What makes you like a song?Music 

  • Thread starter Lukanyon
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Lately I've been thinking about what makes me like any kind of music. I've never been tied to a single genre: I started listening to pop music, and since then some other genres have been added naturally: R&B, Alternative, Hip-hop, Acapella, K-Pop, and more recently, Metal.

I've been a musician (although not as a profession) for 13 years. I also have perfect pitch, which makes me very sensitive to the instruments. Sometimes I might like a song just because of its chords, without even paying attention to the lyrics. I tell my friends that I like songs that "challenge my ears". :lol:

Another thing that I've noticed is that I listen a lot of female singers, much more than male. Maybe that's because of the instrument's influence: I'm always thinking about chords and harmony. Being a man, it's easier to"complete the harmony in my head" when the voice that I'm listening to isn't at the same range as mine.

What makes you guys like the songs that you listen to? Also sorry if my English is bad :dunce:
 
It’s such an open question, so many things can make me like a song, a certain chord progression, a catchy chorus etc..

I can appreciate any music when I can tell the artist has talent, or artists.

One of my favourite bands, Between the buried and Me, in my opinion have everything required to create amazing music. Technical metal, slick solos, fast riffs, amazing drummer, singer that can do it all.. even switching up to a French Riviera accordion section or Wild West bar fight. Every album start to finish is near flawless, and they’re incredible to watch live.

On the flip side, I love my Motown, pop punk, big band, classic rock, etc... What makes a good song for me, in essence, is originality.
 
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Whether it's good or not.

Sorry for the necropost.
 
That's a bit like asking what makes you like a particular food, movie, drink, person etc. It's something that you can't really explain to be honest.
 
That's a bit like asking what makes you like a particular food, movie, drink, person etc. It's something that you can't really explain to be honest.
It can be explained if your favourite songs / tracks share recurring characteristics.
 
It can be explained if your favourite songs / tracks share recurring characteristics.
To a degree I suppose, but then how do you explain why you like such characteristics? Maybe I'm just thinking too deeply on it 🤷‍♀️
 
What makes me like a song? 🤔

It's changed a lot over the years, I can tell you that. Fun beats, nice vocal lines, or even shocking lyrical contents, etc, drew me to a song in my younger years. But as I got older, lyrical contents and the vocalists' chops got less important. Nowadays it's all about "good melodies". It doesn't matter how complicated or dense the composition is or what genre is, a song just needs to have what I consider "good melodies" and I'll be inclined to listen to it.

Maybe that explains why I've basically fallen out of love of hip-hop for the last decade or so...
 
Does your definition of "song" need to include sung lyrics? Because even if it does, I feel like I don't understand enough about music theory to say something of note.
 
Needs to make me play it on repeat multiple times. Gives me the chill and/or spine tingle. Drums have to be on point.
 
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For me I listen for the lyrics how it is arranged and how the person singing matches the rest of the song. I listen for the different instruments and try to see which ones stand out. Also if I don't like initial hook I probably won't like the rest of the song.
 


Random example but it boils down to something has to initially grab my attention. Anything counts, like:
  • Initial buildup. Repetitive yet changes just enough to not be boring
  • 1:04 Dat bass, almost involuntarily fingerpicking an air bass as I type
  • Decidedly normal guitar solo when compared to their usual work at 2:24, quite early in the song when compared to it's 7:13 run-time
 
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I think for me, the biggest factor is being able to listen to it multiple times and still find something new to enjoy. A song I love to death is Duncan Sheik's "Barely Breathing". The song is 28 years old and I'm still hearing things for the first time. Whether it's the clever lyrics, the background fuzztone guitar, the piano in the bridge, there's always something new to focus on.
 
Music industry has changed a lot the past decade. Most mainstream music is like water-from-the-faucet, commoditized. But bland, a dime a dozen. I like indie, innovative, original stuff, like you can find on Soundcloud. Typically not technically perfect but that doesn't matter to me. Mainstream is technically perfect, but no soul.
 
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