You mentioned some very essential points. I don't think music theory would have considered Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" as being a "good song". Nevertheless, it is. IMHO, even one of the best songs ever written. The same goes for Meat Loaf's "Bat out of Hell" or Rainbow's "Stargazer". I could continue this list with numerous other examples, but it all comes down to the fact that writing songs that go beyond average requires much more than an academic study of note progressions. It requires some kind of magic (to quote Queen), some kind of larger-than-life approach, and some kind of "knowing" that the melody in your head has just those ingredients. It requires spirit and soul, or whatever you may call it. And sometimes it's only the magic of the moment that creates a brilliant melody in your head. So, be sure to save it somewhere, otherwise it might be lost forever.jopy wrote:Can music theory say if anything is good? [...] Neither set of descriptive terms can really describe how good either a melody or harmony is.
I don't think there are, or will be, any mathematical or academical approaches enabling everyone to write brilliant songs just from having studied what kind of notes or harmonies were used by famous artists.
It's either in your blood...or it's not. By which I mean "good" or "perfect" melodies, not average ones...