ARTICLE BY STEVEN DINGLE
“Do You Listen to Music? Or Do You Just Skim Through It?”
“Do You Listen to Music? Or Do You Just Skim Through It?”
Music is subjective to the listener, however there are some factors that can determine the greatness of a song. These factors, no matter the genre, are: voice, originality and creativity, subject matter, and purpose. If you take the time to listen to a song and ask yourself questions relating to these factors, you can most likely develop a better appreciation or an understandable disliking for a song.
The voice of an artist is one of the key factors in determining the greatness of a song. This is more valuable in the singing genres. Pitch, control, tone, range, melodies, and harmonies are aspects of voice that help the listener identify if it’s good or not. With Hip-Hop, voice can just be centered on the tone of the voice.
Originality and creativity go hand in hand. This is best displayed when the artist is able to speak from their perspective and give us something that we’ve never heard before. Listeners sometimes form negative opinions when artists use an instrumental track that has been used or even recycle lyrics of another. Instead of automatically saying “Oh so and so already said that” or “They already used that beat” ask, “Why?, thus helping you understand why the move was made and why the particular record is an amazing one. For example, the song ‘Juicy’ by Mtume; Biggie and Keyshia Cole have used the instrumental. But that doesn’t take away from the greatness of any of these songs. Even though Jay-Z is criticized for using Biggie’s lyrics, but like he said, “When I say B.I.G. verse, I’m only biggin’ up my brotha”; he’s only giving props.
Subject matter is reason why some artists are underappreciated or even ignored. This is what should make a listener take a song they like, dissect it, and realize it’s an outstanding record. "Niggas In Paris" is definitely one of these records.
Lastly, consider the purpose of why a song was created. This is really the first question you should ask yourself after you listen to a record. “Why was this song made?” Once you’re able to answer the question, it’s easier to determine whether the song is great or not.
Consider these questions:
• Why was this song created?
• What emotion are they trying to strike in the listener?
• Why did they feature this certain artist?
• Why was this song in this key?
Now, I’m not trying to tell you what to like and what not to like, I’m just discussing the facts. Some are good. Some are bad. I’d just prefer you to know the difference.
