Understanding the World: Musical Clichés—Do They Delight or Annoy?
A Discussion of Overused Musical Devices in Different Genres
Note: This essay was prepared with the research assistance and ghostwriting of ChatGPT 4.0. No LLMAI were harmed in the process, although I felt inclined to threaten them from time to time.
Author's Preface
Years ago, I shared a place with various people. One of them was a musician. He had friends who were musicians, and they played together. One day, my housemate and a couple of his fellow musicians and I were sitting in the living room, listening to music. And one of them remarked, they thought it was quite funny: “that's a cliché”. I didn't know what the heck they were talking about, and they didn't elaborate on that very much.
Years later, I became an amateur musician myself and wrote songs, played the guitar, (maybe not that well, taught guitar, maybe not that well either), but I started looking into lyrics and read a lot of theory, read a lot about songwriting and started to think about clichés.
A few weeks back I sent a old musician friend some of my tunes that had been that used my lyrics, but UDIO Music AI provided the rest of the music. My friend wrote that it was good but that there were some clichés in the tune. Well, I thought about it. I said to myself that his observation was something to be considered; are clichés good or bad? It's country music, so maybe the clichés are appropriate.
I did a lot more thinking about clichés and I wrote up a little piece for my songwriting Substack “Songwright” about clichés. I have since thought about it a little bit more.
Today I was talking to my cousin's husband about some music I'd had written with AI, including lyrics. He listened and then he said, well, that sounds like Cab Calloway. Well, I'm not sure who Cab Calloway was. I've heard the name, but I don't know who anything else. Anyway, he played a recording of Cab Calloway singing a song about people eating dinner. I thought that was really interesting, listening to that song by Cab Calloway. I said, well, that's got more clichés than one would normally encounter, and they're all jazz clichés.
I don't listen to jazz much, by the way, but I've heard these clichés in many jazz pieces over the years, and they're just so familiar, and yet I had trouble trying to understand exactly what it was that I was hearing, describing it.
Anyway, this Cab Calloway stuff apparently is from the early part of the 1900s, and it was full of stock musical devices that resonated as something that I'd heard before in one form or another. So that led to the creation of this little essay.
You should note that this will give you some understanding of the topic, but without someone to give you specific exposure to the relevant parts in the musical examples, it will be a very abstract understanding.
Introduction to the Essay
Musical genre styles refer to distinct categories of music that share common features such as rhythm, instrumentation, structure, and cultural or historical influences. Each genre—like rock, jazz, classical, or hip-hop—is defined by specific conventions, which can evolve over time. These conventions guide how music is composed, performed, and experienced, helping listeners and musicians classify and appreciate different styles.
For example:
Rock is characterized by strong rhythms, electric guitars, and prominent use of drums.
Jazz often features improvisation, swing rhythms, and complex harmonies.
Classical music focuses on orchestration, written scores, and structural forms like the symphony or sonata.
Musical clichés, on the other hand, are overused and predictable elements within a genre. These clichés arise when techniques, motifs, or patterns are repeated so often that they lose their original impact or creativity. While some clichés can be comforting or nostalgic, offering familiarity to listeners, they can also feel formulaic or uninspired when overdone.
Examples of musical clichés include:
The repeated use of the four-chord progression in pop music (I-V-vi-IV).
The overuse of the blues scale in rock or blues solos.
The common violin crescendo in film soundtracks to signal emotional peaks.
Clichés aren’t inherently negative; they can become tools that musicians use to tap into shared cultural understandings. However, over-reliance on them may lead to a sense of stagnation, which is why many musicians seek to subvert or challenge genre conventions to create more original work.
In this essay, we explore musical clichés—those familiar, often overused devices that appear across different genres. These clichés can evoke a range of reactions, depending on the listener’s tastes. Some may find them comforting, while others, like myself, might find them repetitive or even annoying. Musical clichés often emerge from repeated patterns or formulas that have resonated with audiences, providing structure or emotional impact. However, their frequent use over time can become predictable, resulting in a sense of fatigue or disengagement for some listeners.
This discussion will focus on what these clichés sound like, how they manifest in different genres, and the specific musical devices and instrumentation used to create them.
What is a Musical Cliché?
A musical cliché is a device, technique, or pattern that has been used so frequently within a genre that it becomes instantly recognizable. These clichés can take the form of specific chord progressions, rhythmic patterns, melodic motifs, or instrumental arrangements. They often evoke strong responses from listeners—either delight for their familiarity or annoyance due to their predictability.
Clichés develop because certain patterns or elements within music are particularly effective at communicating emotion, driving rhythm, or creating atmosphere. However, as these elements become ingrained within a genre, they can start to feel formulaic when repeated without variation.
The Role of Clichés: Good or Bad?
Clichés are not inherently negative. In fact, they play important roles in helping to define the sound of a genre and provide listeners with a sense of familiarity and emotional satisfaction. However, the overuse of these clichés without innovation or variation can lead to predictability, causing listeners to lose interest.
In some genres, such as country or pop, clichés may be more acceptable, as they align with the audience’s expectations. In others, like jazz, where improvisation and innovation are highly valued, over-reliance on clichés might be more noticeable or criticized.
Common Musical Clichés by Genre
Musical clichés exist in all genres, manifesting in both broad structural elements like harmonic progressions and smaller, more nuanced components such as fills, bass lines, and rhythmic interjections. These devices play key roles in evoking familiarity, but their overuse can lead to predictability. In this section, we explore the most common musical clichés across genres, focusing on musical "parts" rather than whole compositions.
1. Pop Music Clichés
Pop music is known for catchy, simple structures and repetitive elements. Beyond the familiar four-chord progression (I-V-vi-IV), pop clichés also appear in production tricks, fills, and vocal interjections.
Four-Chord Progression (I-V-vi-IV):
Ubiquitous in pop music, this progression evokes a sense of emotional resolution.
Example: "Let It Be" by The Beatles.
Instrumentation: Synths, guitars, and a strong drum backbeat.
Hand Claps in the Chorus:
A device often used to add energy, but it has become a staple of predictability.
Example:
("Happy" by Pharrell Williams).
The Millennial Whoop:
A vocal motif alternating between the fifth and third notes, often conveying excitement.
Example:
("Friday" by Rebecca Black).
Synth Fills:
Used to transition between song sections, particularly in modern pop.
Example:
(Daft Punk - "Derezzed").
2. Jazz Clichés
Jazz, admired for its improvisational style, is also filled with clichés that can become overused, particularly in fills, bass lines, and call-and-response patterns.
II-V-I Progression:
A foundational jazz progression that can become predictable.
Example: Miles Davis' "So What."
Instrumentation: Piano, bass, and brass instruments.
Walking Bass Line:
A steady quarter-note pulse that drives the rhythm, but can feel formulaic.
Example:
(Miles Davis - "So What").
Call and Response:
A key improvisational device but repetitive when overly relied upon.
Example:
(Louis Armstrong - "West End Blues").
3. Rock Music Clichés
Rock music is driven by electric guitars and powerful rhythms, but it also relies heavily on common devices that can become clichéd.
Power Chords:
Deliver a raw, aggressive sound but can feel overdone.
Example: AC/DC’s power chord-heavy songs.
Instrumentation: Distorted electric guitar, bass, and drums.
Pentatonic Scale Solos:
A backbone of rock guitar solos, offering a bluesy feel but often lacking variation.
Example:
(Linkin Park - "Numb").
Drum Fills Leading into the Chorus:
A standard technique in rock to build energy, but predictable when overused.
Example:
(Bon Jovi - "Livin' on a Prayer").
4. Country Music Clichés
Country music frequently relies on familiar structures and instrumentation that help define its classic sound.
Simple Chord Progressions (I-IV-V):
The backbone of many country songs, creating a rustic, straightforward sound.
Example: Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues."
Instrumentation: Acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, and harmonica.
Pedal Steel Guitar Slides:
A signature element in country music, often used to add emotional depth but can feel repetitive.
Example:
(George Jones - "He Stopped Loving Her Today").
Acoustic Guitar Strumming Patterns:
The down-up-down-up strumming pattern is common in country ballads but can make tracks feel similar.
Example:
(Don McLean - "American Pie").
5. Blues Music Clichés
The blues genre has long relied on specific patterns that, while iconic, can also feel repetitive.
12-Bar Blues Progression:
A repetitive structure that forms the foundation of many blues songs.
Example: B.B. King’s "The Thrill is Gone."
Call and Response:
An instrumental or vocal exchange rooted in African musical traditions but can become predictable.
Example:
Muddy Waters’ "Hoochie Coochie Man."
6. Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and Dub Step Clichés
EDM is defined by its high-energy beats, but some of its signature elements have become clichés.
Build-Up and Drop:
A signature element of EDM, where intensity builds before the "drop," often predictable across subgenres.
Example:
Skrillex’s "Bangarang."
Sidechain Compression (Pumping Effect):
A common technique where volume swells in sync with the beat, but can feel overused.
Example:
Zedd’s "Clarity."
Conclusion for Genres and Examples:
Musical clichés aren’t limited to harmonic progressions; they’re found in the fills, bass lines, drum patterns, and interjections that can make a song feel formulaic. While they provide familiarity and structure, over-reliance on these elements risks making music predictable. However, for musicians, understanding these patterns offers opportunities for creative subversion or reinforcement of genre expectations.
Whether these clichés delight or annoy largely depends on the listener’s relationship with the genre and their exposure to these recurring elements.
Psychology Discussion of Musical Clichés
The ability to recognize common clichés and stylistic elements in music without conscious, analytical thought stems from implicit learning, a process through which our brains absorb patterns and associations over time. Through repeated exposure to certain musical genres and conventions, we internalize musical patterns, enabling us to instinctively recognize familiar motifs, chord progressions, and rhythms, even if we haven’t formally analyzed them.
This recognition process involves multiple cognitive and emotional factors, which are intricately tied to our perception and understanding of music.
1. Pattern Recognition:
The brain is naturally adept at identifying and categorizing patterns across sensory input, including sound. When we are repeatedly exposed to specific chord progressions, melodic phrases, or rhythmic structures, we encode them into our memory. This encoding allows us to recognize these elements without actively analyzing them.
For example, the four-chord progression (I-V-vi-IV) in pop music becomes instantly recognizable to frequent listeners, even if they don't know the technical names of the chords. These patterns are "learned" implicitly, so they trigger recognition in the brain through familiarity rather than conscious effort.
2. Cultural Familiarity:
Music is deeply tied to culture, and our exposure to it in various settings—media, social environments, and personal experiences—affects how we recognize and categorize musical clichés. Repeated exposure to certain musical motifs or stylistic elements makes them culturally ingrained.
For instance, someone who listens to a lot of rock music will become familiar with power chords and pentatonic riffs, while someone immersed in jazz will recognize swing rhythms and walking bass lines. These elements become so embedded in our cultural experience that we recognize them almost instinctively, even without understanding the theory behind them.
3. Emotional Response:
Clichés in music often evoke strong emotional reactions because they tap into shared cultural experiences and emotional memories. This emotional response helps us recognize clichés without needing to break them down analytically.
For example, the rising crescendo in a film soundtrack might evoke excitement or tension, even though we might not be consciously aware of the compositional techniques driving these emotions. The predictability of these emotional cues makes them easy to identify. Over time, the same patterns become associated with particular emotional experiences, helping us identify them through familiarity.
4. Associative Memory:
Our brains create associative links between musical elements and specific contexts or emotions. For example, hearing the same chord progressions or melodic patterns in different songs forms associative memories, allowing us to recognize these elements when they appear in new contexts.
This ability to recognize musical clichés based on previous experiences operates on a subconscious level, so even if we cannot articulate exactly why a certain bass line or melodic pattern feels familiar, our brain's associative memory connects it to past experiences.
5. Cognitive Economy:
The brain processes information efficiently by using shortcuts to make sense of the world. Recognizing musical clichés is one such cognitive shortcut. When we hear something familiar, such as a common jazz chord progression or a rock drum fill, our brain quickly categorizes it based on previously stored information.
This automatic categorization helps us process music more efficiently without the need for formal analysis. The familiarity of the cliché allows us to make quick judgments about the music’s genre or emotional tone.
6. Muscle Memory in Musicians:
For musicians, especially those who play instruments frequently, recognizing musical clichés can also come from physical familiarity with their instruments. Guitarists, for example, may know how a power chord progression feels under their fingers long before they can explain its harmonic function. This muscle memory contributes to an intuitive understanding of musical clichés based on physical experience rather than cognitive analysis.
7. Associative Learning:
Over time, we form associations between particular musical patterns and specific contexts in which we hear them. For instance, the use of a string crescendo in film scores to build emotional tension becomes so closely tied to dramatic moments that, over time, listeners expect the same effect when hearing it again. This learned association is not consciously developed but rather a product of repeated exposure.
8. Neuroscience and Auditory Perception:
Neuroscience provides further insight into how we perceive sound, rhythm, and melody at a neural level. Our brain's auditory cortex processes sound waves, and through repeated exposure, specific neurons may become primed to recognize familiar musical elements, further facilitating implicit recognition.
Research suggests that the brain processes music similarly to language, identifying patterns, predicting the next notes, and deriving meaning from the combination of sounds. This predictive process plays a key role in recognizing musical clichés, as our brains become adept at anticipating the next musical phrase, especially in familiar genres.
9. Developmental Aspects of Musical Recognition:
Musical enculturation, the process by which individuals learn the musical characteristics of their culture from a young age, plays a critical role in how we recognize and appreciate musical clichés. Early exposure to specific types of music helps build familiarity with certain elements, whether it be rhythmic structures, harmonic progressions, or instrumental arrangements.
Children exposed to a wide range of music may develop a more nuanced ability to recognize clichés across different genres. The patterns learned during this developmental period are retained and inform their musical recognition as adults.
10. Cross-Genre and Cross-Cultural Recognition:
Clichés vary significantly across cultures and musical traditions. Western listeners may easily recognize clichés in rock, jazz, or classical music, but clichés in non-Western genres like traditional Indian or African music may not be as intuitive unless there has been cultural exposure. Recognition of clichés is heavily influenced by familiarity with a particular musical system.
Interestingly, exposure to multiple musical traditions may enable listeners to recognize clichés across different genres. For example, someone familiar with both Western and non-Western music may be able to identify predictable elements in each system, even without deep knowledge of either.
11. Music Theory and Cognitive Load:
Formal training in music theory can enhance a person’s ability to recognize clichés more analytically. Musicians and theorists may consciously recognize harmonic devices, chord progressions, or rhythmic patterns as overused, while untrained listeners might recognize the same clichés intuitively but not be able to articulate why.
For example, a musician trained in jazz might be able to point out the frequent use of a II-V-I progression and recognize it as a cliché, while a casual listener can detect the same pattern simply because of repeated exposure. The cognitive load for musicians trained in theory may be higher in actively analyzing these patterns, whereas non-musicians rely more on subconscious recognition.
12. Effect of Repetition and Fatigue:
Repetition in music plays a crucial role in both recognition and fatigue. Musical clichés can become more recognizable with repeated exposure, but they can also become tiresome. As listeners hear the same elements used repeatedly, they may experience musical fatigue, where the once-effective cliché no longer evokes a strong emotional response.
This phenomenon, particularly relevant in pop music, explains why certain clichés become less effective over time. A well-known chord progression or instrumental fill might initially elicit excitement, but after repeated exposure, it can lose its impact.
13. Memory and Expectation:
Memory and expectation play significant roles in our ability to recognize clichés. The brain uses predictive coding in music perception, constantly anticipating the next musical element based on previous experiences. When music follows these expectations, it feels familiar and satisfying; when it deviates, it can surprise or unsettle the listener.
Predictive coding explains why we recognize clichés so quickly—our brain is essentially prepared for the next familiar pattern before it even happens.
14. Genre Evolution:
Many clichés were once innovative elements that have become overused due to their effectiveness. As genres evolve, what was once groundbreaking can become stale, and musicians must innovate to keep their work fresh. This process of innovation and the overuse of certain devices contributes to the creation of new clichés while discarding old ones.
For example, in rock music, the power chord was once a novel way to create an aggressive sound, but over time, its constant use in mainstream rock led to it becoming a cliché.
15. Social and Psychological Context:
Our recognition of musical clichés is influenced by social learning. The peer groups we associate with, the media we consume, and our social experiences shape our musical preferences and how we perceive clichés. Personal biases toward clichés may be shaped by these external factors.
For example, a jazz enthusiast might appreciate the subtle complexity of a walking bass line, while a casual listener may find it repetitive. Social context plays a key role in whether we embrace or reject musical clichés.
This comprehensive discussion provides a deeper exploration of how we intuitively recognize musical clichés, tying in cognitive, emotional, and social factors.
Scholarly Perspectives on Musical Clichés
Musical clichés are a double-edged sword. While some listeners find comfort and pleasure in the familiarity of these overused elements, others—especially those with a deep understanding of music, such as professional musicians and musicologists—might view them as uninspired or even lazy. A musician’s response to a cliché often differs from that of a casual listener, who might appreciate the repetition that an experienced musician finds dull. This creates a complex landscape where clichés serve both as tools for emotional resonance and markers of unoriginality, depending on who’s listening. In this section, we explore the views of scholars, musicologists, and professional musicians on the use of clichés in music to better understand this phenomenon.
Perspectives from Musicologists and Scholars
Leonard Meyer and the Theory of Expectation
Leonard Meyer, a prominent musicologist, explored the idea of musical expectations in his work Emotion and Meaning in Music (1956). Meyer posited that clichés—particularly harmonic and melodic ones—function by satisfying listener expectations. This fulfillment of expectation can produce emotional pleasure, as listeners, conditioned by prior exposure, recognize certain patterns. According to Meyer, musical clichés work by reinforcing these expectations, making them central to the emotional experience of music.
Meyer notes that while some listeners find satisfaction in predictable musical moments, others, particularly those versed in music theory, may seek variation and surprise, leading to a more critical view of clichés.
Citation: Meyer, L. B. (1956). Emotion and Meaning in Music. University of Chicago Press.
David Huron's Sweet Anticipation and Predictive Processing
Cognitive scientist and musicologist David Huron explores the psychological underpinnings of why listeners respond to musical clichés in Sweet Anticipation: Music and the Psychology of Expectation (2006). Huron suggests that musical clichés tap into a system of predictive processing, where the brain rewards itself for successfully predicting upcoming musical events. Clichés—such as familiar drum fills or chord progressions—activate the brain’s reward system, leading casual listeners to enjoy these predictable moments.
Huron’s theory also explains why more experienced listeners or musicians might react differently, as they may develop a desire for novelty and complexity, rejecting the simple pleasure derived from predictability.
Citation: Huron, D. (2006). Sweet Anticipation: Music and the Psychology of Expectation. MIT Press.
Views from Professional Musicians
Miles Davis on Repetition and Innovation in Jazz
Jazz legend Miles Davis was famously critical of musicians who relied too heavily on clichés, particularly in jazz improvisation. Davis valued innovation and originality, often deriding jazz musicians who recycled familiar patterns without adding anything new. In various interviews, Davis emphasized that while audiences might enjoy familiar jazz clichés, a true musician should strive to break out of these patterns to push the genre forward.
Davis’s stance reflects a common sentiment among professional musicians who see clichés as limiting, stifling creativity, and reducing music to formulaic patterns.
Citation: Davis, M. (1989). Miles: The Autobiography. Simon & Schuster.
Brian Eno on the Use of Clichés in Ambient Music
In contrast, musician and producer Brian Eno has discussed the strategic use of musical clichés in ambient and popular music. Eno has argued that clichés can serve as "anchors" that make music more accessible, especially when used deliberately. In an interview about his approach to creating ambient music, Eno explained that some repetition or familiarity can ground a listener, allowing them to engage with otherwise experimental or unfamiliar sounds.
Eno’s perspective shows how clichés, when used thoughtfully, can serve a purpose in creating music that balances accessibility with innovation.
Citation: Tamm, E. (1989). Brian Eno: His Music and the Vertical Color of Sound. Da Capo Press.
The Debate Among Music Theorists
Theodor Adorno and the Critique of Standardization
Philosopher and musicologist Theodor Adorno offered a sharp critique of musical clichés in popular music. In his work The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception (1944), Adorno argued that the use of clichés in popular music was a form of standardization that degraded artistic value. He believed that clichés reduced music to formulaic components, stripping away its potential for emotional and intellectual depth. For Adorno, clichés represented the commodification of music, catering to mass audiences at the expense of true artistic expression.
Adorno’s critical view highlights the tension between art and commerce, suggesting that clichés in music serve capitalist ends rather than artistic ones.
Citation: Adorno, T., & Horkheimer, M. (1944). The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. In Dialectic of Enlightenment. Continuum.
Allan F. Moore on Genre and Cliché
Musicologist Allan F. Moore, in Song Means: Analysing and Interpreting Recorded Popular Song (2012), addresses the role of clichés within genre conventions. He suggests that clichés are genre-specific, functioning as markers that help define the identity of a musical style. For example, the pentatonic scale in blues or the pedal steel in country music are clichés that carry meaning within their respective genres. Moore argues that clichés can be understood as a necessary part of musical communication, helping listeners to quickly identify the genre and context of a song.
While Moore acknowledges that clichés can become tiresome when overused, he also points out that they are crucial for maintaining genre integrity.
Citation: Moore, A. F. (2012). Song Means: Analysing and Interpreting Recorded Popular Song. Ashgate Publishing.
Conclusion to the Essay
The use of musical clichés is a topic of much debate, particularly among musicologists, musicians, and theorists. Some view clichés as essential tools for musical communication, helping to create structure and emotional resonance, while others see them as stifling innovation. Casual listeners may find pleasure in the familiarity of clichés, while professional musicians often seek to challenge or subvert these expectations. This tension between predictability and creativity lies at the heart of the discussion on musical clichés, and it’s clear that different audiences experience these elements in vastly different ways.
Musical clichés are an inevitable part of any genre. While they provide structure and familiarity, they can also lead to a sense of repetitiveness when overused. Understanding these clichés and how they function in different musical contexts can help both listeners and musicians appreciate when they are being used effectively—and when they may need to be subverted for creative impact.
In this essay, we’ve explored how musical devices such as chord progressions, rhythmic patterns, and instrumental arrangements become clichés over time. Whether these clichés delight or annoy depends on the listener’s relationship with the genre and their exposure to the patterns in question.
Author's Afterword
So there you have it: a discussion of cliché in music. We haven't even touched upon cliché in lyrics, but we have talked about cliché in the music itself, the sounds, apart from the meaning. And it seems there's actually just about zero agreement amongst different authorities on this topic. And why should I be surprised? That's the nature of the world. People disagree. People agree. They assert this, they assert that. They contradict one another. They can't all possibly be right, and it could be that none of them are right. But I like to say it's all a matter of taste. And you could argue that some enlightened people such as musicologists and professional musicians have better taste, but I just say they have different tastes. Did I say that it's all a matter of taste?