How To Express Beauty?

so i have a question about musical expressions

what about a piece of music would express beauty in contrast to uglyness or neutrality?

Edited September 27, 201312 yr by dreamwolf21

That's a huge question.  

"Le laid peut etre beau.  Le joli, jamais!"  The ugly can be beautiful.  The pretty, never!  

Whatever you do, don't be trivial, be striking.  

Harmony will decide it.

Oy!  Harmonically, I agree with sys65 statement. An atonal piece and do the same as tonal piece. Both express beauty, per say. Nonetheless, try to do write music that comes from with in you.

I think it has to do with the effect certain frequencies create on ones persons brain, this effect depends on how these frequencies are aligned, their shape, ratio etc, and this happens too with your eyes seeing colors and shapes, or even your nose smelling a perfume. I wish I could explain this more scientifically but I can't, all I can say is what I've discovered myself with the using of chords through the years.

The 5th, probably the most natural interval, is pretty well received by brain, it automatically merges as a very stable sound. Chords that have several 5ths aligned within themselves tent to sound "better" to ear, for instance a Cmaj7 has two 5th, C+G and E+B, or Cm7 it also has two 5ths C+G and Eb+Bb, it is not the case of C7, C+G but not E+Bb, so what happens if we turn it into C 6/9 ? It can have C+G and G+D it kinda enhances its sound. It will be even better if we speak of 9th chords, like C9 will have C+G, E+B, G+D having three 5ths sounding there, in minor Cm9 will have C+G, Eb+Bb, G+D...

Now, it may not be enough to make something sound "pretty", how you know something is pretty or good, if you don't show what is ugly or bad ?

If I play a C+Db+E+A+D it may not sound too good, it will even sound so far from the chords I was describing first, that it will be rejected as material, it simply can't work with other chords nicely, so I will find something I can use, without using my first "5ths" chords, and that is when dissonances will help me to make little joint points between my initial chords, so I can build a chain of sounds without using my main material all the time, let's say Edim (E+G+Bb) and A7(#9) working as II and V of a D minor piece, these chords are not several 5ths but tritones and other intervals, and they could work like this:

Dm7 (D+F+A+C+F+A)

Gm7 (G+Bb+D+F+Bb)

Edim (E+Bb+E+G+Bb)

A7(#9) (A+C#+E+G+Cnat)

the last two chords may sound a bit unstable, not too good to be heard alone, not too good to stay there for long time, but they help to do a variation so at the moment I repeat the chords and I listen the Dm7 again, it reminds my brain how good it sounds, so I never use the 5ths chords so much that brain might begin to ignore them.

This is not theory taken from any book, it may not work the same for all persons tastes, I don't even know how to call it, is nothing but what I've found myself while composing, I hope it helps you. :)

Well, anyone can have ideas, right? Beautiful ones. Sculptors, painters, photographers and composers. Writers of all stripes with  ideas just popping out of their heads.

Try this as an experiment. (Many of you already have :musicwhistle: ). Smoke a joint and lay down on the floor and just let your mind go ... Trust me, you will think of nothing BUT beauty. But if you can't make those ideas manifest into a musical construction then you've got nothing. So what you need to make beauty is technique. It comes with time and love. God loves you and is patient with you. So be patient with what you create in the same way. Beauty will come if you do not rush it. And you can't rush love, right?

Edited October 4, 201312 yr by Ken320