Music : A complex canvas

[This is more of a conversation put down on paper]

I had an intellectually stimulating discussion with one of my friends Karthik Rao the other day, and we were discussing about how much one can interpret from music.

Let’s just give it a little go. I am sure interpretations of music are rather subjective, but I believe that I am more inclined to grasp what the artist is trying to portray when I listen intently to a song containing lyrics. Somehow, the same doesn’t apply when I am just listening to pure instrumental versions. Maybe I am not acquainted with the intricacies and the nuances of music, and the various genres of music, but you give me an instrumental song and 9 out of 10 times I would completely miss what the artist is trying to paint on the canvas. Surely the people who listen intently to carnatic and classical music are well familiarized and can appreciate the work only because they have a clear understanding of the subject. I for one can only hear finely structured musical patterns, but I do not understand the underlying emotion. I enjoy the beauty of a finely written song, and the meaning of the song is what intrigues me rather than the parts which aid it like the background music for example. And I happen to hate heavily computerized aid in songs when precedence is given to commercializing recurring motifs and not lyrics. But am I not missing out on a great deal by just limiting myself to this confined space which I am comfortable with? By conveniently limiting myself to understanding emotions from finely written lyrical songs and not instrumental versions? I would surely love to know what Beethoven is trying to convey without having to read about it or someone giving me a summary about it.

I am a big fan of Coldplay, and am a huge fan of all their albums save the last one (I somehow didn’t like their new direction to infuse pop in their music (Mylo Xyloto), doesn’t suit them I feel). The beauty of Coldplay’s songs are that they are very deep in substance and most of the times they reflect our lives. But I am not a fan of Beethoven or Mozart only because of my own doing. Because I do not understand the emotions that are being reflected in the song and not because I don’t like their compositions.

Karthik and myself also discussed why people listen to music at all. Some do it just for the sake of listening – exploring different themes. Some do it so that they can identify the phase of the life that they are going through with the song. Very subjective again but I would surely like to know what goes on in the head of the listener as well, just as what goes on in the head of the composer intrigues me. I listen to a particular song when I am in a particular kind of mood. There are songs I listen to when I am in a low mood in the hope that I cheer up and listening to songs have helped a lot. For each, his own purpose.

I also happen to have a question which has been bothering me to no end. Do musicians perform a better job of portraying emotions through music ONLY if they have experienced it in their life ? No doubt, a person’s life almost always influences their work, and a musician’s is no different, but is it absolutely necessary for a musician to have experienced it to convincingly portray in their work ? Have there been any instances where a artist with no connect to the emotion in real life has produced a stunning work of art? I would surely like to know my musician-friends’ thoughts on this.

Aren’t just the complexities of music god-awesome ? I just love to explore chaos and complexities in every theme. Well, what can I say, C’est la vie.