Sunday, October 9, 2011
Emotions from music
I connect most to music through the emotions it causes. I especially like music that conveys intense emotions on both spectrums of happy and angry. Just about my favorite genera is heavy metal. Many heavy metal songs are in a minor key with many uncomfortable intervals such as tri tones. It keeps you on edge and builds up your energy levels. However I can relate the feeling I receive listening to Beethoven's Fifth to the song Painkiller by Judas Priest. They may be completely different genres but they both give me high, similar emotions.
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That's interesting. For me, when I talk about emotional reaction to pieces, I tend to get a very different reaction across genres.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think I feel most connected to music when I am expressing an emotion through a performance rather than listening. Although, I will say I rarely listen to music - maybe I should change that.
I completely agree with Kyle. For me, music is all about the emotions. All of my favorite songs all hit me with some sort of overwhelming emotion, be it happiness, sadness, or anything else. I, like Kyle, listen to a lot of heavy metal music, but only when I want to feel energetic or if I am angry. I usually listen to different genres of music or even different artists in the same genre depending on my mood or the emotions I am feeling at that point in time. Depending on my mood, I can go from Heavy metal to classic rock to the blues to contemporary music and everything in between all in a matter of minutes.
ReplyDeleteI'm not big into metal...probably because it's hard to find the melody ;)
ReplyDeleteBut I will say that I also like music that conveys a lot of emotion, whether it's singing or playing an instrument. That's cool that you're able to relate two completely different genres of music, and that they're able to give you the same feeling. I feel that some of the music I listen to are the same way...I just don't realize it :D Unlike you Joey :P my connection to music is probably the same whether I'm the listener or the performer.
I personally believe that all music conveys some form of emotion. If I listen to my itunes library on shuffle I can come away after a while in a completely different mood than I was in before. In just a short timespan and without any other medium of expression, I'm changed. That's what I love most about music.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with Kyle. The kind of music really depends on the mood I'm in and I think it kind of also determines how my day will go. I think it's interesting that you are able to relate heavy metal to classical that easily. I think that listening to different kinds of music can help with expression in our own performances.
ReplyDeleteSo, thinking along Christopher Small-like lines, does the emotion come from the piece itself or from the performance?
ReplyDeleteI think that the emotion comes from both the piece and the performance. It's rare that composers specifically write out the exact emotions they want to convey because music does that itself (most of the time). Like we've discussed in class, performances get boring without emotion.
ReplyDeleteI honestly have a hard time understanding what my music tells me. I've been told on many occasions that I sound like I have a metronome on the entire time I'm playing. It's not that I can't express emotion in my music, it's just that I tend to be more focused on what I see in front of me rather than paying attention to how I feel when I play a piece.
I personnally agree with kelsey I think that the excitement comes from a variety of factors, including the music, the environment, the moment in history, and the performers. All of these aspects of the performance add to the affect the performance gives and the emotion conveyed. Great performers use great moments to convey their message, using all of these aspects to say something. Not only must they perform to perfection and be a great communicator through their music, but they must also use a unique and powerful moment to create a truly memorable and touching performance.
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