music and storytelling

[oblioblioblio]

maybe i was taking you too literally mate, i dont know, i was trying to give my point of view from my own experiences while writing edm.
i think torque's example of 'the rings of saturn' was where i was coming from, but not exactly. to me that was a description as opposed to a story, but i'm not sure where one ends and the other starts.
how do you tell a story about the rings of saturn ?, i suppose i feel that a story requires a timeline, i feel that i'm 'describing the universe' when i make music, i used the term delineating, maybe what i mean is that i feel i'm capturing an essence at a moment in time.
thats what i got the first time i heard techno, it's looped nature put me in the 'here and now' it's what got me hooked, and what made me want to abandon everything i thought music was.
previously when i was writing music for my band, there was almost always a storyline, not always with techno from my point of view.
for me its truly psychedelic music, how do you tell a story about an eternal moment ?

I hear you mate. partly the topic itself is really quite a difficult one. I think it involves some questions about personal approaches to musicianship, and also about music itself that are sometimes best left undescribed. the beauty of it being that it exists outside of the boundaries of comparisons, description and linearity.

i guess i'm just curious in how other people approach this topic and the answers so far have all been very interesting.

but even if it's not something that is especially describable, it is definitely something that I'm gonna pay more attention to in the future.

[AK]

music is a form of expression -> it tells something -> let's call it "story"

But you are changing the literal meaning of the word 'story' to fit. Therefore, the word 'story' is not a true description or encapsulation of what constitutes music.

A form of expression yes, I agree but I don't agree it has to tell a story. I think most people would accept that in a nutshell definition, music is an art form where sound is the medium.

Whichever way you choose to express that to the listener is a personalised interpretation of that art form, be that in an abstract way, via lyrics or to try to tell a story etc. That's just one of the ways in which you can express through music.

yes, i intend "story" in a non literaly sense...
if music is a form of expression
form of expression = language
language is used to communicate
communication tells something
something = story
you could also call this feeling, impression, idea
but i like the (maybe naive) term story for this...

Lol. You can link anything by a predefined set of words.

Like this: Fear leads to anger
Anger leads to hate
Hate leads to the dark side.

I like how 'something = story' though, haha. Classic.

[Atheory]

music is a form of expression -> it tells something -> let's call it "story"

But you are changing the literal meaning of the word 'story' to fit. Therefore, the word 'story' is not a true description or encapsulation of what constitutes music.

A form of expression yes, I agree but I don't agree it has to tell a story. I think most people would accept that in a nutshell definition, music is an art form where sound is the medium.

Whichever way you choose to express that to the listener is a personalised interpretation of that art form, be that in an abstract way, via lyrics or to try to tell a story etc. That's just one of the ways in which you can express through music.

yes, i intend "story" in a non literaly sense...
if music is a form of expression
form of expression = language
language is used to communicate
communication tells something
something = story
you could also call this feeling, impression, idea
but i like the (maybe naive) term story for this...

Lol. You can link anything by a predefined set of words.

Like this: Fear leads to anger
Anger leads to hate
Hate leads to the dark side.

I like how 'something = story' though, haha. Classic.

yes!!! more of these sorts of posts.

[MINIMALTECHNOHOUSE]

Perfect example of my kind of tune;

Mr V The Drum

No bullshit, just groove...

[oblioblioblio]

here's a perfect example of my kind of tune (that one that made me start thinking about this issue in the first place in fact). I love the bullshit part! heheh

Kevin Ayers & the Whole World - The Oyster and the Flying Fish

An oyster was a'travelling
Along the ocean road;
He'd been some time preparing,
And now he'd left the fold.

He was sick of being oysterized,
And he wanted to explode, to explode.
Ooh la, ooh la, ooh la, ooh la,
La la la la la la la la.

He saw a pretty flying fish
And said if I could have one wish
I'd change into a flying fish,
And then I would be happy, yes I would.
Ooh la, ooh la, ooh la, ooh la,
La la la la la la la la.

The flying fish came down to see
Just who had made this plea;
And seeing the poor oyster,
Said this cannot be.
An oyster has to stay inside,
And a flying fish must flee, all the time.
Ooh la, ooh la, ooh la, ooh la,
La la la la la la la la.

As the oyster turned to go away,
The flying fish was heard to say,
"If I could find a place to stay,
I know I would be happy, yes I would."
Ooh la, ooh la, ooh la, ooh la,
La la la la la la la la.



Hooray for diversity!

[sophiekate]

Perfect example of my kind of tune;

Mr V The Drum

No bullshit, just groove...

[manzatour]

music is a form of expression -> it tells something -> let's call it "story"

But you are changing the literal meaning of the word 'story' to fit. Therefore, the word 'story' is not a true description or encapsulation of what constitutes music.

A form of expression yes, I agree but I don't agree it has to tell a story. I think most people would accept that in a nutshell definition, music is an art form where sound is the medium.

Whichever way you choose to express that to the listener is a personalised interpretation of that art form, be that in an abstract way, via lyrics or to try to tell a story etc. That's just one of the ways in which you can express through music.

yes, i intend "story" in a non literaly sense...
if music is a form of expression
form of expression = language
language is used to communicate
communication tells something
something = story
you could also call this feeling, impression, idea
but i like the (maybe naive) term story for this...

Lol. You can link anything by a predefined set of words.

Like this: Fear leads to anger
Anger leads to hate
Hate leads to the dark side.

I like how 'something = story' though, haha. Classic.

i think you are getting me wrong
of course you can link anything and of course the meaning of the word story is interpreted to fit the question.
but this was to answer the question in the title. i didn't decide it by myself and didn't intend to answer it on the first (literaly) level.
and for you, does a painting tell a story? or are just colors?
and what is (in this sense) the difference between a painting and music? sculpture? dance? and what do you expect from a (good) musical piece?

[Atheory]

music is a form of expression -> it tells something -> let's call it "story"

But you are changing the literal meaning of the word 'story' to fit. Therefore, the word 'story' is not a true description or encapsulation of what constitutes music.

A form of expression yes, I agree but I don't agree it has to tell a story. I think most people would accept that in a nutshell definition, music is an art form where sound is the medium.

Whichever way you choose to express that to the listener is a personalised interpretation of that art form, be that in an abstract way, via lyrics or to try to tell a story etc. That's just one of the ways in which you can express through music.

yes, i intend "story" in a non literaly sense...
if music is a form of expression
form of expression = language
language is used to communicate
communication tells something
something = story
you could also call this feeling, impression, idea
but i like the (maybe naive) term story for this...

Lol. You can link anything by a predefined set of words.

Like this: Fear leads to anger
Anger leads to hate
Hate leads to the dark side.

I like how 'something = story' though, haha. Classic.

i think you are getting me wrong
of course you can link anything and of course the meaning of the word story is interpreted to fit the question.
but this was to answer the question in the title. i didn't decide it by myself and didn't intend to answer it on the first (literaly) level.
and for you, does a painting tell a story? or are just colors?
and what is (in this sense) the difference between a painting and music? sculpture? dance? and what do you expect from a (good) musical piece?

can someone take a song with no words! or little words, and tell me what story they get from it? then what you mean by "story" would be a little clearer