The Decline of Instrumental Music

by Tom Kando

I was working out on a treadmill at my health spa.

The sound blaring out from the sound system was the usual “Muzak.” i.e. the typical nondescript elevator music, all vocal, all consisting of songs, almost invariably dealing with the vicissitudes of “love.”

I was thinking: How out of touch I have become, in old age: Today, all popular music sounds the same to me.

I have been an avid amateur of music all my life. As a listener, a concert attendant, a records collector, an amateur flute player. I grew up with classical music and modern jazz in Europe. Then, after I moved to America in the nineteen sixties, I became a fervent fan of popular music (as well): The Beatles and the Rolling Stones of course, and all the other fantastic groups of that era - Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills and Nash, the Doors, Elton John, the Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Simon and Garfunkel and innumerable others.

Then, adult life being what it is - career, children, etc. - popular music went by the wayside. For a while, I tried to stay in touch via my children. I tried to listen to some of the music they liked. But eventually I lost track. Today, I have no idea what’s going on in the world of popular music.

But here is an impression I have: Nowadays, practically ALL popular music is vocal, not instrumental. Think of the currently most prominent idols: Adele, Beyoncé, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and dozens of others (far more women than men, by the way, which is fine with me).

So I am wondering about the fact that today, nearly the totality of popular music is vocal.

To be sure, one needs to distinguish between different genres: There is classical music and jazz (some would classify these as “high culture”), there is popular music, including country, rap and hip-hop.

Classical and jazz have traditionally been overwhelmingly instrumental. Classical music will always be associated with Europe. On a continent with dozens of different languages, it made sense that the overwhelming majority of music was instrumental. The great exception was opera. This was largely an Italian affair, with the Austrians, the French and the Germans also making major contributions to this genre.

Popular music has always been largely vocal. Some of this (rap and hip hop among other genres) is extremely creative. However, the almost total absence of instrumental popular music puzzles and aggravates me.

Granted, it’s not all black and white: As I said, there has always been a lot of vocal popular music - remember the crooners of the past, such as Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. But it seems to me that a few generations ago, we had more great instrumental popular music. Think of the Big Band Swing era, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, etc. Even during the age of rock, the sixties, a few instrumental pieces made it to the top of the charts. Remember Paul Mauriat’s wildly popular “Love is Blue”? (1968). Kitsch, to be sure, but charming. And don’t forget the Doors’ fantastic 7-minute long Light My Fire, with two of the greatest instrumental solos (organ and guitar) of all times.
Of course popular music still uses instruments, but today, 99% of this is relegated to accompaniment. And there is one dominant instrument: the guitar, in its various electric and non-electric forms. Surely the guitar, as a musical instrument, is inferior to the piano, is it not? So where are the piano solos, and for that matter those by violins and other strings, or oboes, flutes, trumpets and all the other great instruments?

And another thing: Music is intertwined with dancing, but dancing is associated largely with instrumental music, not with vocal music. Think of dances such as the Lindy Hop in the swing era. This is another cost of neglecting instrumental music.

That instrumental dexterity is less valued now is also evidenced by the fact that beauty pageant contestants rarely play an instrument when it is their turn to display an artistic skill. Almost 100% of them belt out a song. In the past, some of them offered a performance on the piano, flute, violin or some other instrument.

We have reached a sort of cultural laziness. To master a musical instrument is difficult. A song is a lot easier. In today’s culture, more so than before, celebrities, beauty contestants and everyone else has decided that singing is good enough.

I know, I know, singing is wonderful. Some of the most beautiful music on earth consists of songs. Singing has always been a central part of humanity’s repertoire. It is also true that some major popular culture icons (E.g. Taylor Swift) are adept at several instruments.

But for some reason, there has been a shift whereby the vast majority of popular music is vocal, as it bypasses the rigorous discipline of mastering an instrument. That’s too bad.leave comment here
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