What Is Good Music?!

[Shannon Mills]

For my final year project I want to find out what makes music 'good'
Your help is vital in my research, so please post what you think is good music and discuss/argue/whatever with others. The more response I get the easier it will be to judge.
Thanks.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

IMO your question is stupid....what is good music?....i would have thought it is an individual thing and there is no right or wrong answer..because what sounds good to obe person sounds crap to another,that is why there are so many genres out there

[Shannon Mills]

The question was set to me by my music tutor.
I am trying to find people's own feelings on the matter. What is 'good' music to you?!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

Ok....the artists i like best have something intelligent or thought provoking in the lyrics and change their styles so you dont know what they are going to release on their next release....ie:reinventing themselves

[SteveO]

I'm with Crazy Horse on this! Music preference is subjective, sounds to me like your tutor has his own personal idea of what is "good" music. The old standard answer would be classical...it is good in fact excellent in a lot of cases but this can apply to any genre of music. I occasionally listen to classical music but there's so much music out there to listen to again and to discover that I could never be pinned to one genre! Someone could say that's crap while the next person would say ...I like it!

Shannon,good music is music that you like! Never allow someone else to try to shove their idea of good music at you. You know what you like and don't like! Nothing wrong however with someone casually suggesting good music to you...you may like it!

[Stella Burgess]

Hi Shannon,

Obviously a lot depends on taste. You tend to like the music you grew up with. But then, I do think that there are some objective parameters to judge the real quality of music, and I have clashed dramatically against people who think that there is no way to put objectivity and reason into art. However if you are looking for referral to complete your project based on songs than you can take help of good website like Musicforte.com or others they will give you the best club music of contemporary and classic times.

[TraceNspace]

It does depend on taste. Some good music has no words but makes you feel anyway. Some good music makes you laugh, think or cry. I also find that when an artist is really angry or I should say genuinely passionate about something that comes through and makes good music.

[Jerome]

Difficult to answer, but good music must either make me think or make me feel.

[Nick Dilley]

Shannon,good music is music that you like!

That's all you need to know!

...the more you try to define it, the less it is an appropriate response to art. Definitions help us understand the mechanics of art, but I think the "worth" of music depends greatly, if not entirely, on the response it provokes from the listener.

[PennyLane]

Lots of times I find myself saying "That is some terrible music! Turn that off!" but when it comes down to it in question form on what makes good music, my previous thoughts seem ridiculous. Everyone had their own taste in music. I do believe that there is terrible music out there, but that is only for me. Someone else may think it is the greatest thing they've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

But if you are asking what qualities in music do I look for when evaluating, well I agree with what Crazy Horse said. Also, it's that first note. Sometimes it is just so striking that you know immediately that you need to listen to whatever is coming next. It's strings, it's chords, it's beats, it's a scratch voice, or a sweet melody, it's something that fills you and makes you content.