What do you appreciate the most in music?

[Iko 21]

When it comes to listening to music what do you listen to or for? The bass, the vocals, the guitar? Just curious about what other people focus on and appreciate/like in a song or genre of their choice

[shy0wl 484]

I listen to a lot of instrumental music so I always appreciate the different impressions that kind of music can give people when there's no words.

[Randimaxis 8,633]

I like a song that tells a story.

 

Mind you, it doesn't have to tell that story through lyrics, either; in my humble opinion, any music worth it's salt should be able to bring to mind an image or idea, something that speaks in each note OR word of one of countless stories they can tell... and we, as human canvi, paint our own pictures with the watercolors of the mind.

 

I like to close my eyes and picture scenes, involving any number of the dizzying array within my own skull as the scene rolls on.  This usually tends to be the basis of creating a new character for me, regardless of genre.

 

And for this mental fodder, I reach into multiple cookie jars: Classic Rock, Rap, Techno, Metal, Folk, Blues, Funk, Soul, Pop... the list goes on and on.  The one thread between them?  The ability for me to see a scene that can be woven into the quilt of a roleplay, or the fibers of a story idea.

 

So, to restate my previous answer, I listen for the story in the song... even if it has nothing at all to do with the song itself.

[Discordian 6,013]

I'm with @@Randimaxis. When I listen to music I make a point to conjure up images and scenes in my head to match what I'm listening to.

 

I appreciate a song that makes these images come to mind easily. This can come in the form of literally any genre.

 

Some genres are better at it than others though. Radio pop and country tends to leave my imagination completely blank where (certain) rap and metal will get me thinking of war zones, anime battles and fast-paced sequences in general.

 

Also the fact that I can't hear lyrics for the life of me unless I listen to a song dozens of times while reading the lyrics off of a page doesn't help. All music, lyrical and otherwise, tends to be instrumental to my mind. I have to construct an emotion from the melody alone. Music without proper melody is impossible to do this with.

[Venomous 18,813]

@@Iko

Because this thread is discussing music, it has been moved to Media Discussion.

[rarity1 461]

There's a lot that I appreciate in music. I enjoy catchy music, melodic music along with great lyrics. I like music that makes me feel great or makes me think about life and stuff. The kind of music I'd like to hear depends on how I feel.

[Envy 5,996]

Instrumentation, vocal quality (if the song/piece has vocals), tonality (as it turns out, I like Minor keys the best) - Just the overall sound, that's what is the most important to me.

 

It's rare that I'll care about lyrics and the kind of story a song tells. Pretty much the only genre I'll listen to the lyrics/stories of is British Folk, and that's because they're tales of/from the distant past, and oftentimes they're pretty dark and dreary. =P

[Quinch 1,119]

Strong melody. That said, I think what's often overlooked is good percussion as well - not strong, but varied.

[Miss 6,211]

Definitely vocals. Vocals can make or break a song. Unless of course it's instrumental music such as EDM or just metal or etc. without vocals.

Not very often I like a song with bad vocals and great instrumentation. Usually the other way around, but sometimes boring instrumentation makes a song suck even if the vocals are good. However it's also deeper than that. I am just speaking on how often this happens. For example, Adele, imo, sing amazing, but I hate all her songs cuz they are boring, but it isn't exactly the instrumentation, it is repetitiveness. I don't like Nirvana, because they are also pretty boring to listen to because they just don't have anything to offer me other then their lyrics.

Rush, the instrumentation is incredible, but overall don't like them because I hate the vocals. The instrumentals of course are incredible

Kendrick Lamar, don't really like his voice, but overall the quality of his lyrics, flow, beats, etc. is more than enough for me to like him as an artist overall.

Megadeth's song, "Wake Up Dead" had bad vocals, but the instrumentation is extremely amazing and made me like the song.

But yea, vocals usually are an overpowering factor of music that I like, but it does not govern everything.

Edited August 23, 2016 by Misscellanio

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,232]

The entirety of the instrumental. While I appreciate the vocals, and moreso depending on the genre, the instruments are what pull me into the music itself. They are what gets my blood flowing and make me lose myself in the music. So listen for all of those, the guitar, the bass, the drums, the synths, strings, whatever there might be.

[~Sassy Dashie~ 712]

I like the emotion in songs the most, it's even better if the lyrics are really good.

[RealityPublishing 323]

It's mainly Innovation, actually rhyming, clever lyrics, and a tune that's orchestrated well. 

 

Well, I mean, if you didn't have any of those, it wouldn't be much of a song, eh?

[Phill 1,285]

The most important thing for me is the melody

[Radiance64 7,051]

The memorable things usually make a song for me, like catchy vocals or a nice groove. Invoking emotion is also always a big plus, though the best way to do that is hard to place and describe sometimes. Shows of technical skill are always nice too, but not neccesarily always required to make a good song imo.

[Midnight Chimes 69]

What I look for most when listening to music is something not very quantifiable; emotion. There is no set formula for what makes powerful moving music; usually it's a combination of factors when you break it down. Anything that leaves me overcome with feeling I find irresistible, as an individual who loves to indulge in sentimentality.

[God Of The Void 296]

My favorite part of any song is the harmony, whether it be simple chords or beautiful acapella.

[Moony the Cat 3,695]

I like the Sound? I specially like, if a Song has many Sounds and in the Final bit of it, they all play together.

And..i also like the Atmosphere of some Songs.

[Rawzy 1,302]

music that is atmospheric and not same old same old. Something that you can relate to emotionally.

 

 

can't be pop or rap

[Varrack 1,080]

Anything with meaningful lyrics. This tells me that the artist is putting sincere effort and a part of themselves into a song, rather than just creating a catchy tune.

[IsraelYabuki 439]

The way the music brings out the mood and emotions when you listen to it really gives you the urge of picturing an image inside your mind.

[Luminance 2,181]

Mainly the way how each certain instrument and vocal can collaborate with each other. It has to work in perfect harmony or the song will fall flat and topple down before itself.

[N.W. 3,619]

I'd say it largely depends on my mood. There are certainly songs I enjoy for the vocals/ideas/themes and some for the instruments/elements of music. Pretty much goes for all genres, sometimes I like the lyrics of metal, or the guitar, sometimes I like the violin of a classical piece, other times the upbeat of something else entirely. 

[KatonRyu 1,026]

Melody, first and foremost. In Rock, Punk and everything else with guitars I listen mainly to the vocals and the guitar. The other genre I like is Euphoric Trance, so I just listen to the main 'loop', if you can call it that. I don't like stuff that has no melody, or a very strange one.

[Lisa 5,551]

I just like stuff that sounds interesting. I don't prefer the melody, or bass, or chords, or rhythm, or harmony, or vocals/lyrics, or progression, or drums, or atmosphere, or emotion, etc.. I just like stuff that sounds intricate and different: stuff that makes you think, "Wow, that sounded pretty cool," out of nowhere. 

[Knightgem 158]

I appreciate the idea of an instrument coming together with another (if not many), building what could only be described as a story or emotion. Molding pictures/scenes in your head. Even for my OST collection, though might belong to a movie or a game, that doesn't stop my mind from wondering  in to other places the music would fit.