What makes good music good?

Aesthetics in music

What is Aesthetics?
The branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty.
In music, aesthetics is the study of the experience of hearing music, and the study of questions related to its beauty and enjoyment.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

A (Very) Brief History

18th Century
Aesthetics only include the visual arts; music is only important as accompaniment to dancing Immanuel Kant (1724-1804): Instrumental music is beautiful but ultimately trivial

Does not engage understanding and lacks moral purpose

Music must be combined with words, as in song and opera

A (Very) Brief History

19th Century
Music could & should express ideas, images, emotions, or even whole stories. E.T.A. Hoffman: Music is fundamentally the art of instrumental composition Arthur Schopenhauer: Instrumental music is the greatest art; it can represent the metaphysical organization of reality. War of the Romantics (Formalists vs. Anti-formalists) Formalists: Appreciation of music is found in formal design. (Music is self-sufficient as a means of expression.) Anti-formalists: Musical form is only a means to an end. (Music depends on extra-musical ideas.)

A (Very) Brief History

20th Century
The Formalists vs. anti-formalists debate continues. Igor Stravinsky: the only relevant thing for the composer "is his apprehension of the contour of the form, for the form is everything. He can say nothing whatever about meanings. Higher vs. Lower Music The distinction between "art music" and "popular music." Theodor Adorno: popular culture industries produce a debased mass of unsophisticated, sentimental products; popular culture serves "false needs."

A (Very) Brief History

20th Century, continued
Theodor Adorno (1903-1969): German sociologist, philosopher and musicologist Popular culture industries produce a debased mass of unsophisticated, sentimental products; popular culture serves "false needs. The culture industry manipulates the population. Popular culture is a reason why people become passive; the easy pleasures available through consumption of popular culture made people docile and content, no matter how terrible their economic circumstances.

Your Turn!
Good music vs. bad music: what makes good music "good" and bad music "bad?"
Why is some music boring?

Instrumental music vs. vocal music:

Does instrumental music have the capacity to express ideas or are words required? Is popular music really "lower" music and art music really "higher" music? Why or why not?