Music Criticism Terms

adjective lacking art, skill, or knowledge; showing a lack of art or knowledge

• Her artless demeanor made her seem naive and innocent.
• He's so artless, he'll believe anything you tell him.
• I can't stand that artless girl who always tries to act cute.
• His artless lies were easily detected by those who knew him well.

adjective lacking in originality, freshness, or novelty; trite

• The speaker's banal remarks failed to captivate the audience.
• I'm tired of hearing the same banal jokes over and over again.
• Stop being so banal, spice things up a bit!
• Her mind was a vast wasteland of banal thoughts.

noun a person who studies or writes about music, especially as a profession

• The musicologist conducted extensive research on the composer's manuscripts.
• My friend is a musicologist and he knows everything about classical music.
• I didn't know being a musicologist could be so cool!
• As a musicologist of emotions, she could decipher the feelings behind every note.

verb to draw into the mouth by contracting the muscles of the lips and mouth to make a partial vacuum

• The vacuum cleaner has a powerful suction capability to suck up dirt and debris.
• I really suck at playing the guitar, but I'm trying to improve.
• That movie was so bad, it really sucked.
• Don't let negative thoughts suck the joy out of your day.

adjective describing something as thick, sweet, and sticky like syrup

• The syrupy consistency of the dessert sauce was perfect for drizzling over the cake.
• I love how syrupy this soda is, it's so sweet!
• This syrupy song is my jam, I can't stop listening to it.
• Her syrupy sweet smile could charm anyone she met.