A Collective Musical Manifesto
 

Post pithy pronouncements that concisely convey your aural aesthetics, convictions, attitudes, doctrines, etc. With a heavy emphasis on ROCK music, whatever that means. I'll start.

Rhythm and Beat are very different things. Rhythm is alive and organic. Beat is dissonance that demands its implication be fulfilled. In other words: your drummer is a scaffold that holds up your musical architecture. Scaffolds eventually need to be removed! Dumb drums are a crutch that keeps rock music in the special olympics.

In ROCK music, systematic harmony is ultimately superfluous. So is tonality.

Think VERY VERY hard before putting any saxophone or brass in your rock music. Then, after giving it careful consideration, don't do it.

For the love of God, if you have a bass player, let him or her have an independent line. Outer-voice conterpoint matters in ALL music.

Many things should be used in moderation. Two examples: hand claps and screaming.

YES!

I love a good handclap
and a bass has to sometimes hold down the bottom end. it cannot be counterpoint all the time, plus it takes a proficient player to compose proper counterpoint.

More anti-guitarist sentiment. More arpeggios. Less people making music because they want to, more people making music in spite of the fact they feel they shouldn't.

Edit: More listening to the Fall and less people playing as a result of such.

you're eerily reminding me of robert bresson's "notes on the cinematographer". an excellent book. i hope youre not just wasting these on the internet but collect them somewhere.

Oh, here's one...
Remember:
Just because your music is abstract, nonlinear or purposely untutored in nature, this does not mean you are immune to criticism or that your critics "just don't get it." Experimental/improvisational music can be great, but it can be really really bad as well.

Personally, I would condense this to: If you think you're experimental - you're not. You're actually shit. Give up. Preferably, die.

Comedy music is not acceptable. For any reasons. Ever. Ever. EVER.

Additionally - there is lots of music. Your music will never be any good. Why not never touch an instrument or insult the world with your horrific emmisions? Do so. And die.

This includes laptops.

ROCK music must first and foremost convey emotion. If you are performing and it is obvious you are not having fun, whether due to the intricacy of your music, or whatever, then your audience is not going to have fun either. Play music you ENJOY. play music you FEEL. Your audience will see that and enjoy it all the more.

dead milkmen 4-ever

some early punk bands such as The Vandals (and even the Dead Milkmen) were able to pull that off!



I'm not sure that I've ever agreed SO much with something posted on a message board. damn good call.


all I have to add to this thread:

when in doubt, use more cowbell.

I like the way you think!

I hope to god this is sarcasm.
I swear I can feel IQ points leaving my brain when I hear cowbell in a rock song.

Don't Fear The Reaper!!!

I think we can make a deserved exception for Weird Al Yankovic's stellar Eat It.

And I quote:

"Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Don't you make me repeat it
Have a banana, have a whole bunch
It doesn't matter what you had for lunch
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it"

Once you've split up as a band, avoid the temptation to reform at all costs.

Keyboards (usually) suck!!
Singing about your baby or girl in a super cool rock n roll way will probably sound really stupid.
Be very cautious about starting "No Wave" band, it'll most likely suck.

How come whenever I post a thread dies?

Why? Many bands have proven brass in rock music is great. The Stones being one prime example.

Avoid falling foul of over- doing it with the introspective bits.

Avoid at all costs trying to sound like your musical heroes.
Use the power of original thought.

Ignore anything and everything Glice says. If he had his way there would be no music.
Experimentation is the essence of progress in all fields - Just ask the illustrious hosts of this website. and die

bravo sir, bravo

I think you cannot. He's not even remotely funny, if comedy alone we're thinking about.

Although already touched on, drums need to have some sort of syncopation. The days of "tet tet TAT tet tet tet TAT" are far behind us now, and should be buried in a grave alongside the I-IV-V chord progression.

The rules of good repetitive and bad repetitive need respecting.

Also, if your band has any little gimmick, no matter what it is, don't expect that to fill in the gaps of your lackluster music. Gimmicks are needless anyways, but even with them, you still have to write a good song. (see: Drums & Tuba)

Having style is one thing. Gimmicks are for people who are too self-conscious in everything they do. Glice is right, and if i say so it is true. Carry on dying.

I agree. I'm just saying that if you choose to use a gimmick, that is your perogative. But you still have to write good music, gimmicks are not scape goats for this.

Never use the word gimmick. Style is a well established word in the English dictionary.

In my opinion, it's only style if it has to do with style in some form or fashion. That's what I put in there the see the band "Drums & Tuba." Their "gimmick," if my using the word doesn't offend you, is having a tuba play the bass line instead of, well, a bass. This is fine, they have every right to do this, and it could even have potential to be interesting, but it just seems that they are so dependant on the fact that they have a tuba in the band to carry them that they don't focus on writing interesting music.

Sleeping is where all the best ideas come from. Give yourself a day when you sleep and miss out on daylight. Dreams aren't opinionated arseholes, so ideas flow in more gently. Sleep also improves your brain's ability for storing information.

Horns in rock are like moustaches on guys: yes, on rare occasions it can be pulled off successfully or even awesomely by a very few people, but the best rule of thumb is general avoidance.

I actually had a dream about an instrument and now I want to build it. I drew it out after I had the dream, just to see if it could actually work, and it looks like it could...

I tend to agre with you but there is a song near the end of DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979's first record that has some SWEET fucking cowbell in it.