This post is not about music theory in its strict sense. Besides I don't think any of this post to make sense anyway, so if you really value your time, quit reading now.
Intro
I have been wondering what makes music feel pleasant. Of course, music means a lot of things: melody, songwriting, rhythm etc. To be clear, I was wondering what makes a melody + rhythm pleasant. The thing is, I have been listening to a lot of electronic music, for which songwriting makes little sense. I am not even sure if EDM folks and other electronic music producers give fucks about what they write. Anyway, lyrically inane songs do not really bother me. So, what makes some melodies and rhythms more appealing than others?
An unintellectual theory
I have this theory that the appeal of a melody largely depends on the scale that it is in. I don't even know how many scales there are; I believe (in Western music) there are at least seven: Major, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. Rather, these are the seven diatonic scales (each one comprising five white keys and two black keys on the piano). Each scale defines a set of notes that belong in that scale. It should come as no surprise that certain sets of notes have a certain feel, as subjective as this feel may be.
This feel is precisely what I am refering to. I think this is one of things that influences genres attributed to artists as rubbish as they may otherwise be. I mean, if you search for "Chill" music, you get a bunch of songs that roughly have the same feel. I think