The Last Bass Outpost
Main Forums => The Outpost Cafe => Topic started by: westen44 on November 23, 2019, 08:45:25 PM
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A discussion by someone who usually focuses on film and classical music. But in this video he expands the discussion to include many genres, even rock to a limited extent. If his examples get too boring, then you might want to skip to 7:43.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Vn9V-tRCo
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I don't think melody is dying, it just has gone out of fashion as a stylistic means for some pop music - especially anyhing with a dance-electronica influence. People have also gotten used to simple melodies to the point where anything overtly melodious is quickly qualified either as "sounds like a musical" or "a Whitney Houston-type ballad". Funk und rap have become major influences on modern pop music and they generally don't feature a dominant vocal melody (but then neither did most traditional blues).
You don't hear a lot of Robert Flack - Killing Me Softly-style opulent melodies on radio - and if you do it tends to be an oldie.
But it's all relative: Holding on to one note can actually sound quite melodic if you have changing harmonies...
https://youtu.be/r81W1BJAMY4
As a bass player, I work with that a lot. I hold on to notes where the band changes harmonies and I tend to augment with thirds, fifths, sixths and sevenths where they stick to a note or I play harmonies to their riffs. What I don't like is follow slavishly all their chord changes - that has me generally exclaim after a while: "Am I your friggin' E string tuned down an octave or what?!" :mrgreen:
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I love a good melody, like Johnny Ramone's solo in I Wanna Be Sedated. :mrgreen:
Before the melodic rock examples he gives, there was Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and countless blues musicians who made great music without the kind of melody he likes. I don't think much has changed.