In about an hour I'm going to hit the road for a few days with a rock/funk group that definitely subscribes to the dictum that more is more. We'll be loud, energetic, and leave the crowds sweating^[1]. I'm particularly excited, since I haven't played with this band since early August, and I think things have evolved^[2] without me.

Anyway, I've always snickered at the popular phrase popular among musicians, "less is more." It's obviously meant as a figure of speech meaning less is better, but it still bugs me. It's also usually made as an admonishment to folks that maybe enjoy being loud and in your face. Anyway, I hear it mostly applied to Miles Davis.

Especially, compare what he's doing to the other guys. I like to think of this particular cut as a musical lesson in the humours.

Wynton Kelly - phlegmatic
Miles - melancholic
Coltrate- choleric
Cannonball - sanguine

Miles actually ran with that idea after hearing Ahmad Jamal though. He was very open about this whenever he was praised for his, "less is more," approach throughout his career.

But check this out! I recently discovered this cool video of João Gilberto being accompanied by a dude playing brushes on a closed high-hat. That's some serious less is better energy from an orchestration standpoint.

The basic premise of punk rock music is founded on this philosophy as well, although it manifests differently than the examples I've shared so far.

What are some other examples? Share your favorite less-is-better examples. They need not be music, although any comments with 4'33' will receive merciless, savage downzapping.

1. unless something goes horribly wrong ↩

2. in a good way ↩