Can asthetic (esthetic) be used on music / songs?

Question

I know that this word can be used on Visual. But what about on what you hear? Can this be used? And if not, what is the similar word for listening to something melodic or nice?

Answer 1

Well, you make an aesthetic judgment when you describe melodic music as nice.

I was just talking about this last night to my girl's best friend. She said that I made her feel sometimes like her taste in music was inferior to mine, that just because I didn't like the bands or artists that she liked didn't mean they were any less "good" than mine.

My response was that she listened (although not exclusively) to a lot of Top 40 bands - music like that is by definition made for the masses, and has been crafted and marketed with the intention to move records and make money. I prefer music (although not exclusively) that is made for the sake of music more than the sake of selling records. The meaning behind the art is just as important, to me, as the art itself.

This is definitely an aesthetic judgment. If you look at the Wikipedia entry (link below), the subject is actually brought up that some will consider art for art's sake to be "art" while art that is make for people's sake (ie, commercially) to be "craft".

I did not start my musical journey that way, but I am there, largely, now. I seek (although not exclusively *grin*) meaningful, subtle, engaging music that is not necessarily easy to understand or grasp.

My girl and her best friend like music that has lyrics that they can relate to, and music that has a beat they can dance to, and are less likely to be interested in music that I find fascinating (Coheed and Cambria's older stuff, Silversun Pickups, Sunn O))), Pink Floyd, and any of the more obscure or unusual stuff).

This is their aesthetic decision - their bias, as I called it last night.

Because the music that I find interesting is more demanding to listen to, I value it as more artistic than the Top 40 trash that they gravitate towards.

Again, aesthetic, or my personal bias.

Saul