Metal >/< Classical? Metal Vs. Classical?

[anonymousnick2001]

My music professor gave my class an assignment. It was to write a 3-5 min. chamber piece with an unusual element to it. I added minimal guitar, bass, and drum parts to a standard 5-piece chamber group and wrote some Opeth/In Flames-sounding passages. I also wrote the piece in E minor, in an attempt to get a metallic “feel.”



My prof. rejected the piece, saying that he noticed the metal elements and that it was childish. Metal is too unsophisticated, “in your face,” and is in essence folk music, or kids’ music. He said that my piece reeked of bad songwriting (I showed it to at least 10 fellow students and the assistant teacher and all said it looked awesome—I know the writing is good). He challenged me to find one metal song, just ONE, that has any of the maturity, tone, development, or “musicality” of any of Beethoven’s works.



If I can find such a song by Monday, he will reconsider my failing grade. I’m looking for one that has all those elements he mentioned and more, and doesn’t have any orchestral backing, so he can’t claim that stealing classical techniques was what made it good.



Anyone know anything that I can actually use?

 

[MightyA]

You're going to fail.

Your professor is an idiot.

music professor? hah!

 

[Thanatopsis123]

Well what he's asking is for a metal song to appease his opinion of what is mature, developed, etc. Yet he apparently does not like the genre. You can't do what he asks because he's a douche.

 

[anonymousnick2001]

Can't I try?

By developed I mean chord progressions, note agreement, cadences, tension/release, theme/variation, and stuff like that. OK?

 

[Thanatopsis123]

Go post this in General Music Discussion if you haven't already.

 

[Thanatopsis123]

Oh...you have. Good.

 

[anonymousnick2001]

I just put it here because I want to know if there's anything by Opeth that I might be able to use...keepign in mind the criteria.

 

[Thanatopsis123]

I understand. I just wanted you to post it in the other forum as well because I think I'll find the suggestions given to you interesting.

I wish I could help you out but I'm a musical layman and don't know about music theory.

 

[estimate]

Just give him one of those fishes. He'll be happy for years.

Well. There are lots of non-metal things in Opeth. Just find something. .

 

[WhiteBeastofWotan]

My music professor gave my class an assignment. It was to write a 3-5 min. chamber piece with an unusual element to it. I added minimal guitar, bass, and drum parts to a standard 5-piece chamber group and wrote some Opeth/In Flames-sounding passages. I also wrote the piece in E minor, in an attempt to get a metallic “feel.”



My prof. rejected the piece, saying that he noticed the metal elements and that it was childish. Metal is too unsophisticated, “in your face,” and is in essence folk music, or kids’ music. He said that my piece reeked of bad songwriting (I showed it to at least 10 fellow students and the assistant teacher and all said it looked awesome—I know the writing is good). He challenged me to find one metal song, just ONE, that has any of the maturity, tone, development, or “musicality” of any of Beethoven’s works.



If I can find such a song by Monday, he will reconsider my failing grade. I’m looking for one that has all those elements he mentioned and more, and doesn’t have any orchestral backing, so he can’t claim that stealing classical techniques was what made it good.



Anyone know anything that I can actually use?

i highly recommend you use something by Symphony X

 

[anonymousnick2001]

Symphony X are neoclassical. I want something more pure.

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

Symphony X are neoclassical. I want something more pure.

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Try Face Of Melinda, because that has many different elements in it. Also, try the song In The Flesh by Pain of Salvation. Or just download some Pain of Slavation songs, they have a very developed sound.

 

[BurningSky]

check out some old in flames stuff man, jesper is a genius (and unfortunatley makes shitty music now)... there may be something there.. like subterranean or stand ablaze.

 

[Ermz]

Your music professor sounds like an elitist fuckwad, much like all who appreciate classical too much suffer being. You won't be able to appease him because he can't understand that the essence of metal is to break free of the rules and theory applied to classical music... they are in essence almost complete opposites, ideologically.

But if you're still willing to go for it... I'd suggest something Melodic Death Metal. 'The Jester Race' era In Flames is very good, also Children of Boodm (although they are heavily influenced by classical, doesnt exclude the fact they ARE metal though) and Kalmah. Or if you're willing to work further back, maybe something by Iron Maiden.. they brough the whole dual-guitar harmony approach to metal after all.

If your professor means 'metal' as in the pure sense, then no you aren't going to find much. You'll find yourself trying to look through Slayer and Sepultura's discographies looking for something worthy but will turn up a blank. Metal has evolved over time and the majority of what we here listen to now are hybrids because the genre is constantly willing to expand and add new elements, as opposed to purist classical which got stagnant a couple of hundred years ago.

 

[The Evil Toucan]

If you were gonna go for it, I'd suggest Agalloch's In the Shadow of our Pale Companion.

 

[sirdark6]

About Nightwish....

 

[Biddinger]

What about something like Kayo Dot? Like "The Manifold Curiosity". It's got that huge buildup into the metal riffing.

 

[AndICried]

What about something like Kayo Dot? Like "The Manifold Curiosity". It's got that huge buildup into the metal riffing.

Definately.

 

[TwilightSymphony]

Sounds to me like your professor is raving, elitist, closed-minded, dickheaded, jackoff, fuckbag that wouldn't understand today's music no matter how many ways that you attempt to describe it to him.

Obviously he's too stupid to realize that music taste is purely subjective and that just because he doesn't like it doesn't mean that it's not good. Remember, you can like steak and cheesecake. Is Beethoven great? Sure. Mozart is, too. So is Kiss, Public Enemy, Einsturzende Neubauten, Björk, Diamanda Galas, Neil Diamond, Rush and others. Tell him to stop trying to compare everything to Beethoven and realize that talent comes from within the person that wants to develop it, not what he wants you to sound like.

However, try whipping something off of Yngwie Malmsteen's first album, Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force.

"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing a song." -Louis Armstrong