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Appreciating music if you play or don't play an instrument


Soda Jerk

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the simplest example probably a key change or something... probably the biggest unit shifter of all time.

Ah yes, the good old "trucker's gearshift", a great method of fitting in just one more chorus, and pissing me off in the process...

I think Huw and Original Spies have pretty much summed up my view - before I picked up a guitar I liked music, and liked bits of songs but now I know more about the actual structure of the music I can appreciate more WHY I like a particular thing.

I also find I tend to listen more closely to the actual music, where before I would focus more on the lyrical content.

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Ah yes, the good old "trucker's gearshift", a great method of fitting in just one more chorus, and pissing me off in the process...

I think Huw and Original Spies have pretty much summed up my view - before I picked up a guitar I liked music, and liked bits of songs but now I know more about the actual structure of the music I can appreciate more WHY I like a particular thing.

I also find I tend to listen more closely to the actual music, where before I would focus more on the lyrical content.

Aye... Westlife's " you raise me up" has 4 choruses and 1 verse i'm pretty sure. a keychange before the last OBVZ.

where would celine/westlife/leona be with out a key change eh? the gutter... that's where.

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Aye... Westlife's " you raise me up" has 4 choruses and 1 verse i'm pretty sure. a keychange before the last OBVZ.

where would celine/westlife/leona be with out a key change eh? the gutter... that's where.

Over-produced pish.

ooooooh, let's throw in a key change.

I'll maybe even stand up and do some air grabbing so people know just how emotional I am :down:

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Guest orphan
I have to ask, how does whether or not I have a walloper have anything to do with musical taste....? :music:

Because as a woman, you're almost guaranteed to have terrible music tastes.

That's all.

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Been trying to think of a decent response to this (excellent) thread.

I started playing guitar when I was 9, so I can't really remember listening to a lot of music without playing an instrument. But as I've learned to get half-averge at guitar, my appreciation for really good guitarists has swelled. Especially recently, when I was 9-13 I listened to basic power-chordy rock music like Nirvana, or Green Day etc, or just chord strumming like Feeder etc, where more recently I've been listening to guitarists like Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors, Victor Villareal of Owls and the guitarists from Maps and Atlases, and I don't find that overly 'wanky' or anything, just because in the context of the songs they're playing, the silly number of 'extra' notes they're playing totally work. I'm not a huge fan of distorted 'shredding' riffs, I prefer when distortion's used to basically stab at guitars and make a fuckin' noise, or to make huge, ridiculous riffs like Lightning Bolt do. That said, music doesn't need to be overly complicated to sound good, bands like Pavement didn't sound too complex but they made excellent songs.

Still, I like a lot of keyboard/synth based music and that's not my musical area, in terms of playing an instrument. So it's possible to appreciate the skill and worksmanship of music without being able to play the relevant stuff.

I'm not sure what that post was. It was kind of a yes/no. Ysno. That's it. Sorry.

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Because as a woman, you're almost guaranteed to have terrible music tastes.

That's all.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!!! *handbags*

Just like, as a man, you're almost guaranteed to think you are brilliant at music, but in reality you are an embarrassment who makes everyone want to pour bleach in their ears. :up:

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For me, it's quite a complex issue.

I guess that as I've developed my skills as a musician, I've begun to be able to appreciate music on an additional level. Maybe "appreciate" is the wrong word. "Assess" might be more appropriate.

Since I first seriously got into music when I was 16, I've appreciated music in the way that every music-lover does. After I took up an instrument and developed my musical knowledge, I was also able to appreciate things like song structure, technicality and various other esoteric elements of muso wankery. However, this side of my listening has always been secondary to music-lover in me.

For example, some of my friends assume that I only like jazz and "prog" because I'm a musician, and can appreciate the technicality involved in playing such styles of music. Nonsense! It doesn't matter about the potential for chin-stroking muso appreciation, if a piece of music doesn't sound good, it doesn't sound good. In other words, if something is technical for the sake of being technical, it does not make for good music.

So I can choose to pick apart a piece of music, assessing the various techniques and tricks utilised by the composer and the performer. But whether I'll enjoy listening to that piece of music is entirely dependent on the listener in me, rather than the musician. I've always had a taste for innovative and interesting music, so I think I'd be listening to the same stuff I listen to now even if I hadn't taken up an instrument.

Also, although I'm a bass player, it's not always bass that I listen out for. Drums and piano in particular are other instruments that I can really appreciate when listening to music.

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  • 14 years later...
On 7/3/2009 at 4:20 PM, flossie suvara said:

Great thread - lots to think about/discuss.

Is it not perhaps an element of the other way about, in that the music you like influences which instrument you play? As a child, I wasn't exposed to a lot of recorded music, but the little I was exposed to consisted of mainly Scottish folk music. I was exposed to a reasonable amount of live Scottish Ceilidh music also - I play a lot of instruments (too many according to my wife), but my main instruments are recorder, mandolin (and octave) and violin, and when I'm not doing original stuff with the band, I play Scottish and Irish jigs, reels, etc for fun. The majority of the other instruments I play can also be used in a folky style - I don't play any brass or woodwind - possibly due to not being exposed to the styles of music they are used primarily in as a child.

I think I can appreciate good musicianship on any instrument when I hear it, but I get really excited about it when it's in the folk genre - if you fancy, have a look at this:

 

Phil Cunningham (who plays regularly with Aly Bain) and his brother Johnny (now sadly passed away) - absolutely stunning fluidity, musicianship and skill - this is the sort of excellent musicianship that personally gets me excited.

I am a sucker for big strings on any recording however - is this due to having been taught violin at school and having been in the school orchestra?

I however don't have any idea where my liking for heavy metal/rock comes in....

From personal experience, the process of recording with a band changes how you listen to music - especially the immediate period after you've mixed a recording - you find yourself with a sharper sense of what's going on in any track, which makes listening to the radio, etc a strange experience for about a week afterwards.

As I said at the top of my reply - an excellent and intersting thread - I look forward to reading more replies.

Regards

Flossie

Lovely violin performance.

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  • 5 months later...

People who play instruments may perceive music differently, focusing on tone, structure, and competence. Certain styles, like overly technical bands, may alienate those who don't play due to complexity. However, appreciation can evolve with musical skill, noticing intricacies previously overlooked. For non-players, coherence may outweigh skill, favoring simpler structures. Yet, many still recognize and value musical prowess, regardless of their own musical abilities.

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