Rap music is completely different from other western music!

And I don't mean that in a bad way!

I was just watching some music analysis videos on Youtube, when I remembered a music analysis video that I watched a few days ago, and I knew I had to write down what I was thinking at the time!

It was on one-chord songs that are good songs.

In typical 'western' music a three-chord song is a really simple song.

A few songs have just two chords.  The really good ones tend to have very sophistocated lyrics.

And then he jumps to other genres of music and points out that Indian classical music consists entirely of songs with one chord!

And I think about this, about how different different music traditions can be.

You have western music, with all its chord changes.

And then you have Indian classical music, where there is just one chord- but it might have 13 notes in it!

And then I think, rap music.

They were covering rap music.

And so I think, rap music.

Rap music is not built primarily on melody or harmony at all!

Rap music is built primarily on the interplay of poetry, rhythm, and sound effects!

And this too opens up a whole world of possibilities!

One that is very different from the rest of 'western' music!

There is just one thing, one really big thing that it has in common with other 'western' music, and that is what it has in common with all music!

And that is the human element!

It expresses the same joy, the same pain, the same emotions and life experiences as all music!

Food for thought!

God loves you!

Sincerely,

David S. Annderson