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How do you listen to music?

hay82

hay82

Active Member
I realised a while back that my roommate and I listen to music very differently. He listens to the lyrics and sort of concentrate on the meaning, while I just use the music as backgroundsounds to let my thoughts drift. I can sing along an entire song without having a clue as to what the song is about and without remembering the lyrics afterwards...

So I just wondered, how do you listen to music?
 
The beat and bassline usually grab me, but other times, powerful lyrics are the attraction. I guess I listen to the "whole song". I do like to have it as background noise when around the house or working or just chilling-out. I'll just groove along while doing my own thing.
 
Depends. If I just want background music, I put on classical or something 'pop' with inane lyrics.

Otherwise, I listen to the lyrics. Grew up listening to folk - the likes of Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Lightfoot - where the lyrics are almost more important than the music.
 
How do I listen to llyrics? Well, I turn my stereo on Bust (100 Mega Watts!) and then scream along with the lyrics, who tends to be Brian Johnson
 
hay82 said:
I realised a while back that my roommate and I listen to music very differently. He listens to the lyrics and sort of concentrate on the meaning, while I just use the music as backgroundsounds to let my thoughts drift. I can sing along an entire song without having a clue as to what the song is about and without remembering the lyrics afterwards...

So I just wondered, how do you listen to music?
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I'm with you, hay82. For me, it's more about how the music makes me feel. I like music you can immerse yourself into.

I don't know the words to any of my favorite songs. If I do, it's usually just a line or two. Sometimes I get feelings attached to the words of a song even though the meaning of the words may have nothing to do with that feeling. I know that makes no sense; just try to imagine it does. I don't listen to a lot of pop because the majority of it gives me the same feeling or no feeling at all. That probably makes even less sense.

hay 82, I had a similar experience one day when I was riding in the car and listening to music with a close friend one day. I was loving the song we were listening to; I think it was a Karl Denson song that had a funk-jazz feel to it that I loved. He starts changing the channel, and I'm like, "You don't feel that funk?" He says, "I get nothing from that." We had a short conversation that lead to me realizing that not everyone hears music the same way. I heard syncopated, funked up rhythms. He heard mellow, boring jazz. Since then, I've been much less of a music snob.
 
I listen to the music, rarely paying any attention to the lyrics. If I find a song that I really like, then I might try to listen to the lyrics after having heard the song for a couple of weeks or months. Then once I figure out the lyrics, I usually forget them after a day or two.
 
Mort said:
I listen to the music, rarely paying any attention to the lyrics. If I find a song that I really like, then I might try to listen to the lyrics after having heard the song for a couple of weeks or months. Then once I figure out the lyrics, I usually forget them after a day or two.
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LOL That's all too familiar, Mort. I've played in bands and after months of playing together, never known the lyrics to anymore than a few lines of our songs. :) Luckily, I wasn't the singer.
 
RitalinKid said:
I'm with you, hay82. For me, it's more about how the music makes me feel. I like music you can immerse yourself into.
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Exactly how I feel about music. The only times I feel that listening to the lyrics is natural to me, is when I watch movies like Pink Floyd the Wall, Moulin Rouge and that sort.
 
Mort said:
I listen to the music, rarely paying any attention to the lyrics. If I find a song that I really like, then I might try to listen to the lyrics after having heard the song for a couple of weeks or months. Then once I figure out the lyrics, I usually forget them after a day or two.
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I find it near impossible to sort out the lyrics of most songs I listen to, so i search them on the net! ^^
 
I'm a lyric person. I can't have music as background noise, because I will listen to it and the lyrics....and probably be singing along in my head (no one wants me to sing out loud). I'm surprised, though perhaps I shouldn't be, that so many listen to the music without truly registering the lyrics. Very fascinating.
 
I guess it has alot to do with the style of music right? I mean if your a kelly Clarkson fan, sure, listen to the lyrics! You could probably pick them out of the song after a few times hearing it, and they're easy to remember. If your an AC/DC fan, you might understand some of the songs' lyrics, but unless you get them in text, you'll nevr understand them all. It's also harder to find where each word is in the song with Brian Johnson just screaching the words, right?
 
Are you accusing me of being a Kelly Clarkson fan? Ugh.

I listen to country and blue grass...so, yes, the lyrics are fairly important. I'm just surprised more people don't care about the lyrics. If I am interested in music without lyrics, I listen to a soundtrack or classical or something of that nature. I think it might also have to do with the fact that I'm a musician and all parts of a song are important to me.
 
I wasn't accusing you of being a Kelly Clarkson fan, i was just using it as an example that some music has clear, repetitive lyrics, while other Loud, Undeciphercable Random lyrics.
 
Usually, for me, it's a combination. I listen to songs sometimes just for the music, or just for the vocals, but sometimes, like with Linkin Park, I listen for both. I guess it just depends on which band your talking about.
 
Most of the time I don't care at all about the lyrics. 'Cause English isn't my mother language it's easy to hear just the music and I don't have a clue how native speakers can listen to english music with bad lyrics at all. when I translate some song lyrics I end up on the floor hysterically laughing. as a matter of fact I only like german songs with good lyrics (that means => I really appreciate sentences which make sense and I like songs with a message).
By the way, most of the time I don't understand english lyrics at all unless I have seen them in written form.
 
hay82 said:
I realised a while back that my roommate and I listen to music very differently. He listens to the lyrics and sort of concentrate on the meaning, while I just use the music as backgroundsounds to let my thoughts drift. I can sing along an entire song without having a clue as to what the song is about and without remembering the lyrics afterwards...

So I just wondered, how do you listen to music?
Click to expand...


ermm, not sure what exactly you were asking.anyway, here was what i had thought. If there were 1002 ways to do with Bobbyburns, then i might have a half of thousands ways to listen to the music, depends on what kindof music, your mood, or time, blah,blah. :p

k. two ways here that i would like to tell you.(in case you'd know too much about me. ;) )

1) press your headphones closer to your ears, turn the volume slightly bit louder than you usually do, (close your eyes, turn off light, lying down or sit in a comfortable position...........etc.), then you are in the music.

2) when you came back at night, walked down stairs, shaked off coldness of outside, and opened the door of your own room, you found thatthe music you listened in the morning still playing, with the light scent of perfume in the air.


As for lyrics or rhythem, I kinda like to know what the content of a song before i enjoy the ryhthem, but which is not always the case.
 
watercrystal said:
ermm, not sure what exactly you were asking.anyway, here was what i had thought. If there were 1002 ways to do with Bobbyburns, then i might have a half of thousands ways to listen to the music
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Looking forward to you sharing all those ways.. :D
watercrystal said:
1) press your headphones closer to your ears, turn the volume slightly bit louder than you usually do, (close your eyes, turn off light, lying down or sit in a comfortable position...........etc.), then you are in the music.
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Hmm my ears are already damaged from listening to music to loud.. But I think I know what you mean.. I like to turn of the lights and put some relaxing music on like Massive Attack, Enya and that sort of music. Then I lie down and let the music take my thoughts away...

watercrystal said:
2) when you came back at night, walked down stairs, shaked off coldness of outside, and opened the door of your own room, you found thatthe music you listened in the morning still playing, with the light scent of perfume in the air.
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Home sweet home.. :)
 
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