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.

  • Korhaka@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    13·
    6 days ago

    If you don’t understand the language then singing is just another instrument

  • Scott@sh.itjust.works
    9·
    7 days ago

    Absolutely. Most songs I hear are repeating garbage. Instrumental repeat as well but it’s just not the same mickey mouse lyrics.

  • Kissaki@feddit.orgEnglish
    6·
    7 days ago

    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:

  • cley_faye@lemmy.world
    8·
    7 days ago

    Vocals can be a good generic instrument too. See NieR: Automata soundtrack or more recently Clair Obscur, although this one have more actual sentences.

  • jh29a@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    6·
    7 days ago

    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.

    • Glitterbomb@lemmy.world
      1·
      7 days ago

      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.

    • MattTheProgrammer@lemmy.world
      1·
      7 days ago

      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.

      • crt0o@discuss.tchncs.de
        1·
        7 days ago

        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

        • MattTheProgrammer@lemmy.world
          1·
          7 days ago

          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.

  • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
    3·
    6 days ago

    I don’t know about taking more skill, but I do like instrumental, and pretty much ignore lyrics when present.

  • _NetNomad@fedia.io
    4·
    7 days ago

    https://youtu.be/X7R2Vl_hcCA

    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.

  • Nighed@feddit.ukEnglish
    3·
    7 days ago

    Instrumental music for working, music with vocals the rest of the time.

    80% of my listen time is probably instrumental.

  • shadshack@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    7 days ago

    I do prefer instrumental music, but for completely different reasons. Mostly for me it’s because I get earworms extremely easily, and can have a song stuck in my head for days at a time. 99% of the time it’s the lyrics that are stuck, so it’s a much lower chance to get an instrumental song stuck in my head.

  • Gsus4@mander.xyz
    3·
    7 days ago

    The issue for me is that musicated poetry has to be good poetry in first place. Generally, the voice even if good just interferes with the music unless it is a choir. Plus I’ve always had a hard time parsing lyrics by ear… I’d never considered cross-culture universality.

  • kinther@lemmy.world
    3·
    7 days ago

    I struggle to parse fast paced song lyrics, so often find myself listening more to the music than what they are saying. This has gotten me in trouble before.

    Right now I am digging Dance with the Dead’s “Driven to Madness”. Reminds me of an 80s monster movie synth/metal album.