How do you listen to music?

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For me, music is less about the lyrics then the overall sound of the song. The singing is just like another instrument adding to the overall beat and rythem and sound. Apparently the rest of my family actually listens to music for the words and the message though, and like or dislike songs based on that. So that makes me wonder, how does everyone else listen to music? Hopefully that makes sense.

I listen to music the same way you do, Dovi, and can play music by ear on the piano.
That said, I am ABLE to listen to lyrics and actually pick them up correctly sometimes,
but prefer to hear them as musical notes.

Nice to meet you.

I listen pretty much like the OP.

The sound of the song.

The singer is like another instrument.

Songs sung in a foriegn language can turn me on.

There are exceptions when I do listen to the words.


Most rock fans, I suspect, have no idea what their favorite songs are actually about. And actually are not really lyric listeners either.

Country fans are aware of lyrics because country lyrics are crafted to be very easy to hear and very easy to deconstruct with little poetic ambiguity.

One song (christian pop-but with a country feel) is sort of a parody of that.

That song is "Butterfly Kisses". It takes a simple idea and beats the listener mercilessly over the head with it for twice the length of the average pop song- inducing reverse parystalsis.

But it was hugely popular for awhile.

Nice to meet you too!

I can also listen to the lyrics if I want too, but usually that only lasts a minute before I forget and just start listening to them as musical notes again, like you said (I like the way you put that). I do have a really hard time understanding the words often times though, so I tend to sing nonsense when I try to sing a long to the song haha.

For me its a mix of both. A song with a good sound to it and good accompanying lyrics just make it all the more better for me. But that's not to say its a must, I've found myself liking certain songs purely on sound. Acoustic and Dance music are two good examples of music that don't even require lyrics to sound pleasing.

Oooh I love to listen to music in other languages, which my family just doesn't get. I guess I know why now.

Hmm I think I remember that song. I don't know though, I sometimes like repetitive songs. My favorite kinds of music are the kinds with a really pronounced beat, like pop or dance music. I also like rock (not screamo tho) and christian rock. Loove Owl City.

I don't listen for the words but the piece as a whole.
I do enjoy music with words as in songs but mainly no words music Like vangelis or jean michel jarre.
I enjoy story songs, ballads like Only 19 from Redgum

I say I a lot huh?

I go for the lyrics, sound and beat of the song.

I listen for the sounds. To me, the melody are sounds, but so are the lyrics, pure sounds, not words with meanings. The meanings are secondary to me.

First I focus on the instruments, then the lyrics.

lyrics and sound are equally integral to my listening experience.

I'm right here with you. Over the last couple of years, I've been paying a little more attention to lyrics. And it's interesting that I've learned to like some songs that I didn't like before and dislike songs I did like. The words hit me in a way that I had never noticed before. There are even bands that I had dismissed until I paid attention to their message, and then found a new appreciation for them.

What's odd is that I love to sing (not professionally -- stage fright!), so you'd think the words would be vitally important. But it's actually rare that I choose a song based on what the lyrics mean to me. I'm more likely to choose a song that -- by tone or key or whatever -- I like the way the song makes me feel when I sing it.

I often pay no attention to the lyrics at all. There are some foreign songs that I really like but have no idea what the lyrics are even about. For example, there are a number of songs by Jane Birkin that I like to listen to, but have no idea what the words mean.

Lyrics and how well they are constructed can absolutely pull me into a song. However, the overall feel of a song can do the same. Occasionally, I've been slightly disappointed when I find out what a song is actually about.

I think this is on topic enough to put here... Ocean by John Butler is my 10 minutes of zen. Just put this on, get lost in it, and come out feeling in love with the world. I wonder how others on here respond to it. I can't post the link to it because I'm brand new to this whole aspergers thing, and this site in general. So on that note... hello!

i also listen like OP; if i want to hear the actual words, i must conciously stess myself to identify them.
the most important in music for me is the emotional feeling behind it, which is why my preferred genre is movie/game soundtracks.

Will have to check out "ocean".

Heard Phil Collins live on PBS covering Sixities Motown classics.



I was stunned at how little of the storyline of Stevie Wonders 1965 hit "Uptight,everything is Alright" I knew(all these decades Ive been hearing the song).

This is because Collins delivered the song with much greater vocal clarity than stevie wonder did.

It didnt radically change the story mind you, but - well I got from SW that the narrator "was a poor man's son from across the railroad track...not a football hero...but I never make my girl cry", but I didnt realize that his girlfriend lived in mansion with maids and butlers until I heard collins sing it the other night! You cant decifer that third verse from the original record very well. The raw vocals focused more on expression than on clarity in the original mix. So collins made me aware of a class-consciousness aspect of the song's theme.

But the phil collins version does NOT get you on the dance floor and doing the twist the way the original SW version does! So there is no right or wrong way to do it. Love both versions.