What's your philosophy of music?

[WattsUrizen]

I think of music as language which contains both the austere elegance of pure mathematics, and the rich complexity of English. I prefer to think of music in it's purest form, in that it is a thing of beauty in and of itself, not because of programmatic connotations. So I guess I'm more of a Mozart than a Debussy.

 

I'm interested in how other people think of music? What it means to them? How they approach songwriting in a broad sense? All that sort of thing.

[ClusterOne]

music to me is simply to aural expression of something that otherwise would not be aural. Thoughts, ideas, emotions, feelings -- Meant to either be conveyed, shared, or explained through the music and lyrics of the person attempting to do so.

 

Which easily ties into how I approach songwriting: Something I am thinking or feeling needs an alternate (and perhaps superior) form of expression. So it's pretty safe to say that all my music builds from my ideas, rather than the idea behind the lyrics of a song being built from music. On rare occasions a particularly nice piece I have written that was meant to be instrumental will evoke emotions in and of itself and engender lyrics, but more often it is the opposite.

 

Music is truly life's indescribable, undefinable beauty, and yet it helps describe and define so much beauty in and of itself.

 

 

[eagle1]

I don't have a complex approach when thinking of music. I believe that music in its simplest form it's just a way of expression. Expressing what you feel, believe, see in a way that moves you and if powerful enough moves other people too.

[incubass]

Anomandaris, good thread!! i think of music as a medium in which to convey ideas that sometimes cannot be conveyed properly. For me, its an outlet for which i can discuss what's going on with me. a bit like a journal in a way. if i'm feeling really angry at a certain entity, instead of venting that anger and wasting it, i try to harness it and steer it into a song. oftentimes, when i feel a large amount of emotional stimulation, i run to my guitar to try to capture that lightning in a bottle phenomenon. so in a way, music is a type of therapy. it can pacify me if i'm in a bit of a rage and can excite me when i'm bored or tired. but that's just me, for some music is just a form of entertainment like a baseball game or a good movie. i think both are cool as long as the individual is enjoying him or her self. alot of musicians tend to lean to the former perspective though, which is why we are musicians probably...

[bulldawgu812]

i am with eagle one... i think of music as a way of expression. sometimes the music is expressing how i feel at a certain time... but many times it will be about friends, and other people i know. for instance, i wrote a song about suicide a year ago, but i have never thought about suicide. so mainly i think that music is just to express different parts of life to help people channel their emotions instead of taking them out.

[Super Rad!]

Actually a quote from a good guy sums up my philosophy:

 

"Don't take yourself too seriously. Leave that to the all too important Billy Corgan." -Christian Jacobs

[Cubanmafia1]

The rule of thumb used in theater is that when a chareter has something to say that is so important words do not express it, they put it to song. Does that work?