What appeals to you about Music?

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Hey everyone,

I have a question and would like to hear your thoughts on this. What appeals to you about music and why? I see from some other threads that AS people have just as eclectic tastes as other people.

Personally I like music from any genre based on how it sounds, a good quality piece of music in any genre always stands out and can be appreciated by those who are not usually fans of that genre.

People tell me I listen to strange music (NT's I suppose) I hardly ever pay attention to the lyrics and generally do not get much emotional stimulation from them. Possibly why a lot of punk rock sounds identical to me. I enjoy the patterns, fast beat and heavy bass of electronic music and quite often without lyrics, which tend to be my favourite.

I would like to know if this is in some way related to empathy, pattern recognition or conbination of these and other things. That's enough out of me. Please discuss

I do the exact same thing! I don't pay any attention to the lyrics unless I really concentrate.
I definitly focus on the patterns of the music. they appeal to me more. When I find a song that does move me in some way, I play it over and over again. It drives my parents nuts!!

I really love the beat. And the motion of the instruments. I especially love what one can do with the piano.

I wish I could play piano, I like pianos

Most of the music I listen to is metal / industrial
I don't what I like about it though, but I get obsessed with songs really easily and play them too much

Agreed. Even better if played through very good quality hi-fi system that can reveal every nuance of the music. Mostly the lyrics are unimportant but occasionally they can move me, such as:

"Don't think about all those things you fear
Just be glad to be here. "

Simple but makes my spine tingle

I like music that can elicit an emotional response from this decrepit, blackened heart of mine. The music I like listening to wakes me up emotionally.

I like some regular stuff like Genesis and James Taylor. But I'm most fond of that soft, sultry dinner jazz and the music of Tangerine Dream. And ambient music in general. It's about experiencing music, not just hearing it.

The Piano is very underused in music nowadays, you only have to listen to a brace of Meatloaf songs to realise how well it can be utilised in rock music especially. Likewise for a lot of Boomtown Rats material. I consider myself fortunate that I can play a little, though I could do with getting back into practice.

I quite often listen to the lyrics to a song, even though they can sometimes distract me a little from the song itself there are some that really make me think.

Personal favourites for lyrical content include Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks and The Logical Song by Supertramp for 'thinking about', with The Riddle by Nik Kershaw and Bike by Pink Floyd for sheer difference.

i used to like stuff like eminem mainly for the swear words but i recently got into stuff like korn, slipknot, disturbed, avenge sevenfold to name a few of the artists i like now, i like these bands for many different reasons the main being that i like the sound not particuary the singing though i like it but more the instuments thing like

korn - dead bodies every where

i like because of the lyrics same with most of their songs, though the instuments sound nice aswell

slipknot - vermillion pt 2

i like this because it makes me feel.....something though i dont know what that is, but its good which kinda makes me sound like a nut job but hey i dont care

I am definitely able to feel emotions with music. Some music has always been associated with certain emotions and I can elicit them each time I play the recording. Somtimes, I listen to the same record over and over again just for the emotional impact.

My favorites are blues and classical. I also like piano, particularly the autistic pianist, Glenn Gould.

There was a novel written about 15 years ago called Body and Soul which featured an autistic-like pianist who was very emotionally connected to music and I indentified with his feelings somewhat.

I really like electronic music, a lot of what I listen to could be described as "a singer and a keyboard", "a singer and a couple people with keyboards", "a singer with a computer", etc. I like the steady pace of electropop, it gives me a pattern to follow which is useful when I need to "zone out".

I do appreciate the skill of people playing instruments and I am impressed especially by skilled guitarists, since I am absolutely AWFUL with a guitar. But I usually find the high pitched sounds of a guitar grating, so I don't really listen to a lot of rock music. Same goes for screechy vocals. I can only listen to rock music if the singer has a smooth voice (Queen, for example).

Which brings me to my last point - I really get a lot of enjoyment out of hearing a skilled singer with a particular kind of voice. I tend to prefer male singers, because again, I am very sensitive to high-pitched sounds. When I find a band whose lead singer has a voice that soothes me, I tend to really attach to them. I can also perceive emotion much better if the singer is skilled at delivering it, because I will "tune in" to them. Sometimes music can bring out emotions in me that social interaction is supposed to evoke, but doesn't. So I feel that listening to music makes me more complete as a person.

I also tend to make bands into special interests and so I like following bands whose members have interesting personalities, so they are fun to read about.

Yes I am certainly not immune to emotion from music, I do tie a couple of songs to the breakup with my last GF. There are certain drum n bass tracks which send my imagination racing. They make me visualize a planetary colony a bit like what you see in Aliens the movie and the goings on within. I think that is still a valid emotional response albeit unconventional. Sometimes music just makes plain happy though it barely ever brings me down. Certain dark music has the ability to make me feel happy.

I like all of this as well Kellaway and I'm much older than you, I suspect. I also like Strange and Beautiful.

Love Glenn Gould, Serious Girl.

I have very eclectic taste in music. I love it because I can hear all the different instruments and see them being played in my head. That's something I inherited because many of my paternal female ancestors played by ear after only hearing once. I can play by ear, but I had piano lessons when I was young and that kind of ruined it for me. I have to work at it now. But I still like the visual I get with music. It's so much more than sound to me.

I listen to different music for different effects.

I used to like Punk,just for the physical energy it invoked(rare for me),and the humor of some of the lyrics,some of the politics.

I love the poetry of Dylans lyrics but used to not be able to stand his voice,now I love it...not sure why I changed.I also fall in love with certain notes of certain singers...dont know how to describe it,except,it feels the same as listening to a wolf/dog howling and hits something deep in side....Some "Counting Crows" and "The Honeydogs" does this to me.(many others,as well).

I do tend to go in phases.....listening to music with female singers,death rock,"oldies"...My Ipod is a life line when I am working.I have it on shuffle,3,ooo songs from 1960 to present.I never know what is coming next but I know it is something I like.I never could stand listening to the radio station...not enough diversity,to many "pop" songs.

I hate techno/trance and most country(I know that makes me pretty unhip,what else is new....techno/trance just reminds me to much of Disco.I am sure there is some good ones but....)

My current favorite song is "Woke up This Morning",Alabama 3(Sapranos theme song)

I have always danced to music from day one(my mama done told me). I danced from a toddler on in public places such as when the family went to the fair, the store, amusement parks. It was and is a stim. What is great about music is there is no preconceived ideas of a right or wrong way to dance, clap, hum, whistle, or sing. For someone who almost always falls flat socially speaking, I have always excelled in dance. I took lessons from age 2 to age 15. I trained in tap, ballet, and eventually toe. Dance taught me grace. I started off clumsy in my movements as a child, but my years in dance changed that.

Music appeals to me because it's a -very- effective way to express emotions.
When you listen to certain music, you feel happy, down, spirited,...

That's also why i love metal so much, it's fast, hard and direct.

I like music that I can sing along to, and that has a good beat to dance to.