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Forum nameThe Lesson
Topic subjectTechnically Gregorian Chant is the LEAST musical*
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=2537278&mesg_id=2537357
2537357, Technically Gregorian Chant is the LEAST musical*
Posted by imcvspl, Wed Apr-13-11 11:54 AM
>you HAVE to admit, Hip-Hop is the LEAST *musical* of all
>genres of Music.

You'll note the * so bear with me first.

Gregorian Chant is monophonic, little rhythmic no harmonic declarations. Just one monophonic line. And yet it's the basis for the whole of western music theory. All the relationships that theorists talk about in traditional western music theory come out of those chants.

>There's NO technical aspect to it.

You know how off base this is. I'll take it as pure DAing.

>You don't use notes,
>phrasing, scales, or any of the other elements of
>"traditional" music.

Actually they all are used quite regularly throughout hip-hop, but no one knows how to talk about it, because the academics aren't writing about that and creating the language for discourse.

>Hip-Hop is almost Anti-music.

Drummers are almost anti-music.

>In that you
>don't HAVE to be musical to be good at Hip-Hop.

In that you don't have to be musical to be good at drumming.

Said under the assumption that you are ignoring rhythm as an aspect of 'musical' and denying the rhythmic requirements for being a good hip-hop artist.

When was the
>last time you heard a Hip-Hop artist, producer or fan talk
>about the G Minor Scale, or Note Selection.

Some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world couldn't name a c-major scale. Doesn't mean they weren't musical.

>Shit, there aren't
>even ( scratch ) solos in Hip Hop anymore. So any semblance to
>most other genres is pretty much gone.

Why must something comply with other formats to be considered in its own right?

> You can construct a
>good Hip-Hop song without ANY notes at all. ( See also, most
>of Run DMC's catalog pre 1990. I'm speaking of that 'All Drum
>Beats, no samples' kinda stuff ).

But you can't make a classic with just any sample or any drum break. The selection and use of selection is very technical.

>So from a scholar's point of view, there's nothing to it BUT
>the cultural relevance.

I think you just proved the opposite. The requirements though is approaching it from a musical perspective not a cultural one.

>I think you're taking it so personal because you're a Fan of
>the music. As a Dance music fan, it gets my goat that people
>think it's all that silly Fist Pumpin' shit. But it goes with
>the territory. And to be TOTALLY honest, I've always had a
>problem with "scholars" trying to dissect subcultures ANYWAY.

Actually I'm taking it personal because I'm just sick and tired of all 'serious' discussion about hip-hop revolving around whether its mysoginistic, or how much money they made in the 90's or the gang affiliations... blah blah blah. None of that shit is about the music. Matter of fact I'm going to go on record and say hip-hop is officially NOT a culture in my book. All these motherfuckers aren't talking about the culture of hip-hop, their talking about the affects of its various artistic movements upon AMERICAN culture. America is mysoginistic. Hip-hop reflects that. America is homophobic. HIp-hop reflects that. America has gangs. Hip-hop reflects that. But rather than address Americas issues, they push it off on hip-hop scapegoating it as a culture so that the broader dominant culture doesn't have to take responsibility. Meanwhile the most fascinating and impacting things that hip-hop has done muscially barely get footnotes.

FUCK THAT SHIT!!!



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