What's Most Important To You??????????????

richardp69

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I've been having a series of discussions with some of my player/songwriter friends and also folks that don't play but just love good music. We've been discussing what's most important to each of us in a song. It ranges from lyrics, to vocal quality, to great harmonies, to great guitars/instruments to a really good, catchy beat. Obviously, there's no right or wrong answer here, I'm just curious what ya'll think.

I can tell you that for me it's the lyrics of a song. That's what always grabs me and makes me pay attention.
 

Rich Cohen

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I agree with you, Richard. After all, the listener receives the song through the words. However, there are moments and times when the music gushes forth in one's experience of the song, and if the musical interpretation enhances the meaning of the song, then it becomes difficult to parse the effects of the two and quantify them.
 

geoguy

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Depends on the song, for me. Sometimes a lyric, sometimes a melody, sometimes a groove . . .

Here's a lovely instrumental that I greatly enjoy. "Before You Knew", written by Duke Levine (the tele player).

 

Bonneville88

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Wow Richard... what a question! I had exposure to and enough good formal music education as a youth
to deeply appreciate instrumental music... from baroque, to classical, from jazz to folk... so for me, as much
as I enjoy sung songs, I can enjoy music without lyrics just as deeply, even though personally I'm pretty much just a
singer / strummer at this point...
 

Antney

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First and foremost it's the music...the melody, the backbeat, the space each instrument holds in the composition.

A close second is the type of strings on the guitars
 

GAD

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Lyrics come last for me. If I love the melody and harmonies, you could get me to listen to a song about eating puppies for months before I figured out what it was about.
 

dreadnut

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Seems to me when I hear a good song, I can't sit still, I have to move with it somehow.

Something I've also discovered with music: It's sticky, i.e., memories stick to the songs we love and those memories are revived when we hear the songs.
 

Quantum Strummer

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I'm pretty much with GAD on this one. I hear rhythm and melody first, then (if there's singing) the sound of the singer's voice(s). I also listen to a lot of music either with no singing or with lyrics sung in languages I don't understand. When Sigur Rós released their Ágætus byrjun album (it's great!) in 1999 it was quite awhile before I found out the songs were sung in a made-up language. Not that this mattered to me as I don't speak Icelandic. :)

-Dave-
 

steve488

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For my part it is not a "one size fits all" type of answer. I think there are times where there is an emotional tie where the music or the lyrics bring forth a memory (or desire). Barbers Adagio for Strings is a beautiful piece of music but when used as it was in the movie Platoon becomes a representative a much stronger event - one that is both sad and haunting at the same time. Without lyrics it has to be the music. On the other hand, Embryonic Journey is a full instrumental for a happy acid trip. On another side, Traffic's You Can All Join In is nothing more than a silly "diddy" and yet the rhythm, chord progressions and words all go together to make a song that will stick in your head and provide happy memories 50 years later. I do think it is more often the music that makes the connection for people more than the lyrics.I also thing the environment plays a role as well. A long road trip would be well served with something with an upbeat strong rhythm rather then the Adagio noted above. Driving the kids to Grandma's house on Christmas morning would be a lyrics winner for sure. Sunday evening with a cold drink in hand allows one to relax and take in the complexities of the music or the message in the lyrics. It is all relative.........
 

Westerly Wood

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I've been having a series of discussions with some of my player/songwriter friends and also folks that don't play but just love good music. We've been discussing what's most important to each of us in a song. It ranges from lyrics, to vocal quality, to great harmonies, to great guitars/instruments to a really good, catchy beat. Obviously, there's no right or wrong answer here, I'm just curious what ya'll think.

I can tell you that for me it's the lyrics of a song. That's what always grabs me and makes me pay attention.

the progression or groove of the song.
 

walrus

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I'd have to say "all of the above". Not a very "thoughtful" answer, perhaps, but everything you all have mentioned can make me like a song, including instrumentals. I can't break it down like some of you have...

walrus
 

Neal

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To me, it's all about the "hook". That opening lick/groove that lays the foundation for the song, which then gets tastefully revisited at just the right time throughout the song to tie it together.

I had the great honor of playing a song last Saturday at my daughter's wedding reception, a tune that I composed earlier in the week. The emotion was raw, the words were from the heart, but it was the opening chord progression that got 150 people to feel what I was feeling.

Best. Feeling. Ever.
 

JohnW63

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What was the chord progression, Neal ?

What is important to me depends on the song. Some songs are just so darn toe tapping that I like them without even getting all the words. There are probably songs I've known for years, that I STILL don't know all the words. Some songs ARE about the words. Simon and Garfunkel stuff comes to mind. Some really fun songs are all about the groove and the hook. Ever try and listen to the words Jon Anderson uses in Yes songs ? He admits some are just there for the flow of the phrases, not what they mean.
 

tjmangum

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I'd have to say "all of the above". Not a very "thoughtful" answer, perhaps, but everything you all have mentioned can make me like a song, including instrumentals. I can't break it down like some of you have...
walrus
Ditto. The first song that really hooked me was Classical Gas and some of Ventures tunes, which were a bit before my time. But I love a lot of singer -songwriter tunes, whether they be Prine, Gordon Lightfoot, Paul Simon, James Taylor etc. Music in so many ways can be magical.
 

bobouz

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Without a doubt for me, it's the music first.

Grew up on 50s & 60s rock & roll - then blues, bluegrass, and jazz.

These days, I listen to (and play) instrumentals almost exclusively.
 

fronobulax

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When I was but a lad in Middle School, my teacher said to me, that the Elements of Music were


  • Melody
  • Rhythm
  • Harmony
  • Tone Color
  • Form
  • Dynamics

While the list can be debated, it has served me well for decades.

I first note that "lyrics" don't seem to fit anywhere on this list. I won't comment since we just went through the flip side of that debate with Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize. That does suggest that the "song" consisting of both lyrics and music (as defined) above, includes and transcends both literature and music.

For me the lyrics as usually a distraction. But in my old age I have come to appreciate composers who are trying to tell a story with their lyrics and appreciate a good story. "Lyin' Eyes" (Eagles) is one example. I ignored the song for years and then listened one day and realized there was an interesting, well crafted story there.

But, to end the post-coffee digression, it's the Rhythm. If a song has a Groove, it has me. I will even admit to listening to drum solos and percussion ensembles.
 

dreadnut

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Remember when Carlos Santana released "Smooth?" Hadn't heard from him in years, then all of a sudden there he was again. After the first few drumbeats and guitar notes I said "Carlos!" Unmistakably so, I was rocking out to that song the very first time I heard it.
 

killdeer43

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I've said it before and I'll say it again....LYRICS for me!
I like a good story and I see the music/melody as a complement to the tale. It's been that way since my first solo performance of Barbara Allen when I was in 5th grade.
:cheerful:

Joe
 

rampside

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Regardless of what the components are, if a song grabs my attention and draws me in and I'm thinking "Wow that's good'.
 
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