It doesn’t even have melody, blah, blah, blah…”

“Subterranean Homesick Blues,” Dylan, tons of James Brown songs, chrissi lipo etc., etc…

I guess that’s not music.

So how do you categorize rap if its not a music. In that way you will also say hiphop and rock is also not music

@tablejockey What does talking about a type of music have to do with “social issues?”  And if such a discussion is “tied to too many social issues,” what about that discussion is so hazardous or disagreeable to avoid altogether in a music forum?

tylermunns-

It's been over a year, so If you haven't figured that out yet, then bring it up and see what happens