There's No Such Thing as "Right" or "Wrong" in Music (2024)

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I often get asked the question: "would it be OK to play XYZ?". I alsofind many musicians seem to distrust their own ears when making ajudgement about their playing, as if they are afraid to "get musicwrong".

As a teacher, I have to be careful about being toodogmatic when itcomes to music theory.

Although it may seem so at times, I don't want to tell you whatto play. I just want to open up your creative options and give you newideas so you can explore your instrument more intuitively.

In that sense, it would be wrong for me to say "this is wrong" or "thisis right".

Sayingthat, I do teach based on what I believe are the most widely acceptedstandards in music. Standards that still leave huge amounts of room forexperimentation and originality, yet can communicate coherently with agood number of people.

If music is a language, then the standards we consider "correct" aresimply those which the majority understand.

Youmight call it "popular music". I've always thought popular music is alot broader than we give it credit for. Even jazz indulges in theirresistable charms of keys, cadences and form, albeit jumping betweenthem more unpredictably than your typical chart hits.

But you have to remember that there are no inherent rules to music,just conventionsand systems to guide you through harmony and away from (what mostpeople hear as) uncomfortabledissonance. Ultimately, your ears are the judge of what sounds good andwhat doesn't. You are your music's first listener.

For all the good my teachings may do your progress, you can't beat goodol' trial and error and learning from perceived mistakesfirsthand. When you can confidently say "that doesn't sound right", atleast it's you saying that from subjective experience as opposedto reading it from some textbook or website.

"Wrong" Music

But even those uncomfortable dissonances and bum notes can't be said tobewrong or unmusical. Take a listen to this veryintentionally written piece of atonal music, that'sa wholebowl of "wrong"...

There were no moments of what we might call"pleasantharmony", least of all diatonic harmony. In purely theoretical terms,consonance was absent in that piece and dissonance was theformality.

Ittakes a surprising amount of skill to intentionally avoid harmony. Evenifyou were playing random strings/frets, you would at some point hitsomething sweet purely by chance.

But does the dissonance make itwrong or unmusical? Isn't itjust the other sideof thecoin? The dark side of the moon?

Now take a listen to the vomit-inducing sounds of AgoraphobicNosebleed...

Doesdissonance, cacophony and seemingly random notes crashing into oneanother make itany less of a legitimate musical statement than the rich, sweet andimpeccablystructured harmonies that dominate western musical tradition?

Isn't the only legitimate question: how does it make you feel?And thosetense, uncomfortable feelings are surely just as valid as those whicharise from the comfort of harmony. You may not make a habit ofunwinding with a glass of finest Rioja, conversing with yoursweetheart, accompanied by Agoraphobic Nosebleed. But it's a musicalexperience nonetheless,whether your ears say yes or no. And it's as good as a full time jobfor some musicians.

I'm not suggesting you should throw out all notions of structureandharmony in favour of complete musical anarchy just for the sake ofrebellion. Again it goes back to what you're consciously tryingtocommunicate as a musician, and dissonance can play an important role inthat.

Dissonance doesn't have to be overwhelming. It can be subtle andfleeting, like this very short, chromatic section of oneofWesMontgomery's performances (starts at 28:34, follow it for4 seconds)...

Or this dissonant (wrong)-verse, harmonic (right)-chorus,schizophrenicrock number byDegrees K. What I personally get is this feeling of release, like myheadrising above the water, when the suffocating cacophony of the versemoves into what is a very pretty, open chorus section. Dark to light...

The point I'm getting at here is that all the above examples soundedgood, rightand musical to at least the number of pairs of ears involved in theirmaking, andmany more.

The concept of dissonance and avoid notes is itself highly subjective.A classicallytrained musician of centuries gone may have considered the augmented4th as a dissonant counter-toneand rejected it outright (maybe these people still exist today). But tomany, given the contexts in which it's used (e.g. the Lydian mode,blues), it's relatively sweet and easy on the ears.

Wherever wechoose to draw our lines between harmony and dissonance, the musicaland unmusical, music is ultimately artisticexpression through sound. That's thetightest definition anyone can justifiably apply to music.

"Right" and "wrong" are ultimately relative and subjective.

Whenyou're simply trying to please the crowd, you'll want to consideryour target audience when choosing your notes, especially when your aimis to play for money (nothing wrong with that - we all need to pay thebills)adoration (we all wish to be loved) or as a gift tohumanity (we all seek to give).

But in terms ofpure, raw expression, there can be no suchthing as incorrect music. The sweet toothed musician is no moreright than the musician who craves bitterness, chaos and dischord.

There is (and even this is subjectifying it) merely harmony anddissonance. Take your pick, go ahead and blur those lines, but alwayslet your ears be the final judge.

WhileI will, of course, continue to teach based on the most widely acceptedand enjoyed musical standards, I'll always resist telling you "you mustplay this/that" or "you can't play this/that". All I'm giving you aresome ingredients I think you'lllike the taste of. It's up to you what you create from them and how youtwist them.

Nomatter how much I want to tell you "never hold a major 7th over adominant 7th chord (e.g. F# over G7)", how can I objectively justifythat statement? All I can say is, with a modicum ofconfidence, that not many ears will "get" it. You'll likely get a lotof winced faces.

But I don't need to tell you that.

Bottom line: whenever you question the rightness or wrongness of amusical idea,play it, listen to it, feel it and trust yourownjudgement.

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