Only for musicians?

Have you studied music?

  • Yes

    Votes: 83 63.4%
  • No

    Votes: 48 36.6%

  • Total voters
    131
Yeah, well I noticed a lot of forum users here are guitarists, and that helps. I'm a bit of an anomaly myself, because I'm studying my Lmus in classical singing, but I'm actually really picky about my grunting and BM vox techniques. I don't know any classically trained singers who like metal. It also seems to me like metal is actually quite an intelligent musical genre.
 
I used to play trumpet a lot, and occasionally play guitar. Just watching and/or listening to them play makes me appreciate the complexity of the music. I do have a music minor so maybe that has something to do with it.
Complex riffs, whether it be on drums, guitars, or whatever, have always been something that draws me into music. Of course some bands over do it (meshuggah), but Opeth uses complexity without sacrificing musical expression.
 
could someone please explain to me why having studied music at school would make someone NOT appreciate opeth?

Because it is clear Opeth do not intentionally incorporate such theory into their works. If you learn for years what standards music must conform to and then you listen to a band which doesn't conform, wouldn't that ruin your appreciation?
 
At Interlochen, a world renoun music academy in Northern Michigan that I attended, almost everybody enjoyed listening to Rush because they were "musician's musician's", and especially the percussionists because of Neil Peart. When I got back to the real world, AC/DC three chord rock, Twisted Sister, and Motley Crue were the rage.

I think that this is very similar to Opeth fans... if you have a musical background, you have more of a connection.

Mix
 
A little off-topic, but I really can't understand it when there is somebody who likes Opeth and appreciates their music but will rate a band like Cradle of Filth or Slipknot higher.
 
Because it is clear Opeth do not intentionally incorporate such theory into their works. If you learn for years what standards music must conform to and then you listen to a band which doesn't conform, wouldn't that ruin your appreciation?

aside from the fact i think music doesnt have set rules to which it must conform (apart from maybe some very lose ones, which opeth do conform to) i actually think it'd make me appreciate opeth more.
 
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Because it is clear Opeth do not intentionally incorporate such theory into their works. If you learn for years what standards music must conform to and then you listen to a band which doesn't conform, wouldn't that ruin your appreciation?

MUST conform to? I thought that a lot of modern genres like Jazz, Prog and some Rock were among other things about playing with musical conventions and slightly breaking the "rules" in innovative ways. If this is true, then surely the more you know about music theory the more you can appreciate the subtle ways in which creative people play with these conventions.
 
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Nope. Creativity lies in application of theory rules, not in their circumvention. I think we're a bit off topic anyway - we're heading towards the ancient question whether the means or the end more important. Opeth doesn't use theory but their music can be as enjoyable as Mozart - does that mean their music deserves less appreciation? A scientist in a lab discovers a novel synthesis to a new molecule after years of research and toil, while a mechanic on the other side of the world discovers the exact same molecule by accidentally mixing some oils while fixing his car. Does the scientist deserve more merit?
 
This kind of reasoning stems from the thread starter's need to feel that his claims to superior musical taste are legitimate and does, to be honest, make me quite sad.
 
At Blackwater Park release (I didn't know the forum before), there was far less 'musicians' than now .It's pretty obvious than both the shift in Opeth's music, towards a more progressive-rock approach and the increase of their popularity have attracted musicians..when your music changes, the public does so. That explains many things. And why I don't like what they've done in the recent years is one of them.
 
At Blackwater Park release (I didn't know the forum before), there was far less 'musicians' than now .It's pretty obvious than both the shift in Opeth's music, towards a more progressive-rock approach and the increase of their popularity have attracted musicians..when your music changes, the public does so. That explains many things. And why I don't like what they've done in the recent years is one of them.
Deliverance and Ghost Reveries were far less progressive rock influenced than Blackwater Park or Still Life.