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The confusing thing about Music

Ellen Brown

Well-Known Member
In Christianity, years ago, rock music was not seemly. Nowadays many churches do rock music.

Saul, before David, was comforted by music. Hmmmm

In Islam, depending upon the school of thought, music except for drums and "flute" is forbidden. String music is sad to call to the shaitan.

Odd, very odd. It is amazing and shameful how little musicians get paid.
 

dianaiad

Well-Known Member
Depends on the musician. The famous ones get paid a LOT. As in, a lot.
It also seems that we humans have always loved singers. Certainly women love men who sing. An ugly man with a great voice will get girlfriends even when a handsome man with a voice like a donkey might not.

Doesn't seem to work that way for women, though. Darn it.

Of course, my own opinion of music is...the most popular stuff now days isn't. Music. Rap and Hip hop all sound alike to me...some have great poetry in them, but I get more out of it from reading the lyrics than listening to the chant.

But then, my car has only one preset Sirius channel; classical. I'm a nerd. Sue me.

On the other hand, I'll let Hugh Jackman sing to me any time. I'd even let him wear his Wolverine costume while sang and danced. I wonder if he would?
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
Most musicians, even very good ones, can't earn a living directly from music. Some can cobble together a living from touring, teaching and so forth, but often I've heard "jokes" about needing a "straight job" so support the music "habit".
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
Most musicians, even very good ones, can't earn a living directly from music. Some can cobble together a living from touring, teaching and so forth, but often I've heard "jokes" about needing a "straight job" so support the music "habit".
Musicians earn most of their money from touring and other merch sales, not music sales.
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
Depends on the musician. The famous ones get paid a LOT. As in, a lot.
It also seems that we humans have always loved singers. Certainly women love men who sing. An ugly man with a great voice will get girlfriends even when a handsome man with a voice like a donkey might not.

Doesn't seem to work that way for women, though. Darn it.

Of course, my own opinion of music is...the most popular stuff now days isn't. Music. Rap and Hip hop all sound alike to me...some have great poetry in them, but I get more out of it from reading the lyrics than listening to the chant.

But then, my car has only one preset Sirius channel; classical. I'm a nerd. Sue me.

On the other hand, I'll let Hugh Jackman sing to me any time. I'd even let him wear his Wolverine costume while sang and danced. I wonder if he would?
Not in costume unfortunately, but he is a good sport so maybe if you get a chance to request?
 

PureX

Veteran Member
It is amazing and shameful how little musicians get paid.
Not just musical artists, but all artists. Modern humans resent their artists for wanting to spend their lives doing something they find joyous and meaningful, rather than just serving the wealthy elite for the sake of survival. And the wealthy elite know that the artists will do it anyway, if they can find a way, regardless of the lack of compensation. So neither will choose to support the arts and the artists unless and until they can find a way to commodify the artworks they generate. Usually, they do that by finding entertainment or occasionally educational "value" in it. But the real beauty of art is that it is not a commodity, and is therefor worthless within the social systems that intend to use, abuse, and exploit everything and everyone they encounter. Which is why art and artists are SO important to modern human societies, and why whenever fascism and totalitarianism infect a society of humans, the artists are the first people they seek to subjugate or eliminate. It's the artists that teach us and remind us all what freedom looks like.

 
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Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
Music is a social skill like dancing is. Its also entertainment and a medicine. We've just come through a transitional period where many music styles have been invented, and its great. Musicians have had a great 40 years coming up with new musical styles. Now its getting a little harder to differentiate and compete with recorded music, but a musician is as awesome, as loved, as envied as ever.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Music is a social skill like dancing is.
Music is a form of language, and we could certainly call language a "social skill". It's just not one that everyone understands or appreciates.
Its also entertainment and a medicine.
Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. I don't think these traits define it.
We've just come through a transitional period where many music styles have been invented, and its great. Musicians have had a great 40 years coming up with new musical styles. Now its getting a little harder to differentiate and compete with recorded music, but a musician is as awesome, as loved, as envied as ever.
'Styles' are like fashions; they come and go and come back around, again. Music and theater are clearly our modern society's dominant artistic mediums. And I think it's because they can be pigion-holed into commodification by their entertainment factor (as opposed to, say, painting or sculpture). But that makes it a more difficult medium for artists to use because the field is so cluttered up with preconceived bias, ulterior motives, and nonsensical presumptions. It makes it hard to cut through all that with something clear and unique.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Most musicians, even very good ones, can't earn a living directly from music. Some can cobble together a living from touring, teaching and so forth, but often I've heard "jokes" about needing a "straight job" so support the music "habit".

"And Harry doesn't mind, if he doesn't, make the scene
He's got a daytime job, he's doing alright"
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
Music is a form of language, and we could certainly call language a "social skill". It's just not one that everyone understands or appreciates.
Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. I don't think these traits define it.
'Styles' are like fashions; they come and go and come back around, again. Music and theater are clearly our modern society's dominant artistic mediums. And I think it's because they can be pigion-holed into commodification by their entertainment factor (as opposed to, say, painting or sculpture). But that makes it a more difficult medium for artists to use because the field is so cluttered up with preconceived bias, ulterior motives, and nonsensical presumptions. It makes it hard to cut through all that with something clear and unique.
Everybody should learn an instrument. Its good mental exercise, good for your feelings, good for your attitude. Also its innovative.

I think the ability to record music has opened a brief musical opportunity. We'll keep hearing the same pop songs on our radios for the next three centuries mixed with some classical some Will Smith, some Shania, the Doors, Rage Against the Machine, etc. There are now recorded a lot of very popular songs, and every musician has to compete against those if they want to become popular. In time the record licenses for all the pop music will expire, and the recordings will simply be public property. Things will probably return to what they were before recorded music. Musicians will once again play live for the most part. That seems to be what is happening already, so it seems like that will continue. The new raging flood has become a new river, and that river will wend for thousands of years.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Everybody should learn an instrument. Its good mental exercise, good for your feelings, good for your attitude. Also its innovative.

I think the ability to record music has opened a brief musical opportunity. We'll keep hearing the same pop songs on our radios for the next three centuries mixed with some classical some Will Smith, some Shania, the Doors, Rage Against the Machine, etc. There are now recorded a lot of very popular songs, and every musician has to compete against those if they want to become popular. In time the record licenses for all the pop music will expire, and the recordings will simply be public property. Things will probably return to what they were before recorded music. Musicians will once again play live for the most part. That seems to be what is happening already, so it seems like that will continue. The new raging flood has become a new river, and that river will wend for thousands of years.
I think recorded music has become a kind of new creative medium of it's own. The way the recording of imagery became photography. The mechanics and accessibility are partly what define it. But these are not what define art. It would be a mistake to assume the characteristics of any medium are what define art.
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
In Islam, depending upon the school of thought, music except for drums and "flute" is forbidden. String music is sad to call to the shaitan.
Those were animal gut strings. Maybe somebody heard a song used in a way they didn't think was Ok, and they blamed the strings though understandably they were strings made of animal guts. Modern strings are made of metal. I can see how someone might think that stretching an animals guts could be suspected of creating an evil instrument, but that seems superstitious to me. I've never personally heard an instrument made in this way, because those kinds of strings are rare. An electric guitar is purely as metal as any flute. A piano is steel, wood and bronze. Violins? I'm not sure, but I think violins also use something else, now.

Even so strings are simple, natural. They vibrate in a natural way, just as all things do. All day long spider webs vibrate, and clothes hum and swoosh. I don't see why the string would be evil by itself or would call up evil.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
In Christianity, years ago, rock music was not seemly. Nowadays many churches do rock music.

Saul, before David, was comforted by music. Hmmmm

In Islam, depending upon the school of thought, music except for drums and "flute" is forbidden. String music is sad to call to the shaitan.

Odd, very odd. It is amazing and shameful how little musicians get paid.
I keep thinking of Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) when it comes to Islam and music.

While I can respect his personal decisions, he's merely a shell of his past persona where I felt Islam destroyed an incredible musician.

It seems like all the soul has been ripped out of the man from a musical standpoint.
 

dianaiad

Well-Known Member
Most musicians, even very good ones, can't earn a living directly from music. Some can cobble together a living from touring, teaching and so forth, but often I've heard "jokes" about needing a "straight job" so support the music "habit".

I certainly do. (sigh)

Ah, well....I suppose at my age it's too late to audition for AGT, anyway.
 
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