How to music ? Serious question.

PattyRo · 07-09-2013, 01:03 AM

Music is a story, a painting, a way to evoke emotions. The artist who writes the song wants to convey certain emotions in you ... with the lyrics or the music itself (chord progressions or instruments) ... you should try to find which songs get you to feel those feelings, either happy, sad, melancholic, angry, etc.

Gavin B. · 07-09-2013, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToneDeafBarbarian

Hello,

I come to you with a weird question. Despite being 34 years old, I own not a single casette, CD, or (music) MP3. I know no band names, nor song names, other than what I hear on the news for some reason. Everyone in my family is the same, pretty much.

Now, I don't hate music. I just never really got into it. In our home, we didn't listen to music, nor talk about it, and as weird as it sounds, I just have no sense for music. Often, friends have put on their CDs for me and made me listen to this or that song, but it's all just noise to me. It doesn't touch me in any way. We are also all incredibly music-retarded: we can't even tap in synch with a song on the radio.

Time to end that. I'd like to, uh, 'get into' music, and I'm looking for advice. I've been listening to the radio for the past year or so, ("the best from the 80s, 90s and today!"), and I guess that's alright. What would you recommend ?

I'm not so much looking for band or song advice, but for listening advice, I guess. Do you sit down and do nothing while listening to a new album for the first time ? Do you just queue it up and listen to it in the background ? How do you find music you like ?

I was also hoping to get into music while running/jogging, but I suppose you'd look for songs with the same BPM for something like that. How on Earth would one go about finding that ?

As you can see, I'm quite lost, and looking for some guidance that goes beyond "Listen to this band, dude, it's the best!"

I think this guy is totally pulling our leg. Tribal people living in the most remote regions of the Somalian desert regions know who Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder are. Goat herders in rural Estonia know who the Beatles and Rolling Stones are.

Was this guy raised by wolves; or maybe he was held hostage in root cellar for three and a half decades?

This guy is telling us he's been around 34 years and can't name a single band or a single song. Impossible!

He gives himself away when he casually throws out the term "BPM" (beats per minute), which is a term mostly known to club deejays.

misspoptart · 07-09-2013, 07:03 AM

I was thinking the same, Gavin. It's really strange. If you have internet...you cannot possible be in the situation the OP described.

theshipsong · 07-09-2013, 11:30 AM

It is a strange situation for sure. As someone who's always loved music it's hard to relate, though everyone's wired differently. I'll give the benefit of the doubt for now and think of how my mind refuses to work with numbers. They just fall out of my head.

When I'm checking out a new artist I usually put them on while I'm doing something mundane, like cleaning. I know I really like something when my attention is grabbed away from what I'm doing and I get lost in listening. There will always be tomorrow for the dusting and washing!

ToneDeafBarbarian · 07-09-2013, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavin B.

I think this guy is totally pulling our leg. Tribal people living in the most remote regions of the Somalian desert regions know who Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder are. Goat herders in rural Estonia know who the Beatles and Rolling Stones are.

Was this guy raised by wolves; or maybe he was held hostage in root cellar for three and a half decades?

This guy is telling us he's been around 34 years and can't name a single band or a single song. Impossible!

Indeed impossible, and if such a guy shows up, be sure to tell him about that. In this case, however, it appears that you have built up a so called straw-man argument: you invent something that the other person, in this case me, hasn't actually said, only to tear it down. If you reread what you yourself actually quoted, you will see that I have said no such thing as what you claim above:

"I know no band names, nor song names, other than what I hear on the news for some reason."

Obviously, I have heard all of the names (other than Marvin Gaye) you mentioned above on the news many times.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavin B.

He gives himself away when he casually throws out the term "BPM" (beats per minute), which is a term mostly known to club deejays.

I'm afraid your cleverness has led you astray. It is also a term known to people who like to go running, and read running forums where people post about selecting songs based on BPM to match their running speeds. There are even apps for it, though I can't imagine playlists produced like that would work very well. Which is why I asked here about it.

I certainly recognize your hostile tone and the accusation that I am trolling, but frankly, I don't really think there is anything I can do to convince you that you are mistaken, and as this thread has, other than your reply, only produced positive feedback for me, and doesn't seem to have bothered anyone else, I recommend simply ignoring me until I go away or I stop being musically retarded. I'll even promise you I won't make any other threads if it helps.

For the rest, I have another question: with a book series or a TV show or games, I would start with the first one if I suspected I liked something. Is that a wise idea for bands as well ? Or should I stick to the most recent stuff and move backwards later ?

Urban Hat€monger ? · 07-09-2013, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToneDeafBarbarian

For the rest, I have another question: with a book series or a TV show or games, I would start with the first one if I suspected I liked something. Is that a wise idea for bands as well ? Or should I stick to the most recent stuff and move backwards later ?

It's your life, do what you want.

07-09-2013, 01:03 AM	#21 (permalink)
PattyRo Groupie Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 5	Music is a story, a painting, a way to evoke emotions. The artist who writes the song wants to convey certain emotions in you ... with the lyrics or the music itself (chord progressions or instruments) ... you should try to find which songs get you to feel those feelings, either happy, sad, melancholic, angry, etc.

07-09-2013, 07:03 AM	#23 (permalink)
misspoptart gimme gimme Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: istanbul Posts: 897	I was thinking the same, Gavin. It's really strange. If you have internet...you cannot possible be in the situation the OP described.

07-09-2013, 11:30 AM	#24 (permalink)
theshipsong Groupie Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 6	It is a strange situation for sure. As someone who's always loved music it's hard to relate, though everyone's wired differently. I'll give the benefit of the doubt for now and think of how my mind refuses to work with numbers. They just fall out of my head. When I'm checking out a new artist I usually put them on while I'm doing something mundane, like cleaning. I know I really like something when my attention is grabbed away from what I'm doing and I get lost in listening. There will always be tomorrow for the dusting and washing!