Thursday, September 17, 2015

Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll (Emphasis on the Rock 'n' Roll)


It occurred to me while I was searching my GIF folder for a GIF to use for my post that, while I do think some elements of Stoicism are good, we'd face a horrible reality if everyone  devoutly followed it: a reality without music. Stoicism requires that we have no passions, lest we become out of line with the natural way of things. Music of any form, on the other hand, requires some sort of passion to come to life. Whether it be Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, written to express his increasing depression and suicidal tendencies towards the end of his life, or any of Rage Against the Machine's various songs of social protest, music as we know it would not exist without passion.

To elaborate, generally composing music of any genre follows a similar pattern of being inspired, putting your idea into music and/or lyrics, and then performing the piece. This is, of course, a very basic and general description if the process, but for my purpose it's clear enough. As someone who both performs, listens to, and dabbles in composing music, I can attest that at least some modicum of  passion is necessary to compose and perform a piece that is actually enjoyable. Even the best orchestra or {insert favorite genre here} artist cannot make you truly feel a song that has been composed and written without passion, and even the best piece can be ruined by a performer that doesn't put passion into their performance. Additionally, many popular songs have been the result of the writer/composer's passions anyway. Many punk songs, for example, are inspired by a social cause that the band or artist feels passionately about. This passion is almost tangible in the atmosphere of punk shows, especially when you add in hundreds of fans that are also passionate about the issue. Without passion, performances seem bland at best. Also, many recent music genres have developed because of some sort of strong feelings. The blues, for example, were born of African American slave spirituals that expressed their anguish with being enslaved and hopes to eventually be free. The blues then lead to R&B and rock and roll, which lead to the many genres we have today. I'm including a helpful flow chart (also from School of Rock) below. 

Thus, I claim that music as we know it would not exist if we lived as Stoics. As Beethoven is often attributed to having said (though I admittedly can't find a reputable source to confirm that he did really say it), "To play a wrong note is insignificant, to play without passion is inexcusable."

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