In
the l980’s when I grew up there was no pop. Michael Jackson was the “King of Pop,” but the musical genre
pop almost was nonexistent.
Therefore I was immune to it.
It was fantastic. Instead I
learned other styles of music upon which to base my professional
keyboard playing skills. Among these were Motown with which I never had a
problem. Then again North and
South Carolina were a Mecca for beach music. It is a colloquial style unto itself which integrated
tuneful melodies, rich harmonic progressions, and a steady shuffle like rhythm
that lent itself to the couple’s dance the “Shag.” The music was romantic and intimate, thus the communities
that utilized it were a close-knit body
of upper middle classed beach dwellers. During that time in which I was
learning my
keyboard craft, I was not fond of this music. I was a jazz musician, and this
simplistic style seemed vanilla. It was not until decades later I learned to appreciate the
lessons I learned from this music.
First like disco and southern rock it utilized
the keyboard as a rhythmic anchor. It did not, like pop, use the strumming of the guitar. It had the rhythmic feel of the piano which
associated logically with both classical music and jazz. With this pianistic spacing of notes, I
never had to do battle with a rhythm
section that purposely compressed the rhythmic
subdivision. This is what pop
does, and consequently the way it is articulated creates a façade that gives
the illusion of a skilled and talented musical performance. In fact it is devoid of the one element
that defines music, discernable time.
Pop effectively like smooth jazz has created its own fake stage upon
which modern music today is being pitched. The understanding, skill, and passion once that was
necessary for music performance has been circumvented in lieu of selfish,
short-sighted, shallow egotism.
The movement has been implemented with such skill and planning most of
America does not seem to notice the huge vacuum of real human musical
expression. Likewise this human
expression is becoming demonized further to keep pop at the top. With my recognition of this now
prevalent musical style, I began to become dismayed when looking back musically
with this new found knowledge. It
turns out pop has been a potent force in the recorded lineage of American
popular music. I was sad to find
out that many true jazz pioneers began to exploit this newer rhythmic feel
including Count Basie, Nat King Cole, and Quincy Jones. The trouble I have with pop is that for
a keyboardist it demands you change your technique. Like the loose strumming of a guitar pop almost is the
direct opposite of classical or jazz technique where you strive for control of
phrasing and dynamics on the keyboard.
Instead it intentionally is loose and sloppy, and the ictus of downbeat
is rushed forward actualized by a jabbing motion. This single action is what defines its rhythmic style. Like some African music it could be
considered to be in a ¼ time signature, because normal groupings of notes into
phrases are absent. This simple
playing ahead of the perceived downbeat negates the necessity of the musician
actually from counting, feeling, and articulating accurate time on their
instrument. Pop has become a force. It seems to be everywhere. It is there because it does not need
schooled musicians to perform it.
Instead it relies upon a computer to generate its masquerade. I had a rude awakening upon coming back
from a cruise ship contract this week.
I had only my third gig on land since I have been working on ships for a
decade. What transpired? The bassist was ensconced in pop. He played in the same exact style as
all of the novice musicians on the ships.
It was not real. There was
no perceived time. Time. Instead it was a fake show of
jive. All I could think was the
statement that older black jazz musicians played with a pulse, a discernable
time feel when they played. How
could a genre of music exist that sought to do just the opposite? It does it because instead of
stimulating the heart, mind, and soul of the listener, it masturbates their
egos. It robs the music of any
potential soul stirring power instead
empowering the listeners to think they are special. If there were a powerful rhythmic force
present, then the listeners would have to accommodate it in some way. Traditionally this was done by dancing. I guess in some ways pop could be, like
smooth jazz, a cool version of traditional rock music. It stays cool by denying the emotional connection
that is evident in most music. Okay,
I can dig that. What I can’t dig
is throwing away 43 years of learned keyboard technique in lieu of a style of
music that demands I can’t feel time
when I play. It robs my soul
instead of filling it. I guess I
am just “old school.”
