Painting a Definition of Music

Walk up to a random person on the sidewalk and ask them a simple question. That person will find it odd that you approached him in the first place, but he will – most likely – find the question asked more strange. This question is simply this:

“What is music?”

I believe this to be a very important question for our society today, because there is a great deal of controversy regarding the subject. Many are quick to take something to task for not being music. Or rather, not fitting into their preconception of what music is. This is the natural system of humanity – always searching for some mediocre way to demean someone else’s pleasure.
In music, I’m given to assume that this is done to make one’s own taste seem a little bit more sophisticated, making one feel superior to another.

Oh! Irony.

Let us take a look in the dictionary for some manner of definition, shall we? Webster’s Dictionary defines music as “The science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity”, “An agreeable sound; euphony”

“Euphony”, as it turns out, is defined as “a pleasing or sweet sound.” So from what we can gather from these definitions, music is equal to euphony, and euphony is basically whatever sounds pleasant to the ear. Nowhere in these definitions is there the slightest clarifier regarding what music sounds like. It just gives us a picture.
A picture that will be inevitably different for everyone reading this article.

This poses its own problem, as we can never have a truly cohesive picture of what music truly is. Unless, of course, we open up our minds just a touch and listen to the world. 20th century composer, John Cage, had his own view on what music was. I have no idea who he is, or what he did, but I found this quote intriguing. He said, “There is no noise, only sound.” This would imply that anything can be music, which would give relevance to the phrase “music to my ears.”
Musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez alleged that, “The border between music and noise is always culturally defined—which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus…. By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be, except that it is ’sound through time’.”

Taking from this, we can understand how people can define music as the laughter of children, the melancholy rain on rooftops, the wind rustling through a tree’s autumn array, the brook bubbling and babbling in its forest glade. We have to come to the conclusion that music is whatever a person conceives it to be. Music is sound, and it is the sound by which a person is pleased.
Music is the sound that evokes some emotion in a person.

But let us look a little closer into the realm of traditional music. Written music. Music, in essence, is audible art. It is the art of sound. But what is art? Art, according to Webster’s, is “Human creativity,” “Any specific skill or its application,” “Creative work or its principles.”

Art is a very broad topic, spanning creativity and skill. Art is anything that takes skill or the merest of creative thought. This is how a child’s colourful crayon scribblings can be appreciated by her parents and can be called art. This is how those who have little technical, mechanically artistic skill can be deemed artists. They have the artist’s mind. Skills can be taught. The artist’s mind can’t be given…it’s something one is born with.
Art is creativity.

Music is a subgenre of art. So for music to be art, it has to be born of creativity, yes? It has to be born of the desire to create. To be enjoyed. So the kid banging on a guitar for the sake of annoying his siblings isn’t music. It is the blasphemy and perversion of music, as it takes away from its true purpose, which is, as previously mentioned, to be enjoyed.

But why am I writing this? What brings up this topic of music? Why the search of a definition? The answer required to respond to such questions can be summed together in a word. A genre. The controversy. The word in question is simply this.

“Metal.”

Over time, I have heard the genre of metal slashed and slandered more often than it deserves. And being a fan of metal, I feel it my responsibility to respond in its defense. So I am.
How has metal been impugned? The main insult that I have heard given to metal is that it “isn’t music.” From what we’ve explored already, I can safely assert that I have reasonable back up for saying that it is. Even the harder versions of metal, including screamo and death metal have their own individual styles of creativity and art. And as for skill, very few other genres, aside from progressive rock, have similar requirements. We find a great deal of talent and skill in the metal music industry; speed metal, symphonic metal, and gothic metal come to mind. But for those of you who are still unconvinced, take a look at your alternative pop and top 40 and look for something called talent.
There’s not a whole lot there, and the excessive use of autotune sort of shows it.

But let us now trace the origins of metal, shall we? Let us go back and find where this glorious genre has come from. Rock music started in the 50s, while hard rock didn’t emerge until the 70s – the same time as The Beatles broke up. Hard rock in the 70s was paved by Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin. By the 80s, the hard rock and metal roster grew with the emergence of Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Iron Maiden, in addition to Guns ‘n Roses’ and Aerosmith’s comeback. Indie, thrash, and punk also found their way into rock music, rebelling against the growing popularity of pop and hip-hop genres.

By 1991, Nirvana gained popularity and popularized grunge rock, while hip-hop began to dominate the top music charts. Pop punk pioneers Green Day, Weezer, and Blink-182 also built up their genres. All of this challenged the metal genre as a whole, as hip-hop, pop, and punk catered more to the rebel youth of the time. During the 90s, metal music declined, and didn’t see a whole lot of hope until the 2000s.

Although hip-hop was the chosen music of the common youth, metal begins to feel a revival. We find that metal has again grown to flourish with bands such as Bullet for My Valentine, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Chimaira, and Avenged Sevenfold.

Today’s metal spawned from 80’s metal, and almost died during the 90s. But now it has found its place in society.

But we have to come at this from a Christian perspective. Most of us aren’t listening to much of the darker metal which strays into suicidal and Satanic themes. However, we tend to not have such a problem with the perverse sexuality found in top 40. And both are just about as harmful. So I won’t criticize either moreso than the other. I just prefer metal as a genre.
Looking back to the 50’s again, we find that the traditional, fundamentalist Christian society were all about banning good ol’ rock n’ roll with its beats and origins in blues and jazz, and other black pioneered music. This earned it the titles of “race music.” Simply put, it wasn’t in the hymn books…so it was wrong. Although, fundamental Christians also had issues with black Pentecostal churches, or Pentecostal churches in general. Too wild, I suppose. I don’t know…but I rather prefer it to dull, stale, stagnant services.

However, the 70s and 80s showed up, and in these decades we see the growth of Christian rock and metal with the advent of a certain hero’s music. Larry Norman’s. Larry Norman was a very popular Christian musician with long hair and black leather. His cry for the world was voiced in his hit song, “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?” Soon after, Christian rock and metal took off with pioneer bands such as Petra, Whiteheart, and Stryper. Stryper rivaled secular music in terms of musical talent, while still have a blatant Christian message, following the verse “By His stripes we are healed.” They put on amazing shows complete with yellow and black striped spandex, big hair, light shows, maddening guitar solos, piercing screams, and tossing Bibles in the crowds of people at the show. All of this earned them the phrase, “Yellow and Black Attack.”

By 1990, Christian rock had worked its way into acceptance, though still behind secular music in terms of style. Artists of this time were dc Talk, Newsboys, Jars of Clay, Kutless, Relient K, Audio Adrenaline, and many others with familiar sounding names. The 2000s became a defining decade for Christian rock, as it comes ever closer to rivaling secular music, and building its own style rather than following previous trends.

But what of metal? Along with Stryper, it began in the 1970s by American and Swedish artists. Although, Stryper is the main forerunner of the genre. They were the force behind it and everything that it stood for. 1980 found a growth in Christian metal artists, and Doug Van Pelt created the fanzine “Heaven’s Metal.” At this point, he’s also started another magazine named “HM.” This is an awesome magazine, and you need to subscribe, because economic pressures are hurting the company. *sadface*

Christian metalcore has found success with artists such as UnderOath, As I Lay Dying, The Devil Wears Prada, August Burns Red, Norma Jean, and Haste the Day, all of which have garnered Christian and secular praise for musical accomplishment.

Although, not all Christian metal resides in screamo and metalcore. There are a plethora of other artists that aren’t all scream. Finnish Christian metal bands such as HB, Oratorio, and Deuteronomium have all achieved success in and out of Finland. Also bands such as NARNIA and Divinefire have gained success in the speed metal and hard rock genres.

But history aside. The second slam to metal, and the last point of my tirade, is the concept of screamo vocals. Let me preface this with a note. I realize that many people naturally dislike screamo vocals, and there is nothing wrong with that. I’m not trying to form an argument to make you, the reader, like them. That’s not my point. My argument is simply that they are, indeed, musical, and that they don’t make a genre any less capable of the title “music.”

Screaming vocals come in different styles. Listen and you will find them. There are different screams for different genres. There is the death metal scream, and it is different from the screamo scream. There is the punk scream, which is certainly different from the 80’s rock scream. Compare Alesana to Aerosmith, toss in some James Brown, and you’ll understand my point.

Proper screaming vocals, the vocals you’ll hear in modern screamo music, take great vocal control. There is a lot of emphasis placed in breathing control, resonance, and articulation. Also, you’ll find that many screaming singers can truly sing in real life. Spencer Chamberlain, from UnderOath, has a marvelous voice which is shown in the song, “Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape.”

Screaming vocals take a great deal of training and practice, much like – surprise – clean vocals. Screamo vocalists will warm up before singing just like a traditional vocalist. It isn’t as much anti-singing, as it is a different style. It’s the difference between traditional art like The Last Supper, and abstract art and Dadaism. It’s the difference of taste, not that either is necessarily worse than the other.

In closing, know that I’m not trying to write a treatise attempting to make you go off and listen to heavy metal and instantly like it. My sole purpose is to open your mind and ask you not to banish metal to not being music, because – chances are – it’s potentially more music that you realize and, perhaps, moreso than what you listen to.

Sincerely,
- Ian