May I Chime In? My Take on the Decline of Today’s Music
- Nick Ho
- Mar 9
- 2 min read
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Recently, I watched a few YouTube videos from musicians discussing how today’s music is getting worse. It sparked some great conversation, and honestly, it made me think about something that’s always bothered me—how so many people, including musicians, treat music like it’s just math. But here’s the thing: music existed long before music theory, and we, the creators and listeners, are human beings, not robots.
Sure, music theory can help analyze music, but it has little place in the creative process. Think about it: If a novelist said they wrote books by solving equations and following rigid formulas, you’d immediately know their work lacks soul. Their words wouldn’t touch a reader’s heart, and the book wouldn’t be worth reading.
The same goes for drawing—I don’t think Vincent van Gogh treated art like a math problem or obsessed over theories. He painted freely, letting his art evolve from what others might call “mistakes”—or better yet, not even seeing them as mistakes. Yet when it comes to music, people often act like stripping away emotion and reducing it to numbers and rules is completely normal.
Math is structure—and structure limits. I can’t imagine an ancient caveman crafting music like a scientist in a lab. Music should be raw, instinctive, and full of life. It should be created for the sheer joy of it—like a caveman drumming on a log, not to follow rules, but simply because it feels good. But when I listen to much of today’s top-charting music, I rarely feel that joy.
And then there’s perfect pitch—something I’ve always found overrated, like an IQ test score that has nothing to do with real intelligence. The first musicians on this planet—birds—don’t care about perfect pitch when they sing. They sing simply because they have a song to share. That’s something today’s musicians could learn from. Perfect pitch is just a test of perception—meaningless when it comes to creating real music.
Because in the end, music isn’t about precision; it’s about feeling, passion, and the human experience. If we truly want to bring music back to life, we need to focus on what really matters.
So, what do you think? Love to hear your thoughts about this. Until next time.
(Posted on 9.3.2025)
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