It's all about the technicalities

Now, I don't mean to be a musical snob, but in my opinion, modern music is boring. Compared to jazz, with its complex harmonies and intricate rhythms, pop music is very simple. For example, contrast John Coltrane's Giant Steps with Australian comedy group Axis of Awesome's Four Chord Song. Giant Steps is incredibly complex; it changes key ten times in the first thirteen seconds. On the other hand, the Axis of Awesome present the startling reality of the simplicity in chord structure of many pop songs. While it isn't entirely true that all of those songs played in the video were composed with the same four chords, they are far simpler. I'm not trying to say that the only good music is complex music; that is far from the truth. But something must be said for the talent required to improvise flawlessly over the chord changes in a song like Giant Steps like Coltrane did. That talent is simply not seen in today's music.



Let's take a closer look at the song above. This is a recording of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers playing "Mosaic" recorded in 1961. The horns (Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, and Curtis Fuller on trombone) come in accompanied by the rhythms section (Ceder Walton on piano, Jymie Merrit on bass, and Art Blakey on drums). The rhythm section quickly takes over at 0:08 and sets the tempo and energy. Freddie Hubbard enters at 0:18 with a fortepiano note (a note hit loudly and then dropped to a quieter volume) and plays with the dynamics. Shorter and Fuller join Hubbard at 0:24 to play accented chords with somewhat dissonant harmonies. Hubbard once again plays with a long sustained note at 0:29, this time using vibrato. The horns play the accented chords once again at 0:36 before entering a new section in which they play longer sustained harmonies while the rhythm section changes to an irregular triplet feel. The band repeats the first section again before entering into solos at 1:05.

Improvisation is the defining aspect of jazz, and excellent examples can be seen right here. Wayne Shorter takes the first solo, flying into passionate runs that perfectly follow the chord and rhythmic structure. Shorter's solo ends and Hubbard enters seamlessly at 1:52 with an equally impressive solo. Curtis Fuller solos at 2:37 followed by Ceder Walton at 3:22. Finally, Art Blakey begins his nearly three minute long solo at 4:10. The rhythm section reenters at 7:00 before the horns restate the original theme and end the song.

What makes this song so good (or at least in my opinion) is how technically good it is. There is a high level of energy that permeates during the entire eight minutes. The harmonies used during the head (the beginning section before the solos that is repeated at the end) are dissonant and interesting. The solos are a testament to the sheer talent of the musicians. These fundamentals make the song what it is. Similarly, effective writing also contains these fundamentals. Elements of writing like punctuation are extremely important to writing, but they are often overlooked by students today. In my opinion, modern music will never surpass jazz until musicians begin to innovate with more complexity in their music. I want to hear a pop song that uses more than four chords and has intricate rhythms. Maybe then I would be able to appreciate it a little more.