Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Do your listening preferences 'differ' from your playing preferences?

mikekefr

By mikekefr
in The Gibson Lounge

Recommended Posts

mikekefr

mikekefr

Posted
Posted

Ive seen this change in myself w/ age,back in the day it was only the 'style' music i played then,but as the head bangin slowed and the 'musical maturity' comes into play,i find i actually like listening to stuff that i have no desire to play,my ears enjoy the change of pace and the break from listening for chord/changes,what's your thoughts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
charlie brown

charlie brown

Posted
Posted

Different, only in the fact that a lot of music I "listen to,"

is beyond what I'm "talented" enough, or at least "trained"

enough, to play. Classical, and Jazz, for two examples. But,

heck, if I can "play the blues," AND...the some of the 3-B's,

as I call them (Beatles, Byrds, Buffalo Springfield)...I'm a happy camper!

[thumbup][biggrin]

 

CB

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Riffster

Riffster

Posted
Posted

I like a lot of different genres and music from all decades.

 

I am a thrash metal fan at heart but do not play it much, I am just not fast enough and do not have folks to play that stuff with.

 

More classic rock and blues for myself, when I play with friends they are 90's guys all the way so I have learned songs that never though I would.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
milod

milod

Posted
Posted

Actually...

 

A lotta what I play is what I played from 1961 on and the general sort of things I liked long before that. I haven't arranged any opera stuff for guitar although the Liebestod would be a neat challenge. A little Bach, a little Roll Over Beethoven, some fancy chords for standards if you wanna call that "jazz"...

 

I do tend to play whatever trips my trigger from rock to blues to cowboy to country to standards... and a tad of classical stuff.

 

But I haven't really listened to much "current" stuff since the 1980s and I was on the road so much with other stuff going on in life. Still don't. Partly I think it's 'cuz it seems a lotta music lost its sense of humor. But then, that's perhaps why even in my rock and country band days it seemed overly "serious" at times. And that was a long time ago.

 

Also, not many "teen and 20" bands even think about adding an old gray-hair who isn't listening to current material. But then, they said the same thing about me at times by 1965 already...

 

Perhaps that, plus work schedule, is why I'm mostly solo work nowadays - but in varying styles.

 

m

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EvanPC

EvanPC

Posted
Posted

A lot of what I listen to could be classified as high energy/high emotion (rock/hard rock, classic rock, etc), but much or most of what I play is very mellow. I'm not really sure where this all comes from, as I certainly didn't grow up listening to or intentionally wanting to play this stuff.

 

I theorize that it's my subconscious mind seeking calm. Playing the guitar is one of the few things I do which keeps me from thinking about anything else. Mellow, calm sounds probably relax me, and my subconscious is much more aware of the importance of this than my conscious mind is.

 

The downfall of all this, however, is constantly coming up with material that sounds like I'm trying to lull a listener to sleep....go figure. [rolleyes]

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cruznolfart

Cruznolfart

Posted
Posted

I enjoy listening to most musical styles but am capable of playing only a limited few. Rock, Blues, Folk and some Highland drumming. It's enough to make me happy and to have earned a decent second income for several years. Most of the time I'm tuned to Blues at home or in the truck. But I switch to Country or Jazz now and then, classical for dinner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
saturn

saturn

Posted
Posted

I will listen to almost anything if I'm in the right mood. But then again, I might just try to play anything too. Even if it's something I might never play in my band or perform, I wouldn't ever rule out at least attempting to play any song or style of music in my own home.

 

But for real intents and purposes, yes. My listening preferences sometimes differ from my playing preferences.

 

How's that for a vague answer? [biggrin]

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bonzoboy

bonzoboy

Posted
Posted

I listen to a lot of classical music and I love Indian music,especially that of Ravi Shankar but I don't play any of it.Then again I listen to a lot of Beatles and Hendrix and that's about 90% of what I play.I'd love to be able to play classical like Pepé Romero,Julian Bream,Eliot Fisk et al but I just can't get the hang of finger picking even after 45 years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Harmonics101

Harmonics101

Posted
Posted

There are musicians that I attempt to emulate, like Townsend , Neil Young , Zappa , Dylan,

 

Though I don't actually play lots of their tunes , its just their technique that I try to learn.

 

I prefer to play blue grass traditional , G D and C , real simple progressions and stuff that's my own.

 

I'll listen to almost ANYTHING , but to tell you the truth , I don't really put in Townsend or Young (unless its Harvest Moon) or newer genres and artists.

 

I guess I just haven't caught on to that IPod and carrying an MP3 around and stick buds in my ear.

 

I've tried playing musicians stuff but it just don't sound that great and I just don't have the patience to make it sound good or original to the piece.

 

I was just at the local bluegrass jam this past weekend and THAT'S how I enjoy to play and spend my time and that's improv.

 

Sometimes it sounds pretty decent, other times it can get a bit clinky but hey , you try to finish gracefully and move on.

 

Good question , got me thinkin' that's for sure,

 

Harmonics101

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LarryUK

LarryUK

Posted
Posted

If its good I listen to it. Whether it be Justin Beiber or Sick Puppies. I listen to whatever my mood takes me. I've been listening to the Foo Fighters a lot recently. But I've listened to Bill Withers and Lady Gaga too.

I play whatever I fancy. But when I listen to Andy Timmons or Satriani I wish I could play like them. I honestly don't think it's down to practice. You either can or can't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mikesocarras

mikesocarras

Posted
Posted

Ive seen this change in myself w/ age,back in the day it was only the 'style' music i played then,but as the head bangin slowed and the 'musical maturity' comes into play,i find i actually like listening to stuff that i have no desire to play,my ears enjoy the change of pace and the break from listening for chord/changes,what's your thoughts?

 

i feel exactly the same way. and the same thing pertains. i like listening to other stuff but do not play it. i always play my own way but listen to different stuff ive just grown out of that phase although i do still dabble in it from time to time...sometimes i need it the heavy stuff but today couldnt do it. had to be something more relaxing due to the rough days behind me..

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kaleb

kaleb

Posted
Posted

I listen to a lot of thrash metal (Slayer in particular), and RUSH! But, playing wise, I am more in the Ace Frehley vein. I like to rock. I like power chords. I like punch. I like rip roarin' solos. I like melodies. I have no real intent of pursuing the chug-chug-chug-chug divebomb arena or any songs with unorthodox scales, triads, odd time signature, mystical lyricism (although I love it). I'll write a song about life on the street boy's side (not Satanic subjects or a fictional world where music is illegal. Yes I am talkin' bout' 2112!) with a simple yet chest-hitting chord pattern and a solo based in the first order penatonic scale.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

Posted
Posted

I play pop music, and a wide variety of that including rock, jazz, blues, country, salsa, reggae, swing, disco, and so on.

 

I enjoy listening to all of these forms.

 

But what I like listening to the most is "classical" symphonic music from the romantic era to the present. Favorite composers include (in no special order) Dvorak, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Suk, Shostakovitch, Rimsky-Korsakov, De Falla, Beethoven (from Eroica on), Respighi, Saint Seans, Grieg, Janacek, Glazunov, Albeniz, Borodin, Smetana, Mussorgsky, etc.

 

I've been in love with this kind of music since I was a kid in school band. I went through a jazz phase where I put it down for a few years, but other than that, it's been my trusted friend since I was about 14. Although I played this kind of music in symphonic band, I haven't played it since.

 

So in the car my iPod is filled with about 10,000 tunes from mostly non-classical songs (classical is difficult in the vehicle due to the length and dynamics of the compositions), and at home it's mostly symphonic.

 

Notes

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Vega1

Vega1

Posted
Posted

Ive seen this change in myself w/ age,back in the day it was only the 'style' music i played then,but as the head bangin slowed and the 'musical maturity' comes into play,i find i actually like listening to stuff that i have no desire to play,my ears enjoy the change of pace and the break from listening for chord/changes,what's your thoughts?

 

Yes, I have the same experience although I would put it slightly differently. When I was younger, while I had what I consider to be a broad palette of listening habits, it was *all* guitar. Through the 80's and 90's I was listening to classical, pop, rock, metal, new age, folk, bluegrass. But if it didn't have a guitar in it, I was not interested. Even for classical the only reason I would listen to symphonic classical was to hear the source material for the classical guitar I was listening to.

 

Now, in my 40's, I still have a really broad set of tastes, and I still gravitate towards guitars, but I find myself much more tolerant of non-guitar oriented music and artists.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pippy

pippy

Posted
Posted

I like what I play but I can't play all I like!

 

My father was a devotee of 'Classical' music and '30's - '50's jazz so I've been listening to the likes of Segovia, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt literally all my life. I'd love to have the skill to play Classical; I'd love to have the time and skill to learn G-J; I've long been a fan of 'folk' music from the likes of Stefan Grossman, John Renbourn, Leo Kottke and John Martyn, but until recently had hardly played any acoustic whatsoever.

 

Perhaps in my retirement...

 

P.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...