Is dance music real music ?

[Synthman2000]

So not to derail the topic elsewhere which is highly likely to be an incendiary topic, we can discuss it here. I will start off... A bit of back ground from the other (How many synthesizers are enough topic):

Not really sure I agree with owning the "top" 5 synths and you will sound the same as everyone else. Especially when you take in the different music genres that people are working in. Musical ability and style, personalized effects chains, saturation/warming and of course synth programming ability are easily complex factors enough to outweigh any similarity in synth character as a few examples.

I have some synths that are thinner, some fatter terms used to dilute their wider differences and they occupy different spaces. Not all synths can be up front and in your face so different sonic textures can occupy different spaces. It can be easy to write off synth X because it's filters are not as good as X or waveforms are not as fat as Y.

Positioning these different characters in the right space in a mix can add interest.

Good points, all of them.

I want to say, really, that I was only generalizing, or maybe an attempt at humor. But then I'll go listen to the latest released posted on YouTube or any other site and, immediately, I can start picking out which softsynth they used. It's so bad some days that I can even tell which preset. So, I wanna say, No, everybody won't end up sounding the same with that most-used list, but I get proven wrong all too often. I swear they are even starting to recycle those little synth melody motifs in EDM, so not only sounding all the same but lately all starting to sound like the same song. I suppose I shouldn't pick on EDM, since we know that stuff really isn't music or art, but I can't help it.


@wagtunes. Just forgot to turn the PM thing on i guess. Always in a hurry. Thanks for the reminder. Hey, with 100+ synths you must have all the good ones by now!

I swear they are even starting to recycle those little synth melody motifs in EDM, so not only sounding all the same but lately all starting to sound like the same song. I suppose I shouldn't pick on EDM, since we know that stuff really isn't music or art, but I can't help it.

I don't think I know presets or characters of synths well enough to pick what soft synths are used in any given track.

I do not want to veer off but you dangled the bait.

Is a 3 chord rock song music with 8 note pentatonic blues scale solo, music or art ? Because I would say that in a good piece of dance music the overall skill level required is significantly greater.

To me there is good and bad music and it can be simple or complex, electronic or played live by musicians.

For myself my definition of music and art is free of genre constraints. As is what I enjoy and what bores me to tears.

I suppose I shouldn't pick on EDM, since we know that stuff really isn't music or art, but I can't help it.

Well, does that mean I shouldn't enjoy what I'm interested in anymore because someone on the internet deems it "not music or art"? I'm at a loss as to how you can judge a genre of music as not being music, and even art. Just about anything can be art, if it has the intention behind it. Sure, a lot of it sounds similar these days, but so does lots of autotuned pop music. Does that mean Michael Jackson was talentless and never made real music?

I'd be interested to hear what you think, because I'm genuinely curious as to what caused you to form these opinions, and what you think of as "real" music.

I will go so far as saying it is music/art as much as anything a child does for their parents in kindergarten that they displayed on the refrigerator for far too long... and that eventually became their embarrassment.
But I don't think I can ever go so far as calling it a 'genre', no matter how much the affluent addled millennia believes it is. Because then writing 'all work and no play make Jack a dull boy' repeatedly for 500 pages is every much a novel.

EDM is an idiom at best, lost in it's own ambiguity of not yet finding its place in the larger art of music.

This very large crowd of people seem to think it is in fact real.



Personally I feel the assertion : "It is not real music" is somewhat ridiculous.

[chk071]

Typical KVR thread.

[foosnark]

Just because you don't personally like a kind of music doesn't mean it's not music.

Just because it's formulaic doesn't mean it's not music. LOTS of music is formulaic.

Claiming "EDM" is not a genre also doesn't seem reasonable. While it's not the most precise term around, when you say "EDM" people are going to have a good idea of what kind of music you're talking about.

[Zexila]

[Numanoid]

Dance Music = No
Ambient Music = Yes

[Synthman2000]

Typical KVR thread.

I would not know I have not been here very long. For me dance music is real music. I think dancing is something that happens less these days. Something that is very important for many reasons. (and you don;t need to dance to it of course, you can listen anywhere) Music that encourages this activity is held in very high regard by myself.

I won't be adding much to this discussion as I am not immensely interested in the debate myself. I am not willing to dissipate energy in a direction that is not positive. If you find dance music is not real music it's your problem. I don't really resonate with people holding that opinion so will focus energy towards what works for me. It is fine to hold opposing opinion and still co-exist.

I think possibly its success is threatening and so this is why many view it as a lesser form of art, in spite I guess. As with all music genres there is good and bad depending on your subjective preferences for the sake of dispelling the generalization that all dance music is good.

[Synthman2000]

Sorry messed this post up: delete.

[chk071]

The fact that people even open up this can just shows those people's narrow-mindedness. Even discussing this is ridiculous. Should i call every music genre i don't like something different than music now?

[Synthman2000]

The fact that people even open up this can just shows those people's narrow-mindedness. Even discussing this is ridiculous. Should i call every music genre i don't like something different than music now?

I agree. I think if you don't understand or enjoy something a common reaction is to generalize, ignore it or belittle it. Especially if the thing is perceived in mind as simplistic or requiring little skill. Even though this simplistic perception is often just that a perception coupled with generalization, one way of viewing an entity.

[Zexila]

If banging distorted guitars, drums and screaming into mic is music, than everything is.

[zenophilix]

Just because you don't personally like a kind of music doesn't mean it's not music.

Just because it's formulaic doesn't mean it's not music. LOTS of music is formulaic.

Claiming "EDM" is not a genre also doesn't seem reasonable. While it's not the most precise term around, when you say "EDM" people are going to have a good idea of what kind of music you're talking about.

This.
Genres are basically nothing more than a way to make the distinction between different types of music in conversation, advertisement, etc. If you enjoy a certain style of music, it's handy to be able to make the distinction in conversation, or find more of that style.





So, going off of this, how is EDM not music? EDM is a genre, just like dubstep, hip-hop, etc. We could argue forever over if EDM is "good music" or not, but at the end of the day it's a genre distinction just like all the others. Furthermore, there isn't much to support the idea that EDM isn't "real music". Dictionary.com defines music as "an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.". If the artist is expressing said ideas and emotions, then what's wrong with it? You may not enjoy it, but that doesn't lower the value of any genre. We could go into EDM vs. general Dance music, but again it's just a distinction, and in this case more of a sub-genre.

I find that these two videos from Boyinaband sum it up well. The second one may be referring to electronic music in general, but I fell that the points made apply to EDM vs. Other Music as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NSWLa1UtIY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNwBwYXS3f8

[KoolKool]

i have less faith on mainstream nowadays, dance music to most people thinking now is all about drug,raving,cheesy love,p0rno.....

dance music used to be gold and great,now it's broken! too much fat synth,too much effect,simple composition..........

dance music is music,real or not!
but less respectable compare to notable genres like rock,jazz,orchestra,new age.....it's quite sad!

[DJ Warmonger]

Good music is always where it has been, just EDM festivals host some loud farts and playback DJs. Not sure if it's because of ordinary people want it, or promoters insist to market cheap tunes.
Either way, I don't have a trouble finding great music. In fact there's too much of it to handle

[ATS]

is this the dumbest question ever? hmmmm

[emcee]

If you think Dance/EDM isn't a real genre, then have a look at these.

SCOTTISH PIRATE METAL
A fusion of metal and folk, Scottish Pirate Metal uses pirate jargon in its lyrics and takes inspiration from sea shanties (yes, it's as odd as it sounds). During stage performances, Scottish Pirate Metal bands dress in period costumes. The earliest example was the 1987 album by Running Wild, “Under Jolly Roger.” Referred to as ‘True Scottish Pirate Metal,’ the band Alestorm (pictured), formed in 2004, is known for massively amped up, catchy sea shanties chanted by grown men in fancy pirate dress.

or

SPLITTERCORE
If techno is too slow for you, try speedcore, where the tempo is usually in excess of 300 beats per minute (bpm). Splittercore is a faster version of Speedcore with BPM ranging from around 600 through 1000.