Can't good music be simple?

[de la mocha]

In another thread, and other threads I've read in the past, I've read (but not participated in) threads when posters complained that "so and so sucks, they're guitar/bass/drummer player is so simple.

But my thing is, you don't have to ignite the fretboard with amazing chops and dizzying, blistering solos to make good music.

Good music can be:

1) Complex melodies and layered intertwining harmonies featuring musicians with amazing chops!

2) A simple, driving rhythm with a nice groove with fills being thrown in.

3)A simple melody where the vocals carry the song.

Good music can be complex, or simple. That's all, anybody agree?

[jmattbassplaya]

There`s no way to classify good music. All it boils down to is what the listener prefers to hear, and that can range from only country music all the way to someone who`ll listen to anything from bebop to death metal.

People who hate on bands because their music is 'simple', IMHO & IME, are just very insecure about themselves either musically or socially(or both) and feel the need to say crap like that to make themselves somehow feel superior.

[iamlowsound]

This is good music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuUkPz7sZw
As is this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIz-WE3OmTU
This as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bPme10hzUE

Some people would call all of those simple, but in reality, they are not. Whatever the case, they are good songs.

lowsound

[Pilgrim]

Lots of good music out there....from something as simple as a capella be-bop to modern, heavily engineered stuff.

Myownself, I play surf music. People love it, it's simple and it's fun to play.

To each his/her own.

[blues_bassist]

CCR didn't play anything too complicated and they were a huge band back in the day. Stu Cook is a simple bassist yet very effective.

[Pilgrim]

Green Onions - Booker T. Simple. Wonderful.

[two fingers]

Absolutely. LOTS of good music is "simple". We could name dozens from every genre. The best example to me is baroque music. Bach, Pachelbel, etc. Just amazing melody with simple harmony. But then again, listen to Motown music through a good set of head phones sometime. It's complexity IS IN it's simplicity (wrap your brain around that one). Seriously, it's just really simple parts.....only they are stacked.....perfectly.

[Yngwie 4String]

I think music is a matter of taste, I never say music is bad or good, but some people like to measure things. In which case you look at technical prowess. I think thats whats up.

[Godbody]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-4EZyPIsSY

[daystcity]

Yes. I go to the extremes and listen to sunn o))) and necrophagist (just to look at the metal genre). They both are great, but they are very different complexity and speed wise.

[Steve]

A race car driver once told me, " The best driver is the one that can win at the slowest speed.

It's like that with a lot of music. The slower the tempo the more perfect each note choice has to be.

The more simple the song, the better the song has to be.

Good music doesn't have to be simple but, simple music has to be good.

IMHO YMMV

[DeluxeRed]

The intro to "Wheels of Confusion" off of Black Sabbath's Vol IV: No doubt a simple, one note riff (on a surface look), but one of the best pieces of music from the 70's.

But even a simple blues form played well/honestly has layers of richness in the instrument voices and their combination (or lack thereof). The tones and honest emotive content of WoC are what make that work, not some fancy scale running.

No music is "simple" at its heart. And not being complex is not a detriment (unless complexity is required to sell your message).

And who doesn't like a song to come up in the set list that give you a moment to play easier, listen closer, rest your hands or pound that note or squeeze the tone, with out having to chase some riff all over the fingerboard (not that that isn't fun).

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by de la mocha

Good music can be complex, or simple. That's all, anybody agree?

Definitely. I think it's really important to recognize that there is no correlation between how complex -- or how simple -- a piece of music is, and how good it is. Zero. None. Nada. Zilch.

[BB75]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

There`s no way to classify good music. All it boils down to is what the listener prefers to hear, and that can range from only country music all the way to someone who`ll listen to anything from bebop to death metal.

People who hate on bands because their music is 'simple', IMHO & IME, are just very insecure about themselves either musically or socially(or both) and feel the need to say crap like that to make themselves somehow feel superior.

There is no possible way that I could've said it any better. I agree 100% with everything jmattbassplaya said.

[superbassman2000]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

There`s no way to classify good music. All it boils down to is what the listener prefers to hear, and that can range from only country music all the way to someone who`ll listen to anything from bebop to death metal.

People who hate on bands because their music is 'simple', IMHO & IME, are just very insecure about themselves either musically or socially(or both) and feel the need to say crap like that to make themselves somehow feel superior.

also agree on both points. to me there is no intrinsically "good" music just as sugar isn't intrinsically "sweet" it is only good because it satisfies our expectations...check out the book "this is your brain on music" and it gives a lot of background of this kinda stuff.

as for the second statement, I have played with a lot of guitar players who can come up with some good rockin songs, but they always screw up the song because they try to make it more complex then they have to. i have played with guitar players who would take an ACDC riff and try to funk it up RHCP style if they could and my guess is only to try to show off--show that they are great guitar players, even though, thats not what makes a great guitar player lol i think that a lot of inadequate feelings sum up to complex-i-fying music when thats not what the listener wants to hear

[xzzy]

Only thing that makes any music 'good' is whether it triggers an emotional response. Sometimes it manifests as tapping a foot and others it just makes you feel better, but it's all the same basic process. It hits on something and forces a response.

This can be done with music that takes 5 minutes of study, or 5 years.. skill really isn't a factor.

[ggunn]

The good to bad music continuum and the simple to complex music continuum are mutually orthogonal.

[Steve]

Woot!

Check out the brain on ggunn!

That one sent me to the dictionary.

Showboat

[BassChuck]

Of course. However its interesting to consider what 'complex' really can mean. IMHO music is a simple art, that is, it is best when one idea is presented to the listener. Now, that idea can be deeply involved requiring many combined tone colors and lots of different rhthms, but their is one many idea to be considered. Think of Wooten soloing over a simple accompaniment. Few people would accuse Victor of simple playing, yet the intent of the music is singular, Victor's solo.

Layering a hundred different solosits all shredding like crazy would be, again, a simple thing because all the soloists would blend into one intent. Even though the contruct is involved, the intent is simple.

Now, take a guitar shredding and my aunt playing church hymns at the same time and that would be complex. Two very different musical concepts competing for the listeners attention. Complex.

Can complex music be good. You bet. But its interesting to consider the different in simple and complex.

[JulienJeff]

Originally Posted by de la mocha

In another thread, and other threads I've read in the past, I've read (but not participated in) threads when posters complained that "so and so sucks, they're guitar/bass/drummer player is so simple.

But my thing is, you don't have to ignite the fretboard with amazing chops and dizzying, blistering solos to make good music.

Good music can be:

1) Complex melodies and layered intertwining harmonies featuring musicians with amazing chops!

2) A simple, driving rhythm with a nice groove with fills being thrown in.

3)A simple melody where the vocals carry the song.

Good music can be complex, or simple. That's all, anybody agree?

agreed.
Some tink that only technical songs with solos and so on are good. I do'nt think so.
Take interpol for example. Simple, yet good music.