What Has Happened To Our Music

Last night I had a conversation with some friends about today’s music.   We all agree that music has made a transition from melodies to beats.

There are four major ingredients in a great song that stands the test of time, like songs Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Ashford and Simpson, or the great team of Holland, Dozier, Holland, would pin.

Those ingredients are melody, rhythm, harmony and lyric. The songs you remember the most are a balance of those ingredients.  Hooks are called hooks because they do just that, they hook you and make you sing.

You can sing along or hum along with melody, harmony, rhythm, and lyric, you can’t hum or sing a beat. You must have a melody to do that.

When you listen to the music produced by great producers you will hear and feel energy, mainly because they use real instruments.  You can definitely tell the difference between real drums and a drum machine and a real guitar versus a synthesizer.

MP3s have made music portable, we can carry our music everywhere on our mobile devices but we have lost fidelity.  MP3s sound horrible compared to vinyl, cd or wav.  We have sacrificed quality for convenience.  I think FM radio actually sounds better than an MP3.  Compare and see for yourself.