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How do you visualize or experience music?

Coriolis

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"The Scientist"
I could never get the point of this song. The whole thing seems incredibly half-hearted, from the words to the music to the actual performance, just everything. It's as if they are not even trying and can't be bothered. Perhaps that is the point.
 

Frosty

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I dont visualize it- but I DO- I do sometimes- often- have a musical soundtrack come and sort of describe events/feelings- in my life. Like Ill have something happen and then a song will come up to sort of like- add to the picture.

I dont see music. Or hear colors. Or anything like that. We were talking about that in one of my classes and I made a joke of- no thanks- I have enough shit going on without seeing auras or like tasting sounds.

No thanks. Im good. Dont need MORE.
 

Dreamer

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I could never get the point of this song. The whole thing seems incredibly half-hearted, from the words to the music to the actual performance, just everything. It's as if they are not even trying and can't be bothered. Perhaps that is the point.

Mean! :mad:

If it clarifies anything, I typically use that particular song to get entranced and lost in thought. My focus doesn't tend to remain on the song all that long. Similar to Moonlight Sonata how there is, overall, little differentiation that shouts attention to itself at every bar.
 

Coriolis

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Mean! :mad:

If it clarifies anything, I typically use that particular song to get entranced and lost in thought. My focus doesn't tend to remain on the song all that long. Similar to Moonlight Sonata how there is, overall, little differentiation that shouts attention to itself at every bar.
That is what Philip Glass is for. Also try the soundtrack from Solaris sometime. (Moonlight Sonata has much more variation in it than that, if played with correct dynamics and emphasis.)

Also, how can my subjective opinion about a piece of music be mean? That's honestly what I think when I hear it.
 

Dreamer

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That is what Philip Glass is for. Also try the soundtrack from Solaris sometime. (Moonlight Sonata has much more variation in it than that, if played with correct dynamics and emphasis.) Also, how can my subjective opinion about a piece of music be mean? That's honestly what I think when I hear it.

I mean, ok fair point. Moonlight Sonata is one of the few songs I taught myself on piano so I know that there are undulations and curves. It's not quite THAT linear. I haven't listened to the Solaris soundtrack, I shall do that now!

And, I was just playing with you in using that mean face. ;)

But, if you'd like some feedback on the matter, it can be construed as "mean" or hurtful to someone if you express your negative opinion just as they've explained how much they like it. It can feel like an attack because well, why else share that bit of information other than to share that you too, are aware of the song. It's like attempting to be empathetic towards something that isn't intended to be an emotional experience or bond. The negative opinion doesn't add anything to the positive emotion being felt by that person. Now, if they asked for your opinion, all hands off deck, feel free to tear it to pieces! I didn't quite have the words or linear thought to describe it but hopefully that makes sense.
 

Coriolis

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I mean, ok fair point. Moonlight Sonata is one of the few songs I taught myself on piano so I know that there are undulations and curves. It's not quite THAT linear. I haven't listened to the Solaris soundtrack, I shall do that now!

And, I was just playing with you in using that mean face. ;)

But, if you'd like some feedback on the matter, it can be construed as "mean" or hurtful to someone if you express your negative opinion just as they've explained how much they like it. It can feel like an attack because well, why else share that bit of information other than to share that you too, are aware of the song. It's like attempting to be empathetic towards something that isn't intended to be an emotional experience or bond. The negative opinion doesn't add anything to the positive emotion being felt by that person. Now, if they asked for your opinion, all hands off deck, feel free to tear it to pieces! I didn't quite have the words or linear thought to describe it but hopefully that makes sense.
Not too much. Music and art are subjective. Your positive opinion and my negative one are equally valid, and can easily coexist. If I was going to get worked up about other people having a negative opinion of things I like, well, I would have landed in the asylum long ago. In this case I was hoping you could explain what you hear in it, and what I might be overlooking. Quite a few people mention liking it, and unlike other music that I can say is just not my taste, this seems like something I might like, it just falls short.
 

Ingrid in grids

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Sometimes songs appeal to me in a visual way, but mostly the experience of listening does not have a visual component for me. The experience is more like inflections of emotion.
 

Tater

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Music communicates emotions, inflections, and concepts where words fail. Like with almost every other subject matter, I have a very visual thought process with music. I remember listening to Bach and Beethoven in grade school and visualizing hunters on horseback and hounds chasing a fox. At the moment, I'm listening to industrial music that makes me think of a spider moving mechanically and rigidly down the surface of a wall.
 

Jaguar

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"The Scientist" and "Fix You" are two of my go-to songs to bring me more in tune with my emotions. Not just negative or bleak emotions either. That point in "Fix You" about, 3/4 the way in where the music suddenly "releases", I can feel an internal freedom and weightlessness come alive on so many levels, it's sublime.

I'm not big on "The Scientist" but "Fix You" gives me chills, especially live.

 

Stigmata

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Music the force which sets the landscape and the atmosphere for my imagination. Often times I like to simply lay around with my headphones on with my eyes closed and enjoy the vivid imagery my mind conjures as I enjoy the brief separation from the physical realm.

Usually, what I'm listening to is highly indicative of my mood -- Whereas some people can listen to music to heighten their energy level or alter their mood, for me, the dissonance between sound and emotion is just too uncomfortable, and I have to find something to listen to that suits how I'm feeling at that moment.

Unfortunately I just don't have the free time these days to scour the internet in search of new sounds, genres, and musicians the same way I used to, say, 6 or 7 years ago -- Some of the best periods in my life where I felt "whole" were where I put my headphones on and use long walks as periods of deep introspection.
 

Lyra.I

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That.. is a loaded question * -*

I've noticed something really fascinating happens between different sensory inputs, the mind makes all kinds of associations among them. Certain tunes may remind me of certain visuals or flavours or even specific/ambiguous memories. For example, i started exploring a new genre of music some time ago and at the time, i was using a particular hand wash with a distinct scent. Whenever i use it now, i'm reminded not just of the music itself, but the overall "vibe" or feel of it and how i felt when i first started listening to it. And that's an association between two solid things still, things that were experienced first hand- audio and olfactory; often there's associations between things which aren't even connected in the real world. Since childhood i've always seen the subject English as red and Math as blue for some reason, and it's weird and happens rarely but to this day, i sometimes mistakenly say "red" instead of the word "english".
 

Fluffywolf

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I listen to radio alot due to driving a lot. But it's sort of just in the background.

Pop music, etc, generally doesn't do much for me. Occasionally a catchy song comes along that I like, but generally radio in The Netherlands is all crap. There's no station that really plays any fringe music or stuff you'd normally never hear.

But sometimes songs come along that I can really 'glide' into listening to while driving, for example.


or


But it is pretty rare for me to really get into pop music.

When I listen to music at home it is usually movie music, epic scores, etc. Stuff that get my creative juices flowing experiencing new worlds and great empowering scenes. Usually I put on some mix from youtube, not knowing what songs will be in them. But of course often you do hear the same songs. But that's fine.

I can really get into stuff like




Aside from that, occasionally I stumble into songs that I momentarily really get into and just put on repeat while zoning out. Usually end up never listening to them again after, haha.


And sometimes I find a song that I shouldn't like as much as I do as well, for example I stumbled on this one couple of weeks ago.


Normally I wouldn't really get into such a song, but for some reason I get goosebumps everytime I listen to it. Well, it's probably to do with amazing artists delivering an awesome performance. That timed cheer too though. Oof.


And lastly I enjoy weird stuff as well occasionally, for example while we are on the subject of woodkid...


It's weirdly awesome.



Also, I relate to the lyrics of this song a whole lot, so occasionally I end up just listening to it and have been going back to it for years. It's a very Si song.



In fact now that I think about it, my experiences with music seems to have to do a lot with tertiary Si.
 

The Cat

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I've a kind of synesthesia, so it really depends on the music, the setting and my mood, but music can be experienced in any number of ways for me, There's often a nebulous spectral quality to music that I can experience through a few senses. Classical guitar is like the spring rain on parched soil in an oppressive heat. Heavy base lines are like when logs break in a bon fire, a shower of hot sparks filling the dark places; lively pop music can be like a tingle of electricity with the snap of a kind of citrus ozone. Chillstep is like colored snakes that swim through the air. Sad country songs taste like cheap beer and expensive sweet dreams pawned for the copper of dirty pennies. Things like that.
 

Lord Lavender

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Personally for me I tend to link emotions and landscapes with my musical taste. Like for instance each song has a unique landscape and emotional feeling for me. Like for instance 19/2000 by Gorrilaz conjures up a city filled with nightclubs with cars street racing everywhere and everyone is wearing fashionable wear which makes me feel awe.
 
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