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Lyrics?

Petman1325

Poe Catcher
Joined
Aug 25, 2008
Location
Georgia, USA
I, going into college this fall for a degree in Music Education, usually make remembering lyrics the last thing on my list. Being the little music nerd I am, I typically first listen for things like scale, time signature, tempo, and interesting rhythms. One thing that appears a lot in modern pop music is syncopation since people seem to be attracted to up-beat things, typically seen only in marches.

Of course, half the time, I end up listening to orchestrated works, so lyrics don't show up very often (unless there is a choir accompanying an orchestra/concert band). Whenever choirs come up, I try to identify the language of the choir (Latin is a very popular language, but I've also seen Russian in there as well, and even a little German) and how well they match up to the orchestra.

Honestly, though, the only time I'll go for lyrics first is if it's a part of humor music, such as the works of The Lonely Island or other groups. Aside from that, I typically don't pay attention to the lyrics so much as I do for the whole overall sound and individual parts.
 
I often pay attention to the lyrics of a song. I didn't used to do this as often in the past, however, I have found myself listening more intently recently. I often find a song whose lyrics I can relate to personally.

Writing lyrics for song is the equivalent of writing prose of poetry. It's a series of intentional choices that the author makes to best convey an image or opinion. It's finding that perfect word that adds to the appeal of the music.

Also, today I was speaking to a guy after school and he mentioned that listening to music in a foreign language adds a whole new layer. The singer's voice becomes an instrument in and of itself.

Music is a great art form and an effective method of personal expression and to learn the lyrics to your favorite songs is not only doing a favor for the artist but also for yourself.
 

toonlink

Most Active Inactive User
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Location
Los Angeles
When i listen to a song, lyrics are second to know, next to music. I don't know why, but I have a habit of memorizing the lyrics of a song. Anyway, the lyrics don't always make sense, but they are like an extra sound to the song, if one sound fails at sounding good with the rest, you can easily tell and it will probably suck.
 

iMadMax

Zelda Masta
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Location
Canada EH
lyrics inspire people. Thats what makes people come out of depression, stress, sadness, suicide, etc. I dont think i would be here right now if music didnt exist
 
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
I definitely like music for the melodic factor. Most of the music I like is purely instrumental, and the meaning of the lyrics (if there are any) rarely adds to my appreciation of a song. Though, the human voice can be a beautiful instrument.
 
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
Location
Az
Lyrics mean alot to because thats the only way i can show people who i really am by singing
 
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
I always pay attention to the lyrics when I hear a song. Sometimes I like songs just because I like the lyrics, but I like songs just for their instrumental part as well sometimes.
It really depends on the specific song.
On the other hand I feel uncomfortable not knowing what lyrics mean. Of course there are those party songs and you feel good no matter what the lyrics say.
But when I'm in a thoughtful mood lyrics do have a certain impact on me. They make me think about topics I usually don't think about or even motivate me to do something.
So, if the lyrics are in a language I don't understand, it automatically makes me think about them and if I even agree to what I'm listening to. Usually I look them up because of that.

For me personally, lyrics are the more important part of songs ^^
 
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Location
California
Definitely yes! I have a song that I used the like, but it got annoying after a while. But the words have had a HUGE impact on me in my life. Whenever I feel left out or sad about a situation, the song helps me cheer up. If you're wondering what it's called. It's "Lucky" by Lucky Twice. Look at the lyrics for yourself. :)
 

videogamenerd10

Indigo Child
Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Location
Stuck in the material world
I always listen to the lyrics of the song. Usually, the lyrics is the whole point of the song. If you listen to the lyrics of the song, you will understand the song better as in what the singer is expresses or emoting ;)
 

Veely

Unwanted ZD Member
well it depends on what I am listening to or even singing....
Classical or Choir Music I have to understand the lyrics

Rock and other things I dont pay attention until the 100th time

In classical and choir the music that impacted me was.. so far Weep No More and I See the Heavens Glories Shine, Seal Lullaby, Jordans Angels, And something in russian about the virgin mary.... Its sad that Im not that very religous and here I am impacted by them

and for Rock and other music "Normal people" Music....
For the First Time
The One That Got Away
A Thousand Years (Christina Perri's song..I loved that song before twilight made it popular! just saying)
Breakeven
and everything else....
 
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Location
Las Vegas, NV
i think its important that the lyrics mean something to the listener.. i mean theyre using words to express something. most of the time there is a point theyre trying to get across. you can learn a lot from listening to the lyrics. but i can understand how some people wouldnt get anything out of some lyrics...cause the so called "artist" really dosnt have anything to say except "buy my records make me rich" (subliminally) and trust me thats all a lot of these retards are saying. its hard to find songs that really mean something to the listener. most people just swallow everything they hear at face value anyway and the industry knows this so screw it lets just pump out a bunch of mediocre crap and the general public will eat it up off our dirty shoes.

if youre not getting anything out of the lyrics your "favorite band" is writing, well... maybe its time to get a new favorite band cause honestly mindlessly listen to a bunch of crap you dont care about is a waste of time. im not gonna tell you what to listen to but the whole point of music is to get something out of it this includes the words. they should make you feel something. anything
 
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Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Location
Virginia
I used to really disdain people who put way too much importance in lyrics.
Aaaaaand I still kinda do.
Nowadays, I certainly think lyrics are more important,
but they will never be more important than the music, in my opinion.

Lyrics tell you how to feel, music shows you how to feel.
 

MW7

Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Location
Ohio
Sometimes I do care about lyrics but very rarely as much as I care about the actual music. Some musicians really don't care at all about the lyrics anyway. I heard that Kurt Cobain wrote lyrics usually as an afterthought after having most of the song done already (not sure if this is accurate but I think it's true). Some musicians do clearly emphasize lyrics though- the first one that I think of is Taylor Swift who seems to write about specific things in her life frequently.
 

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