Why Does all the Music Sound the Same?

Why does all the music sound the same?  Have you ever asked that question?

How about spicing it up with some serialism, or some retrograde inversion…or maybe some augmentation or diminution?

If you’re in a rut musically and you’re looking for some ideas, check out how you might be able to use some Classical Music disciplines to spice up your creativity and sound like no other band out there.  (For more ideas, see my article What Is "Classical Music?")

I’m not saying you’re going to like this short song I wrote for a Christmas Eve service at my church, but it shows how Classical disciplines can be applied to make something completely different.

When I wrote “God of the Heavens” I sat down and asked myself, “What would it look like to write a song using a simple contemporary song-structure, but a fully orchestrated use of contemporary Classical techniques and motivic development…no holds barred ?”

Here’s what came out, it’s not with a real orchestra, since I don’t have one.  I used Apple Logic to build it.  Hopefully someday it could be performed with live players.  Nevertheless, I stated the theme with the opening instrumental section, then used it to develop Verse 1.  Verse 2 is an inversion of Verse 1, to portray the fact that Jesus came from Heaven to Earth, a mirror image, upside-down from heaven.  There are other motivically developed ideas that I used as well…so essentially, it’s a Christian/Pop-song/Contemporary Classical piece.

I guarantee you…you’ve never heard ANYTHING else like it!

The God of all eternity,

The God Who spread out all the heavenlies

has come to the earth as a tiny seed,

planted into the earth, just for you and me.

The God of all the life we see

has come into the very air we breathe,

and has given Himself to us

that we would be set free

from disease and inflicted poverty.

God of the heavens,

God of the miracles we see,

God of the true reality,

You came to earth,

You came through birth.

(repeat)

God of the heavens,

You came to earth.

You came to earth.

You came through birth.



What Is Classical Music, Anyway?

Is Classical Music violins and oboes?  Is it a conductor standing in front of an 80-piece orchestra?  Is it tradition and history, or is it somehow deeper than all of this?

Why is it that many of the songs we hear today are forgotten in just a few years, while music from the Classical past has been able to last through the centuries, many being so much a part of our lives that we don't even realize where they came from.  (Take for example 'Brahm's Lullaby' or 'Pachelbel's Canon')

What is it that has caused these materials to span the decades and even centuries?  Perhaps there is something beneath the surface that seems to resonate with our perception of truth and beauty.  Maybe, like hidden treasure, there are things that can be discovered and even applied in the creation of contemporary popular music, which could perhaps give greater depth and lasting resilience.

What are these hidden secrets that the Great Masters knew about, and how can they be used today?

Come see my article, What Is "Classical Music"?