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Hellrazor236 t1_iyk0esh wrote

People who are good with emotions may be better with emotions.

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megatheriumburger t1_iykk8dr wrote

I don’t often connect with lyrics, but rather chord progressions. The right musical arrangement, or riff (especially when it’s unexpected) can give me shivers; but in general I tune out the lyrics and focus on the melody and rhythm.

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HarriettDubman t1_iykl0s4 wrote

I'm the same way

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megatheriumburger t1_iykm5ik wrote

Are you a musician by chance?

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HarriettDubman t1_iykmwp1 wrote

I am a song writer, not professionally but I'm more of a song writer than a guitarist.

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megatheriumburger t1_iyknkwp wrote

Awesome! ! I’ve been playing guitar for 20+ years, and I have yet to write a real song, or played in any real bands. I just love guitar :p I’d like to hear your music (with an mind of course). Cheer friend.

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cn45 t1_iylvx3o wrote

This is why I can’t quit phish haha

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10113r114m4 t1_iylyxen wrote

Same for me. A lot of the time I don't even hear the lyrics

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AndHeHadAName t1_iykzs11 wrote

Out of curiosity do you listen to a lot of metal? I notice that genre generally tends to have weak lyrics and instead stresses more technically proficient rhythms and emotive singing (not to say that technical proficiency or strong vocal range is particularly a marker of musical interest, innovation, or maturity).

Personally, i think lyric ambivalence is a terrible way to engage with music. In fact, with most lyrical songs generally the words are written first as the words convey the meaning and tone of the song. Otherwise you risk ending up with "Scrambled Eggs" sung over a beautiful melody like "Yesterday".

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Burning_Centroid t1_iyl4ye4 wrote

As someone else who listens to a lot of metal, you’re not wrong, but I will say the reason the best metal bands are considered the best has a lot to do with how relatable their lyrics are and the general tone/message of empowerment that come with them. But at the same time, I listen to bands who sing in languages I don’t speak, and then go look up what they’re about later to enrich the experience. But there IS a strong argument there toward lyrical ambivalence being a prevailing factor in liking the music to begin with

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megatheriumburger t1_iyl5a9m wrote

I don't listen to a ton of metal. Mostly Jazz, progressive rock, and electronic downtempo...so I guess of a lot of that is purely instrumental, but I do get where you're coming from...

I don't necessarily agree with your second point though. Music is subjective to the listener, and anyone can engage in music in any shape, way, or form they want. Depending on the genre, theres a good chance that the melody and rhythm came before the lyrics, otherwise the lyrics wouldn't fit the context, or timing of the song, and you could end of with "scrambled eggs". Think of any big rock band, the melody or riff usually comes first. Kurt Cobain wrote music first, as did Guns and Roses, The Eagles, John Mayer, Elton John. etc...BUT I'd image singer/songer-writers such as Bob Dylon, Taylor Swift, and Jack Johnson write lyrics first, melody second. However, it's more than likely that these things happen organically at the same time.

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T1germeister t1_iylo5o5 wrote

I grew up on a musical diet of basically pure classical, and only branched out from that in high school. I barely hear lyrics when I listen to modern music, unless the lyrics are so clear that parsing them completely passively works. Strong emotions can come through the music itself just fine.

Sure, lyrics are nice to tell a story if you really need that, but if you can't convey the emotional journey without the lyrics, then you're really doing little more than talking while accompanied by cool-sounding muzak.

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AndHeHadAName t1_iylqpl1 wrote

Then you are not listening to very cogent lyrical music. I'll admit the lyrics are not always the first thing I notice and sometimes I'll be listening to a song regularly for months or even years before I notice words that flip the meaning of the song in its head, but i generally find weak lyrics almost always belie a weak song.

Additionally being raised on classical music is not necessarily a good way to be raised on music as it's a very limited genre that has not progressed for 200 years. 95% of the greatest classical musical was written before 1827, and music since evolved to things like Opera and folk (Beethoven's late strings were his attempt to move music passed the classical era). Post 1827 classical music generally is concerned with technical arrangements that while being impressively difficult to play, have limited emotional range. In some ways very similar to much metal music, which often claims late romantic era composers as influences. Camille Saint Saens advocated for as much at the time, though he was actually a bit of an exception since he at listed acknowledged the lack of classical musical direction following the death of its final great composer.

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T1germeister t1_iynk65u wrote

> I'll admit the lyrics are not always the first thing I notice and sometimes I'll be listening to a song regularly for months or even years before I notice words that flip the meaning of the song in its head

So you've found yourself ignoring the lyrics of a song for years on end, but "lyric ambivalence is a terrible way to engage with music" and "weak lyrics almost always belie a weak song." Noted.

> Additionally being raised on classical music is not necessarily a good way to be raised on music as it's a very limited genre that has not progressed for 200 years.

I never said it was a good way to be raised on music--it was for context regarding a different perspective. But, I'll definitely keep that in mind from the "I listen to weak music in a terrible way for years on end" guy. And yes, classical not progressing for over a century is... kinda how it works, yes. I fail to see the relevance.

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jj-sickman t1_iyk1fc8 wrote

Headline: empaths good at empathing

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UniversalMomentum t1_iym3eki wrote

That seems fairly expected, but you should also see that effect in movies too.

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CharcoalLamb t1_iymda7b wrote

This made me kind of sad thinking I may be interpretting music wrong. I love music. Oh well.

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angelcobra t1_iyml7wt wrote

This makes sense for those with childhood trauma.

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FinnishArmy t1_iyjuvhl wrote

Is this supposed to be surprising?

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RealKoletos t1_iyk0fge wrote

Research activity doesn't have to demonstrate innovation. Proving/Validating is important as well.

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Internal-Bench3024 t1_iykgkoe wrote

Funny how all the proving and validating in psychology never seems to build up to any kind of larger more potent theorizing

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Burning_Centroid t1_iyl55yz wrote

New psychology study shows that people in poverty have worse mental health!

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HalobenderFWT t1_iyl6eyc wrote

“This song is slow and kind of sad. I wonder what the musicians were thinking?”

-People who are dumb to emotions, apparently.

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