Granted, it's hard to find good music these days. And perhaps my age is showing too. The defining style of music for me was the New Wave of the late 1970's. The early 1970's featured a lot of good music, but nothing that really spoke to me the way the music of Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Blondie, and B-52's did. In the 1980's, I explored other musical genres, like jazz and classical. But other pressures increasingly hampered my ability to keep up with current events in music. But most of what I did hear in the 1990's and 2000's wasn't especially noteworthy, in my opinion.
Fast forward to Christmas 2007, when I got my first ukulele, an inexpensive Beaver Creek. I fell in love again with music. Sure, I tried my hand at guitar when I was young. But I lost interest after a while, especially once I tried practicing the barred chords. But the ukulele was something else. Four strings, four fingers - what could make more sense? The neat thing about the uke is that it's easy to form the chords. And not just the basic chords. In many cases, more esoteric chords aren't that difficult either. Practice helps immensely, of course. However, the success rate at learning chords, and the ease of playing barred chords, makes it possible for anyone to master songs that use more than just your basic chords.
What's the point of today's missive? I suppose it's this: More musicians should learn ukulele. With it's ease of learning and playing, I would suggest that it's easier to explore different and original chord sequences on the uke. Have you ever wondered where the diminished chords have gone? They were very common in the early 20th Century. How come we don't see them very often today?
Think of the songs of George Harrison, and note that he was a big fan of the ukulele. I wonder how many of his songs were inspired from just noodling on the uke? If you have a uke handy, try out this iconic chord sequence, one strum per chord:
Familiar? Should be. It's from one of his most famous songs! And the rest of this song can be played just as easily. And not just the chords. The melody line of this song is easily played as well.
For some time now, I've been wondering what the next big trend in music will be. Will we ever again see some new movement as sweeping and refreshing as the late 1970's New Wave? Is there enough cohesiveness among music fans to give a New New Wave a chance in today's fragmented entertainment environment? Or will commercial interests continue to foist blandness upon us?
I call on all songwriters and musicians to turn back the tide. Let's bring back variety and interest to our songs. Have all the songs already been written? No, of course not. There's a whole slew of new chord sequences to explore. And the ukulele can help you to explore them.
Cheers! Hans
I'm a classically trained viola player. I see that as a step ladder into music rather than a restrictor plate.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it sounds like you're about ready for a music theory course. It's a pity that Schickele Mix is no longer on the air.
As far as variety, I can't say that I ever heard variety in commercial music. Like movies, it's about repeating whatever was successful a moment ago. For true variety, I listen to local musicians, and now, YouTube. Check out Danielle Ate The Sandwich from her early days to her latest wonderful video. (She's a uke player).
Hey Buck! The only commercial radio stations I can tolerate are the ones that play oldies. I do tend to like the music played on CBC. CBC 2 in particular plays a variety of different styles. But I can never remember any of the artists' names.
ReplyDeleteIs music theory really needed? Heck, Paul McCartney never learned to read music and he has created some marvelous songs well into his 5th decade of song-writing.
Re Danielle, Thank You! I'm listening to her now. She's good! You're absolutely right - look locally, and you'll find amazing talent that will never be heard on commercial radio. The same is true in this city.
Needed? I wouldn't say 'needed.' On the other hand, I'm no Paul McCartney, so perhaps I might need theory a tad more than he... What music theory gave me was an understanding of the fundamentals of music composition. Along the way, I gained an appreciation for music decomposition, something I'd always done naturally, but now I can be more... thoughtful, more attentive.
ReplyDeleteThese things seem obvious, and yet they are still a somewhat flat argument for taking university level music theory course for my own edification. The thing I found the most useful by far was gaining the vocabulary to speak with other musicians - composers and string players for me - using their language and their technical terms.
I agree. At least a little music theory is useful. I found that out at the Corktown Jam in Toronto where the workshop leader would often throw out musical terms. Look at my blog posting "Building Your Own Ukulele Chords". (link at the right.) This technique would not be possible without at least a bit of theory.
ReplyDeleteI suppose my point is that, just as it is useful to know the rules, it's also important to break those rules. That's how innovation and originality happen. Centuries ago, certain chord combinations were considered taboo. Now, it seems there's so little territory left unexplored. It's hard to imagine where the next big style of music will come from. But that's the point. Someone has to have the insight to invent it.
Yes, it's the difference between a child scribbling with crayons and Jackson Pollock drizzling paint on a canvas. Both are breaking the rules, but only one is doing it thoughtfully.
ReplyDeleteBuilding your own chords was a good post too. I didn't comment there because I would be most likely to go off into the weeds blabbering about first and second inversions and so on. If you're into that, you'd probably have mentioned it in the post. If you're not into that, techno-weenie comments aren't going to be very useful, either from a musical perspective or a social one. At this point in my life I'd rather try (try!) to be supportive rather than bog someone down with needless technical claptrap. :-)
LOL! Yes, thank you for not bringing up inversions! When dealing with strummed instruments, like ukulele and guitar, I think the issue is largely ignored since many chords are inverted chords. Consider the three basic barred forms for the major triads on the ukulele. Two of them are inversions. There are only so many ways you can twist your fingers to form chords, and generally, we prefer the easy fingerings.
ReplyDeleteRegarding breaking the rules, an artist still has to produce something that's considered "art". That is, either aesthetically pleasing or make a significant statement. Back in 1989, there was a major fuss when the National Gallery of Canada purchased Barnett Newman's painting "Voice of Fire" for $1.8M. Many critics argued that they could make such a painting for much less. But they ignored other aspects of the work such as the fact that it was commissioned for Expo 67, as well as the fact that Newman was the first to paint that particular combination of colors in that particular pattern.
But I think I'm digressing here. My point is that when "rules" are broken when producing music, the result must still be worth listening to. I think a lot of experimental music fails that test.