Hey, Sam2!
The rules set up by chazal were to help us feel the loss, not to give us […] exercise to circumvent the halachah.
I don’t think you can argue with that statement. Can you find a Rav who would disagree with that?
Suppose we could find something that had the effect of music on people, but would not be halachically considered music, would it not be inappropriate? Is the reason really irrelevant?
(Is it the cheftza, or the gavra?)
Inappropriate might not mean assur, but it’s something, and that’s something people care about.
Also, I really don’t think this was meant as a personal attack on the OP, just a lament about how people think and feel nowadays.
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NLNSH, your title was “a cappella in the 9 days” – did you mean the Three Weeks? As far as there being no clear-cut answers, several rabbanim have spoken negatively about it, though there may be no p’sak that it is an issur gamur. I salute you, though. 🙂