melodic vs. percussive | xltronic messageboard
 
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melodic vs. percussive
 

offline uviol from United States on 2002-11-26 14:31 [#00457295]
Points: 2496 Status: Lurker



okay, this is very fundamental but I feel it's important.
do you guys like more melodic or percussive, and in what
percentage/ratio? I melodic alot, perhaps even more, but
since it's rarely complex or good enough to justify itself
in techno I tend to like it only when it's done well. IDM is
often good about this. overall, I'd say percussive:melodic
= 65:35 .. in general, of course.


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2002-11-26 14:32 [#00457299]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator



how about non-melodic and non-percussive..?


 

offline uviol from United States on 2002-11-26 14:33 [#00457302]
Points: 2496 Status: Lurker | Followup to qrter: #00457299



like ambient? :) that's not in question, that can be
effective as well.. but that's another subject altogether.


 

offline Bob Mcbob on 2002-11-26 14:36 [#00457305]
Points: 9939 Status: Regular



they arent the only 2 factors..what about vocals?

i usually prefer percussive, if ur using the term as i think
you are.


 

offline BILE from São Paulo (Brazil) on 2002-11-26 14:37 [#00457307]
Points: 1769 Status: Regular



wtf just happened? for a moment there, the mb was asking me
to input a "ByPassword" in some popup box...


 

offline map from mülligen (Switzerland) on 2002-11-26 14:38 [#00457308]
Points: 3408 Status: Lurker



for me, melodic is more girl, percussive is more boy. so idm
is gaymusic gg


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2002-11-26 14:38 [#00457309]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



bile: same here...!


 

offline Portland from San Diego (United States) on 2002-11-26 14:40 [#00457310]
Points: 695 Status: Regular



why not percussive melody?

melodic instruments that can be percussive.


 

offline uviol from United States on 2002-11-26 14:40 [#00457311]
Points: 2496 Status: Lurker



same here.. I had a nice post too. basically it said that
this question was deliberatly open ended for opinions.. i.e.
yeah, there are more elements than these two, but they're
not the issue


 

offline flea from depths of your mind (New Zealand) on 2002-11-26 14:41 [#00457313]
Points: 9083 Status: Regular



PERCUSHION TO THE MAX..Banf the meloda...


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2002-11-26 14:41 [#00457314]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



id say more percussive... and sounds, over melodic.

it could get tricky in defining what is actually melodic...


i personally think there isnt much melody in IDM at all,
save a few. and the ones that there are, take the back seat.


And again, when I say melody... we might not have the same
idea of what a melody is.

But, of course both are nessasary.


 

offline uzim on 2002-11-26 14:44 [#00457315]
Points: 17716 Status: Lurker



don't know.

i'm listening to merzbow right now, so it's ok with 100%
percussive, but i love 100% melodic too (like SAWII)...

i just don't like too 'happy' and cartoonish melodies (like
goon gumpas).
maybe i'm 69% percussive 31% melodic, something like that.


 

offline map from mülligen (Switzerland) on 2002-11-26 14:45 [#00457316]
Points: 3408 Status: Lurker



same here.... a bypass passw. ?


 

offline map from mülligen (Switzerland) on 2002-11-26 14:46 [#00457317]
Points: 3408 Status: Lurker



the answer starts by explaining or define what IDM is...


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2002-11-26 14:50 [#00457319]
Points: 27799 Status: Regular



on songs which rely on the melody i'd say 100:0. on songs
which rely on percussion i'd say 0:100. on songs which rely
on boths i'd say 50:50. if the song relys on both but more
on lelody i'd say between 50:50 and 100:00. without going
on, i think i've made my point.


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2002-11-26 14:56 [#00457322]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator



when I'm talking about non-melodic and non-percussive, I do
NOT mean ambient.. I mean the stranger electronic music..
say, Ligeti..


 

offline uzim on 2002-11-26 14:56 [#00457323]
Points: 17716 Status: Lurker



*applauses earthleakage*


 

offline uviol from United States on 2002-11-26 15:02 [#00457336]
Points: 2496 Status: Lurker | Followup to qrter: #00457322



qrter: well as far as the avant-avant-garde stuff goes, I
guess this question doesn't apply. using these terms
assumes the music has some trace of one or the other.

earthleakage: excellent observation .. I suppose the
question lies here.. when one hypothetically doesn't rely on
the other, which do you prefer? that barely makes sense,
sorry..


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2002-11-26 15:08 [#00457352]
Points: 27799 Status: Regular



i prefer melody


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2002-11-26 15:10 [#00457356]
Points: 27799 Status: Regular | Followup to earthleakage: #00457352



la la la la la!


 

offline DJ Xammax from not America on 2002-11-26 15:10 [#00457362]
Points: 11512 Status: Lurker



A good drum-loop usually makes me a sucker for a track.
Probably why I'm so into breakbeats and thang. However, if
the melody is good, I can usually overlook the bad points.
Unless someone has some really bad vocals over it.


 

offline DJ Xammax from not America on 2002-11-26 15:11 [#00457363]
Points: 11512 Status: Lurker | Followup to DJ Xammax: #00457362



Like Zero 7.


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2002-11-26 15:11 [#00457364]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator | Followup to uviol: #00457336



yeah your question seems to be, do you prefer melodic tracks
or more percussive tracks..


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2002-11-26 15:11 [#00457365]
Points: 27799 Status: Regular



for me melody has always been the essense of music, vital
almost.


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2002-11-26 15:13 [#00457367]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator | Followup to earthleakage: #00457365



nah.


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2002-11-26 15:15 [#00457369]
Points: 27799 Status: Regular | Followup to qrter: #00457367



yah


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2002-11-26 15:17 [#00457374]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



i guess in retrospect, percussive is more for me.

if i hear an ok song with a sweet ass drum groove or the
like, ill probably like it more then a song with a great
melody, and a suck drums.

but not always mind you.

i think i like rhytem so much, because its so fundamental to
music.

more so then pitches.

all the ethnic music is heavily percussive and rythemic.

My teacher showed us a great point. He played the melody to
bethoveens 9th, in free meter/time. no rythem. he asked us
what it was, and no one knew. as soon as he put it into
rythem, we all knew.



 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2002-11-26 15:18 [#00457378]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



*the point was, without rythem, pitch is nothing but pitch


 

offline Bremzen from utrecht (Netherlands, The) on 2002-11-26 15:29 [#00457404]
Points: 653 Status: Lurker



it differs per track, so i'm going to pin myself down with a
fixed ratio.


 

offline titsworth from Washington, DC (United States) on 2002-11-26 15:32 [#00457412]
Points: 14550 Status: Lurker



anyone who says he (and no female would ever say this)
doesn't care for melody is a liar.


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2002-11-26 15:33 [#00457416]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



john cage?


 

offline Bremzen from utrecht (Netherlands, The) on 2002-11-26 15:34 [#00457417]
Points: 653 Status: Lurker | Followup to Zeus: #00457378



you'll always have a rhythm if you use more than one
(static) tone:) and even then, you can say there's a rhythm
cause a tone has a frequency...;)
(this is stretching it very far, I know)


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2002-11-26 15:37 [#00457425]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



mmm

not nessasarilly.

and yes, thats a big stretch :)


 

offline uviol from United States on 2002-11-26 15:38 [#00457427]
Points: 2496 Status: Lurker



wow, this is getting more philosophical than I predicted..
I think usually songs without *any* trace of melody are
quite dull.. however even atmospheric noise or FX can hold
hidden melodics that aren't so explicit. Monolake for
example is not dull but much of it has no 'melody' per-se ..

As for this argument, I am not sure if you can have melody
without rhythm and vice versa or not.. if it's beyond
recognition that does it matter..? :)


 

offline Laserbeak from Netherlands, The on 2002-11-26 15:44 [#00457430]
Points: 2670 Status: Lurker



Percussive is an indication of the shape of the sound.
Melody is the horizontal aspect of the sequence. It's like
saying: "Drums vs Rhythm"


 

offline neurone from orleans (France) on 2002-11-26 16:06 [#00457438]
Points: 310 Status: Lurker



melodic or percussive, the important thing is how much it
gets your ass shaked and your brain twisted ;)


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2002-11-26 16:09 [#00457440]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to uviol: #00457295



Take Richard Devine. A lot of his stuff sounds unmelodic and
percussive. And my favorite tracks by him, like Patelle,
always have a hint of melody to latch onto, 'cause I dunno,
your ears need a break I guess.

On the other hand I can only take so much floaty beatless
melody too.

My least favorite music is the 50:50 melody/rhythm stuff
like Plaid. It's just.... eh. I prefer a high ratio, like
80/20 or 90/10. It can be either way too--extremely melodic
or extremely percussive.

I'm really diggin the new Snares but I admit it'd be hard to
take without the floaty drifting melody.



 

offline uviol from United States on 2002-11-26 16:29 [#00457462]
Points: 2496 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #00457440



I would agree with you there..
I also like high ratios. my original 65:35 wasn't quite as
high as you like.. but the sentiment is the same.

laserbeak: I see your point as well.. but it's helpful to
most people to differentiate them for discussion.. even
though technically you can't have one without the other, or
whatever.


 

offline titsworth from Washington, DC (United States) on 2002-11-26 16:34 [#00457476]
Points: 14550 Status: Lurker



i think context is key. for example, i agree that plaid make
an effort to perfectly balance rhythm and melody, but they
do it in a way that is usually interesting/enjoyable. if the
performer is talented then a 50/50 split can be just fine.
everything has its place..


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2002-11-26 16:36 [#00457480]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



i hope i'll never start analyzing music this way :)


 

offline J-HOK on 2002-11-26 16:37 [#00457483]
Points: 904 Status: Addict



percussion


 

offline titsworth from Washington, DC (United States) on 2002-11-26 16:37 [#00457486]
Points: 14550 Status: Lurker | Followup to tolstoyed: #00457480



it's pretty anal and retarded, definitely kills the joy of
listening.. i think there's a fine line between taking a
critical, intelligent, respectful look at music and just
informally picking it apart without really being specific
about it (i frequently do both)


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2002-11-26 20:55 [#00457664]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to titsworth: #00457486



Shit, picking it apart is one of the joys of listening.
Following the intricate whorls of a Glenn Gould
interpretation of Bach makes my brain wet with lust.

And naturally you don't do it all the time, just like you
don't spend all day masturbating, or doing math problems, or
eating chili peppers.

So of course that is why sometimes you crank up the jams

and turn off the mind and say

i like my bum


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2002-11-26 20:59 [#00457665]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



whatever makes someone happy...



 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2002-11-26 21:08 [#00457670]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Zeus: #00457665



You're a music student, right? Does that kill it for you
sometimes, make it feel more like work?

I know when I set myself up a practice schedule and try to
spend more time tickling the ivories (or the polystyrenes
heh hehe) I avoid it like the plague. Feels like homework,
yech.


 

offline jupitah from Minneapolis (United States) on 2002-11-26 21:14 [#00457674]
Points: 3489 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #00457664



i love the glen gould bach stuff, but i could never sit
think about it, or pick apart the math behind it. if i were
to impose my rational mind on it i would compromise the
feeling, and that stuff is not to be compromised!


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2002-11-26 21:20 [#00457681]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to jupitah: #00457674



No, I'm not saying I sit there and plot the thing on an x/y
axis or think about the intervals, but doesn't it stimulate
the mind to hear the counterpoint weaving around itself then
against itself etc etc?

Did you ever see "32 short films about Glenn Gould"? One of
them is just an animation of globes joining, separating and
dancing around. It suited the music perfectly, like
something Douglas Hofstadter would hallucinate....


 

offline weatheredstoner from same shit babes. (United States) on 2002-11-26 21:25 [#00457689]
Points: 12585 Status: Lurker



what happens when the percussion becomes part of the melody,
like on Vordhosbn and Cockverlo?


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2002-11-26 21:26 [#00457692]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to weatheredstoner: #00457689



Then we must be brave.


 

offline jupitah from Minneapolis (United States) on 2002-11-26 21:30 [#00457697]
Points: 3489 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #00457681



ah, yeah, i see what you're saying. i thought we were
talking about mentally/verbally disecting music. the gould
stuff that i've heard is just nuts, like i'm listening to
plans for architecture of some structure far more wondrous
than has yet been constructed.

i've not seen "32 short films..." but i would like to.
hofstadter is an interesting fellow... you're talking
author, right?


 


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