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Philosophy of Music

junior88
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Posted 10/04/09 - 12:54 PM: Subject: Philosophy of Music	#1
I'm a big fan of Hip Hop and I've recently made it a personal goal to come up with a philosophy of Hip Hop, for my self. In order to help me to this I've been looking for some goods examples of theories of the overall philosophy of music or poetry. Any reading that you will recommend. Thanks

Z. Thustra
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Posted 10/04/09 - 08:38 PM:	#2
i think any philosophy of rap would lean more towards poetry than music, not to dis rap (i love rap), but it is more about the lyrics. the musical aspect of it is almost exclusively rhythmic; even when melodic samples are played they often act more as rhythmic devices than harmony or melody, but thats not always true. in fact, rap means rhythm and poetry if im not mistaken.
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Pseudocles
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Posted 10/08/09 - 10:49 AM:	#3
Z. Thustra wrote: i think any philosophy of rap would lean more towards poetry than music, not to dis rap (i love rap), but it is more about the lyrics. the musical aspect of it is almost exclusively rhythmic; even when melodic samples are played they often act more as rhythmic devices than harmony or melody, but thats not always true. in fact, rap means rhythm and poetry if im not mistaken. Hip-hop is not exclusively rhythmic, but even if it were that would not necessarily make it less musical. Rap is just as much about music as it is about lyrics. Even without any musical accompaniment, rapping is very musical. Think about it this way- the distinction between what is or is not melodic is very vague. We don't think of rapping as the same as singing, but rappers do not keep the same pitch throughout a verse. So even though they don't land on precise notes as we think of them, pitch and inflection are very important and if you listen to well shaped verse, there is a real sense of musical progression just like you would expect from a guitar solo, etc. But as for a general philosophy of hip-hop... Compared to other forms of music, rapping is incredibly explicit and personal. By explicit, I do not mean using vulgar language, but rather that it is not usually vague or cryptic like lyrics in other genres can be. It's explicit and describes in great detail kind of more like an essay than a poem. So to me, what rap is about is for the rapper to magnify him or her self. Rappers talk very descriptively about themselves and what they believe in a way that makes them and their lives larger than life. This is different than a typical rock band, whose lyrics may not be so explicitly personal. This is why rappers release mix tapes and albums. They want to constantly speak and be heard, and they may contradict themselves sometimes because what they are saying is often coming right from how they feel at that very second- again, to take their thoughts and feelings and magnify them and let everyone who wants to hear listen.
The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. -Einstein

MasterSean2k
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Posted 10/17/09 - 09:53 AM:	#4
Hip hop (and music) fall under the broader form of aesthetics. To begin, read Kant's Critique of Judgement paying particular attention to his discussion of aesthetic judgement. He holds that the form of tone is composition (its "arrangement" in time), and that judgements of beauty are made due to the apprehension of form rather than mere perception of sensory input. Understanding how judgements of beauty are made, ask yourself how a particular music genere (hip hop) is judged beautiful or agreeable (where another may not be) and what effects (emotional, behavioral, psychological, etc.) it has upon its audience. I think little can be said philosophically about a specific genre of music, but critically you can analyze the social and cultural conditions that gave rise to the genre and allowed it to metamorphose over the decades, the function of the genre for its audience and practitioners, and the influence of the genre on society as a whole. Literarily you can interpret the meanings and devices of particular songs. Musically/technically you can examine composition, the VST synths/software packages used, structural patterns across the genre, chord progressions, etc.
~MS2k

Z. Thustra
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Posted 10/18/09 - 12:35 PM:	#5
Pseudocles wrote: Hip-hop is not exclusively rhythmic, but even if it were that would not necessarily make it less musical. Rap is just as much about music as it is about lyrics. Even without any musical accompaniment, rapping is very musical. Think about it this way- the distinction between what is or is not melodic is very vague. We don't think of rapping as the same as singing, but rappers do not keep the same pitch throughout a verse. So even though they don't land on precise notes as we think of them, pitch and inflection are very important and if you listen to well shaped verse, there is a real sense of musical progression just like you would expect from a guitar solo, etc. I never said it was exclusively rhythmic, nor that it was in any way "less musical." And I don't disagree with any of this. But rap places more importance on lyrics or poetry than other forms of music, which is all I was saying. Pseudocles wrote: But as for a general philosophy of hip-hop... Compared to other forms of music, rapping is incredibly explicit and personal. By explicit, I do not mean using vulgar language, but rather that it is not usually vague or cryptic like lyrics in other genres can be. It's explicit and describes in great detail kind of more like an essay than a poem. So to me, what rap is about is for the rapper to magnify him or her self. Rappers talk very descriptively about themselves and what they believe in a way that makes them and their lives larger than life. This is different than a typical rock band, whose lyrics may not be so explicitly personal. This is why rappers release mix tapes and albums. They want to constantly speak and be heard, and they may contradict themselves sometimes because what they are saying is often coming right from how they feel at that very second- again, to take their thoughts and feelings and magnify them and let everyone who wants to hear listen. All of this is a pretty big generalization. There is a lot of rap that is cryptic and vague. And rap lyrics are not more like an essay than a poem; they are a poem. They are poetry in a more true form than most modern poetry, which often does not rhyme or seem musical at all. Edited by unenlightened on 10/21/09 - 04:17 AM. Reason: capitals, punctuation.
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