Thinking About Aesthetics in Music

Thus far, I've been thinking mostly about aesthetics in visual and textual contexts. I thought it might be advantageous to delve briefly into what I mean when I talk about aesthetics generally. Or to put it another way, let's talk about aesthetics in a medium we aren't used to: music. When we can't rely on a visual element (or, if in text, the picture in our mind of what is being described), then what do we mean when we say "aesthetics"? It's not a difficult question, really; but, I do think it's worth going through with the exercise just so you and I can be on the same page when I write my next article!

Let's talk about "style" and "genre." When we talk about music, we typically categorize a song into a genre (maybe a decade) as a generalization, and might even mention the style of music it fits into. That's part of the story because if I tell you, for example, that I'm listening to 80s synth-pop, I bet you have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about‑‑-more so if you listen to music often and know the lingo. Right away, you're thinking about a classic era of synthesizer music. It might be analog or digital, or a blend of the two. But you're not going to get computerized mixing and effects. It's going to be bright, and the synth is going to be very obvious. After all, digital keyboards and the like were brand new back then, and artists wanted to show off all the new sounds they could make. Nice! So we are on the same page. Is that aesthetics in music? Well, that's part of it.

Aesthetics in music gives you a shorthand towards style, but it's not the whole picture. We also have to consider the specific song and what it's doing to evoke a particular feeling. Let's get more specific. If I tell you to listen to two songs from the 80s that are once again popular, you'll hear some similarities, but also some key differences. Let's compare Toto's "Africa" with Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill." The first is airy with a great solo during its intro. It has a catchy hook that invites you to sing along. It's a ballad in many ways that pushes vocals while still very much being "of the era." Bush's entry is also of the era, but in a very different way. The "vibe" is darker, with vocals that haunt your dreams. Every time the chorus comes back around, it's just as catchy as "Africa," but in a very different way. You're not quite sure you want to know exactly what's going on lyrically because it doesn't necessarily sound like something you want to take part in.

In other words, the specific instruments, arrangement, vocal cues, and genre conventions come together in each song to give them an overall style. That style is part of a genre, but also particular to the song and artist. That's aesthetics in music. It's more specific. It's about artistic choices. It captures a feeling, a vibe, but also reinforces (or even creates) part of the message of the song.