Is anyone here into happy music?

It's hard to get that vibe. When I say happy, I mean really crazy happy. A lot of you like really crazy angry or sad. I havent gotten the impression that you are interested in the craziest of the craziest when it comes to the light side. And no I don't mean the gay side, I mean the true, light, unphony, Godly side. I hear themes in my head I've never recognized, and I'm pretty sure it is me making them up. So do you have any real composers that are extremely wonderful, lifiting, high spirited, crazy composers with the greatest intention when having the world ripped apart to laugh about it? To witness devilish behavior and completely be unaware of it? Composers that compose for the high spirited and that are ignorant to anger, but circum to darkness and that compose about their true experience with darkness and how they wifted it away with their baton of might? You must know what I am saying, if you truly know happy music. I know some, but there's a real early 1900s style that lifts the spirits. They express golden chords. Chords of vibrant and bright colors too.

Godly, bright, epic, GIANT, all-powerful, brilliant, undefeatable. I can only look back and remember Mussorsky somewhat for this, but not entirely, and somewhat as well as Tchaikovsky, oooh Rachmaninoff too (All of these somewhat, but not as much as I am experience in my own brain, so I'm trying to prove if there is such a composer that anyone knows of?). It truly has to do something with melody. You can have a composer whos only so emotional and writes down scribbly feelings of sadness or anger (because when you're angry, you're not as smart as you are when you're happy. although sadness sometimes is the ultimate brilliance. in some ways happy is sad.). Or one who is happy all the time and is confident all the time. Who writes for the heavens. Even Mozart had this quality of happiness, though not as extreme when it came to music, mainly in the dynamic spectrum.

So answer me that.

REMEMBER, BEAUTIFULLY AND CRAZILY HAPPY MUSIC. Is that too hard to cicrum to?

I like happy music. If I want stuff to bring me down, I'll watch the news, or check my bank account! I'll take a good Strauss Waltz over this modern dark stuff any time of the day!

I must admit I like mainly "sad" or romantic music, and sometimes dark stuff. I used to like some Bartok though (a good example would be Golliwog's Cakewalk), and also a bit of Debussy (not always happy but definately "colorful"). But when listening to something that is overly "happy" it usually seems too childish or plain annoying.

Not a fan of overly "negative" music though - or deliberately dissonant/discordant styles.

YouTube - Messiaen - Oiseaux Exotiques - Aimard, Boulez Part 1

Makes one feel like prancing about.... :D

That's a very staccato piece. I wonder your happiness relates to this being almost completely played in staccato?

It's the birds, man! They make me giggly and happy and all warm'n fuzzy. :cool:

I quite liked Messiaen's Marshmalleaux Exotiques - gets me all sticky and moist...

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/where-everything-music-10351.html

Of course I'm into happy music!

This post seems a tad eccentric, what's with the repeated reference to writing "godly" music, and being more like "god" in our writing, what does that even mean? Besides, hasn't "god" brought more suffering on the world than anyone else, I mean if you want to look at it from that point of view, but that's for another place and time :whistling:

I don't really view music as "happy" music or "sad" music, that just seems like an oversimplification for me, especially since any piece/song/etc can affect many people in many different ways.

I like happy music. If I want stuff to bring me down, I'll watch the news, or check my bank account! I'll take a good Strauss Waltz over this modern dark stuff any time of the day!

You do realize that Bach, Mahler, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky (god, how many more Romantics and others can I name?) were quite brooding and produced some of the "darkest" music written. Moreso than whatever you may be referring to, which pretty much just seemed like a snob attack on "modern" music.

You do realize that Bach, Mahler, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky (god, how many more Romantics and others can I name?) were quite brooding and produced some of the "darkest" music written. Moreso than whatever you may be referring to, which pretty much just seemed like a snob attack on "modern" music.

Alright I disagree

Bach wrote some incredibly joyful tunes, as did Beethoven, as did Tchaikovsky, even Mahler is occasionally quite happy

You seem to be making hasty and broad generalisations regarding peoples opinions and music in general. Not a good idea at all, in fact, it's a horrible fallacy to fall into

In my opinion, if you want to write happy music, then write happy music. If you want to write sad, brooding, or mysterious music, then write sad, brooding, or mysterious music. And vice versa for listeners as well

Alright I disagree

Bach wrote some incredibly joyful tunes, as did Beethoven, as did Tchaikovsky, even Mahler is occasionally quite happy

You seem to be making hasty and broad generalisations regarding peoples opinions and music in general. Not a good idea at all, in fact, it's a horrible fallacy to fall into

In my opinion, if you want to write happy music, then write happy music. If you want to write sad, brooding, or mysterious music, then write sad, brooding, or mysterious music. And vice versa for listeners as well

actually, Will, you are mis-reading his post.

Re-read what he wrote: he is saying that not all contemporary music is dark and brooding, that the "classic" composers ALSO created music that was dark and brooding. He didn't say that they didn't create any happy music. Nor did he say that they ONLY created dark and brooding music.

For the sake of argument, let me ask whether modern music (as in non-classical atonal) ever expresses any deep emotion, happy or sad or other? The association of an emotion with a style of music is learned, is ot not? And most people learn starting with nursery rhymes (happy and simple) and then later from TV and movie scores (Jaws, Love Story, Dr. Zhivago etc.). The appreciation of modern music comes later in life and is more an intellectually acquired skill.

My original question could be continued: if one studies and masters modern music, does it (can it) then produce the same depth of emotion when listened to as some of the well known and often played classical music, or does modern music appreciation remain something more akin to solving a puzzle (which of course can be quite satisfying and rewarding)?

I hope I am making sense here - this is something I have wondered about for some time. I'm not sure where I stand.

Does it matter? Will your life or work be pointless if some gormless fan of musical baby food can't appreciate it?

I realize this is the MySpace/Facebook generation of people who can't think for themselves unless 100 of their BFF's agree with them, but for goodness sake... get over it! Stop worrying about what other people think and write what you want to write.

For the sake of argument, let me ask whether modern music (as in non-classical atonal) ever expresses any deep emotion, happy or sad or other? The association of an emotion with a style of music is learned, is ot not? And most people learn starting with nursery rhymes (happy and simple) and then later from TV and movie scores (Jaws, Love Story, Dr. Zhivago etc.). The appreciation of modern music comes later in life and is more an intellectually acquired skill.

My original question could be continued: if one studies and masters modern music, does it (can it) then produce the same depth of emotion when listened to as some of the well known and often played classical music, or does modern music appreciation remain something more akin to solving a puzzle (which of course can be quite satisfying and rewarding)?

I hope I am making sense here - this is something I have wondered about for some time. I'm not sure where I stand.

I still have no idea what any of you mean by "modern music". Music has diversified so much since the early 1900s. I mean alive right now we have Corigliano, Colgrass, Schwantner, Jennifer Higdon, John Adams, Steve Reich, Michael Daughrety, these are all drastically different composers but still are considered "modern" solely for the fact that they're alive. For discussions like this to get anywhere meaningful people need to be more specific about what styles and "subgenres" (minimalism, post-minimalism, neo-romanticism, post-mo, jazz influenced works, etc etc etc) they may be referring to, otherwise I'm at a loss.

Does it matter? Will your life or work be pointless if some gormless fan of musical baby food can't appreciate it?

I realize this is the MySpace/Facebook generation of people who can't think for themselves unless 100 of their BFF's agree with them, but for goodness sake... get over it! Stop worrying about what other people think and write what you want to write.

Well, I'm not of the MySpace/Facebook generation and I agree with you on that point. I'm not worried and I do write what I want - if one isn't getting paid to compose, what else would one do?

The question was whether those who are conversant with and understand modern music experience the depth of emotions evoked by more classical music (Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin etc.).

The question was whether those who are conversant with and understand modern music experience the depth of emotions evoked by more classical music (Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin etc.).

actually, for myself, probably more-so.

I still have no idea what any of you mean by "modern music". [ ... ] For discussions like this to get anywhere meaningful people need to be more specific about what styles and "subgenres" (minimalism, post-minimalism, neo-romanticism, post-mo, jazz influenced works, etc etc etc) they may be referring to, otherwise I'm at a loss.

I agree that there are many genres of post-classical music. The division seems to be between what most concert goers want to hear which is mainly classical (Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky etc.) and any one of those genres you mention.

Take any one or two those genres, or the music of Steve Reich or Ferneyhough - can these genres (or composers) evoke the same emotions as the classics can? My question had to do with what an educated listener can expect to get out of such genres.

actually, for myself, probably more-so.

Thanks. At least one person understood my question.

actually, Will, you are mis-reading his post.

Re-read what he wrote: he is saying that not all contemporary music is dark and brooding, that the "classic" composers ALSO created music that was dark and brooding. He didn't say that they didn't create any happy music. Nor did he say that they ONLY created dark and brooding music.

My mistake, thanks for pointing that out

It's hard to get that vibe. When I say happy, I mean really crazy happy. A lot of you like really crazy angry or sad. I havent gotten the impression that you are interested in the craziest of the craziest when it comes to the light side. And no I don't mean the gay side, I mean the true, light, unphony, Godly side. I hear themes in my head I've never recognized, and I'm pretty sure it is me making them up. So do you have any real composers that are extremely wonderful, lifiting, high spirited, crazy composers with the greatest intention when having the world ripped apart to laugh about it? To witness devilish behavior and completely be unaware of it? Composers that compose for the high spirited and that are ignorant to anger, but circum to darkness and that compose about their true experience with darkness and how they wifted it away with their baton of might? You must know what I am saying, if you truly know happy music. I know some, but there's a real early 1900s style that lifts the spirits. They express golden chords. Chords of vibrant and bright colors too.

Godly, bright, epic, GIANT, all-powerful, brilliant, undefeatable. I can only look back and remember Mussorsky somewhat for this, but not entirely, and somewhat as well as Tchaikovsky, oooh Rachmaninoff too (All of these somewhat, but not as much as I am experience in my own brain, so I'm trying to prove if there is such a composer that anyone knows of?). It truly has to do something with melody. You can have a composer whos only so emotional and writes down scribbly feelings of sadness or anger (because when you're angry, you're not as smart as you are when you're happy. although sadness sometimes is the ultimate brilliance. in some ways happy is sad.). Or one who is happy all the time and is confident all the time. Who writes for the heavens. Even Mozart had this quality of happiness, though not as extreme when it came to music, mainly in the dynamic spectrum.

So answer me that.

REMEMBER, BEAUTIFULLY AND CRAZILY HAPPY MUSIC. Is that too hard to cicrum to?

i like extremes, really happy, sad, confused, scared, etc subtely suggesting sumthing is good if it leads onto something good, but if an entire piece is 'kind of' then im not intrested

The best thing for me is something I've never heard before. No I mean like really something I havent heard before. Not jumbly crumbly crappilly flappilly flowery powery pippity poppity prickly tickly. I've heard way too many combinations that have not worked, and I tell you its crap.

By far one of the best combination in mood of works give off a happy, yet haunting vibe. Something casually bold and bright, but melodically trancy like candy. Something for the Gods.

To you who doesn't know God. Whatever, I don't really like your opinion. But these composers who are extemely skilled, they can essemble a perfect piece so that sad and happy are one big cry of joy, and that's haunting. That's genius.

Yea you can study a composer and eventually find out what makes the piece something by his emotion. But never could I take apart pieces so glued. Pry the glued pieces apart and let it shatter in your hands. Its kind of like trying to reessemble an exe. Impossible unless you're the person who made it. The one who has the 1st thing and the last thing in the universe, the only mastermind who decided to relate these things. Someone blessed I say. Some composers I love for just these reasons.

I get the feeling that every post you make is some kind of inside joke to yourself.... am I far off?

I don't talk to myself, yet I did write this stuff and it has been reviewed by myself through and through. It's not really a joke. Of course I do write jokes sometimes, and they're pretty amazing ones. Nothing here I see funny though. I'm not laughing.

That's it. I'm done.

I'm only into sad, dark, depressing music. ;) (j/k) I think a healthy balance of all emotional is important. Just depends on what mood I'm in.

Does Messiaen count as 'happy'?