According to the writer, when things like randomness and noise come into play, music can sound more organic and engaging to the listener and can help trigger different emotions.
This made me think of instances where I would be listening to a song I’d never heard before. It happens, that for some songs, I would unconsciously predict the next couple words of the lyrics, or complete the upcoming part of the melody in my head.
Whenever this happens, I always leave feeling a bit bored, if not even a little disappointed. Therefore, I do believe that some form of unpredictability in music is what captivates us the most.
Although predictability in music can be comforting at times, it can also be a little irritating. You don’t want every song you listen to or make to just blend into the next. And, randomness as a compositional tool can set the piece apart.
I acknowledge that this might be regarding our expectations when we’re discovering a song or a musical piece for the first time, and it’s different if we are already familiar with a song and just enjoy coming back to it.

 

Spiegel believes that “random corruption should not be confused with random generation.” This, to me, highlights the idea that things should be done with intention and moderation.
For example, I have a friend who is a very talented singer, but during his earlier singing years, he used to always incorporate a little way too many runs into the song. I found this impressive, certainly, but not too enjoyable to listen to. When trying to add interesting elements to a piece, you don’t want to lose the original sound or message and overshadow it with randomness and change. The goal is to simply embellish what’s already there.
Therefore, I believe that not all random additions work, and not all random sounds that do work should be kept in.

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