Because music is a language, it fundamentally cannot be right or wrong, or good or bad. However, the ideas expressed through music can vary in terms of meaning, interest, and complexity; additionally, they can be conveyed more or less effectively. Proficient musicians train so that they are able to most accurately express what they intend without technical inhibitions.

​

Within music, a plethora of art forms have developed over time with their own specific characteristics and rules; and these can be followed more or less successfully. For example, within Western classical music the objective is typically to learn and recite the works of other composers as closely as possible to their original intentions. In jazz, the goal is to create something spontaneous in real time through improvisation and interplay with other musicians. Music can be studied and created in an incredibly broad number of ways, however it is the choice of a specific structure and the establishment of specific norms that generally give us a framework in which to create and experience meaning.

​

Within the West, many teachers confuse the arbitrary rules of their art forms with objective rules about the language of music as a whole. Because of this, teachers often convey the idea that the rules of their specific art form constitute the most or only valid way to create music. Consequently, students who struggle adhering to the rules of a specific art form often end up feeling like they are fundamentally incapable of musical expression.

 

Done in a healthy way, music is not something which can be created primarily for the sake of conformity to external conventions. The musicians who create music that others find most meaningful are those who have an incredibly strong personal relationship to and experience of music beyond the confines of their specific art form. As with any form of expression, we are compelled by those who have a message to express that they truly believe in, not those who can follow rules the best. 

​

Truly effective communication through music draws on an advanced knowledge of the language and its intricacies. However, once you are aware of the norms and expectations, you can choose to either conform with or subvert them, depending on what it is that you want to express.