It feels more universally human. Like, it takes so much more skill to portray an atmosphere/vibe without one word at all. And its doesn’t care which country you’re from, you can share it with anyone in the world, regardless of language.
If you don’t understand the language then singing is just another instrument
Acapella is just instrumental music with lyrics. 😌
Average Anime enjoyers pretending to have mastered the Japanese language 😅
I disagree that you can’t share a song with the whole world due to language. I listen to stuff in languages I don’t speak frequently. And making music out of one’s voice seems pretty darn human.
There is a time and place for instrumental for me. I like listening to it when I need to focus, as opposed to songs that sometimes distract me more.
Agree. For example, Tunak Tunak Tun. Love it, don’t understand a word. 😁
In your yard I am the Ferengi man, very odd and chunky.
Du hast
I don’t know about taking more skill, but I do like instrumental, and pretty much ignore lyrics when present.
I wouldn’t really say I prefer one over another; they both have their place to me
I enjoy both. I also enjoy music of multiple languages I don’t understand. I don’t think understanding the lyrics is necessary to enjoy a song or feel an atmosphere.
I’m not a musician, but I don’t think it’s necessarily harder to compose with instruments only. Lyrics and voice are one of many tools in music, and whether you include one or the other, you compose with what you have or choose.
Additionally, I often listen to music without consciously paying attention to or observing the lyrics.
I agree that it can be seen as more universal, though.
For an instrumental recommendation, I recommend This Will Destroy You, particularly the songs
Web links:
Yes but only because most lyrics are simple rhyming slop.
In popular music for sure, but not other genres. Have you tried listening to opera?
I love music that tells a story. That’s part of why i love prog!
Yes, I dislike opera.
Absolutely. Most songs I hear are repeating garbage. Instrumental repeat as well but it’s just not the same mickey mouse lyrics.
I like both, just depends on what I feel like listening to.
Vocals can be a good generic instrument too. See NieR: Automata soundtrack or more recently Clair Obscur, although this one have more actual sentences.
I have a little bit of a cringe-problem, so If the lyrics of a song portray some feelings I can’t imagine sharing or being worthwhile having, I can’t really listen to it.
Lyrics are also banned for background distraction music, the kind of music I listen to to block Background Noise that would be annoying me when I do homework. Listening to music like trance (my lofi beats to relax/study to replacement) moves the problem from being annoyed by noises I don’t want to hear, to slight problems having complicated thoughts I would want to vocalise out loud or in my head. So sometimes I just turn on Brown Noise (Bass-boosted White Noise), or Pink Noise where I forgot what it is, but that feels weird in the ears after 1 to 2 hours. I don’t always need to play sounds I pick, but sometimes, I really don’t want to hear other people’s noises.
Have you ever tried listening to music in another language? I find myself in a similar situation where electronic gets too busy and pulls me out of focus. Listening to lyrics I can understand also breaks focus because some amount of brain cycles are trying to comprehend them. But when I put on like some russian indie rock, I can zone out to sounds I like without that dialogue interpreter running in the back of my brain.
I’ve been feeling this with the heavier music I’ve been listening to lately. If a song is all growling/screaming I just can’t take it seriously as an example.
I view dirty vocals as an aesthetic choice rather than emotional, they pair better with distorted guitar tones, and with metal, the focus is more on rhythm than melody anyways, so a more percussive vocal style makes sense.
Edit: + I kind of like the fact you usually can’t understand the lyrics straight up, because it’s easier to ignore them if they’re bad and just enjoy the instrumentals, and if they’re good, you can still follow just fine once you know them
I don’t mind growling/screaming in music at all, but sometimes it feels like they’re trying to hard to be hard and that’s when I start rolling my eyes.
Language is irrelevant, beautiful music transcends. Weather it is lyrical melodies or harmonies… makes no difference. There are VERY many truly sublime operatic performances across a variety of genres
I listen to a lot of music in languages I don’t understand. Growing up I especially loved Rammstein. No clue what they were saying until I was older, but feeling is feeling.
There’s a time for both instrumental and vocals, and that’s of course dependent on my mood and focus. I’ll put on something like an elder scrolls soundtrack or lo fi hip hop if I need to focus.
Growing up I especially loved Rammstein. No clue what they were saying until I was older, but feeling is feeling.
I’ve generally been underwhelmed by song lyrics. I liked Rammstein in part because I couldn’t understand what they were saying in a given song.
i usually don’t catch most of the lyrics the first or second go around, so anything i hear for the first time basically sounds like this. because of that, i treat vocals like any other instrument- is the tone good? is it carrying a good melody? only if i like a song enough to listen multiple times (because of or in spite of the singer) do i start to pick up the words, which can elevate the experience if they’re good but if they’re not, nothing gained and nothing lost.
I’m on the same page as you, but really it’s for different reasons.
Oftentimes when I listen to music with vocals (especially American music), I can’t shake the feeling that the singer is being an attention whore / trying too hard.
I don’t always get that vibe, but it definitely impedes my ability to listen to a lot of tracks.
I also like that instrumental music gives me room to think.
Instrumental music for working, music with vocals the rest of the time.
80% of my listen time is probably instrumental.
