when listening to music,which do you like or notice first,the beat or lyrics?
By dierdre
@dierdre (2207)
Philippines
June 11, 2008 6:57pm CST
well, if you ask me, i personally pay attention to the beat first. its hard to ignore the lyrics though, coz as im writing this topic, im actually listening to music so as to have some "credible opinion" for this topic. well, i personally like music for their beat, so if i dont like the beat of the song or the "rhythm" so to speak then.. well, i simply dont like it. and i end up not downloading it. hehe. i tend to listen to the beat more than the lyrics so i like to choose a bitrate of 128 or higher. lower than 128, i tend to search for the same file with a higher bitrate coz i like to hear every little sound from the record, with emphasized bass. (my ideal bitrate would be 192 kbps for 3-4 minute songs). then i listen to the lyrics. sometimes i dont like a song when i first hear it, but it reminds me of someone or something or i can relate to it, so i tend to moderately like the song as well, not coz of the beat, but their "inspiring" or "nostalgia-inducing" lyrics. so how about you, which part of music do you like or notice more, the beat or lyrics? or both? or you dont care coz you dont really like to listen to music at all?
6 people like this
31 responses
@Darkwing (21583)
•
15 Jun 08
I'm completely opposite to you... I like a song to mean something, so I listen to the lyrics first. It's always better if the tune is good too, but beat doesn't worry me. It can be any sort of beat. However, if I want a "happy" song, to cheer me up, then the beat comes first... the lyrics are not so important.
Brightest Blessings.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
15 Jun 08
oh i see, another lyrics vote. seems like you prefer songs with substance and meaning as opposed to a song that just sounds good, but meaningless or uninspiring. and yeah, if you want a happy song, beat should always be foremost. you can even listen to instrumental ones like trance and house music. 
1 person likes this
@arshdeep79 (231)
• India
12 Jun 08
according to me both matters .i love songs those on top of both for example listen the songe from filter that is "take a picture " i really love this one.and enrique is gud also in both
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
12 Jun 08
oh enrique has some songs that i like as well.. yeah i remember that song "take a picture" hehe forgot the lyrics to that one except for the chorus LOL so it has to to have a nice beat and lyrics for you to like it.. hmmm you must be pretty choosy when it comes to songs, LOL 
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
14 Jun 08
"alone" huh? yeah i kinda agree, we must concentrate on the music to appreciate it, beat-wise and lyrics-wise.. but you know what, i prefer listening to it on the earphones rather than radios. the sound is better and i can turn the volume up without bothering anyone.
@arshdeep79 (231)
• India
13 Jun 08
yep i am choosy.i think every one else as well choosy no one can listen any song .a song becomes ur favorite only wen u listen i alone.thats i think
@CardboardWaves (346)
• United States
13 Jun 08
I listen to the beat first. If I like how the song starts then I will learn the lyrics. So the beat has to catch my attention for me to listen to the lyrics. If I like the beat and not the lyrics I make up my own I like! (:
@Valenas (1507)
• United States
12 Jun 08
I have the terrible need to focus on more than two things at the same time. For instance, right now I am watching Ghost Hunters, and listening, in the background, listening to my fingers hit the keyboard, and reading what I am typing as I type.
I am saying this to kind of point out that I listen to both. Generally, people have music on as a background noise, and fade in between hearing the beat and lyrics, to just hearing the beat because they are focusing on something else like what they are typing or someone that they are talking to.
Although the beat should be good, the lyrics and their presentation, to me, are what make the song. If they are in the song, that is. I do also like music without words.
I hope this answers your question, I tried to explain how I do things without rambling.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
12 Jun 08
really? do you actually intentionally listen to the sound made by typing on the keyboard? hmmm. thats something new, if that's the case. hehe. anyway, yeah i agree that they do tend to fade out when they concentrate on other things and then hear it again when their attention is on it again. i also like to listen to instrumental as well, i listen to enya, some piano songs, and instrumental versions of rock and R&B songs.
@vinnys1981 (30)
•
14 Jun 08
I think most people respond to the beat first but I fee They both go hand in hand. I have heard songs where the beat is awsome and They start singing either the voice itself or the lyrics screww it up and the other way around great voice,great lyrics but didn't feel the beat to it so They both need to collide into a musical explosion!!!!!!!!!
@lossforredwords (3620)
• Philippines
12 Jun 08
Wahh.. we have the same way of liking a song in some way. I do agree that beat, tempo and melody really affects the listeners more especially if first time hearing it or if the genre of the song accords with the listeners choice. Most of the time I have that kind of way of liking a song but once I enjoyed or like the beat and then I realized that the lyrics are meaningless or a bit senseless I tend to drop it. yeah I also like to download music that has a high bitrate cause its no use to listen to low bit rate it depreciates the worth of the song.So I think I always consider beat, tempo, melody, transition, dynamics and especially lyrics when it comes to liking a song.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
14 Jun 08
yeah, it really sucks to listen to low bitrate files. and yeah, beat is really the more noticeable one as compared to the lyrics. the beat usually even overshadows the lyrics that you cant hear what the singer is singing. so you get tired listening to a song if the lyrics are bad? so im pretty sure you now hate that song "crank that" by soulja boy. hehe. awful lyrics. it doesnt make any sense.
@nixxi76 (3191)
• Canada
12 Jun 08
When a song grabs my attention it's usually the beat. If I"m really into a song I will listen hard for the lyrics and try making sense of it. Sometimes I'll sing the song and not even realize what I"m singing lol.
I love music that gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.
Have a good day
@angelspawn (18)
• United States
12 Jun 08
i notice the beat first, of course... then later on... i pay attention to the lyrics & to what the song talks about. sometimes i also dont like a song when i first hear it, but after a while... esp if i can relate to it or it reminds me of someone or something, i eventually learn to like it.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
14 Jun 08
yeah same here, most of the time, unless the song's beat is our type, we dont really get to appreciate it the first time we hear it. we have to hear it a couple more times. and yeah, i can relate to what you said about the song reminidng us regarding something within our lives. we eventually learn to like coz coz of what the song says.
@nenagirl (38)
• Belize
12 Jun 08
i guess i pretty much do the same thing.if i dont like the rythm of the song then i dont want it.its alway the beat which gets my attention first and then i listen to it one or two more times to actually listen to the lyrics.because there are some songs which at just hearing it,sounds good,but when you listen closely-its not good at all.it happened to me several times.so i have to be careful.
@jhyne_RN (11)
• Philippines
12 Jun 08
if your going to ask me id rather noticed first the lyrics..coz when im listening to the music i internalized every lyrics in which i can relate to. i usually download music that has a good lyrics and touches me especially love songs. if the lyrics is not good to me i dont want to download or listen to it.
@TrinityStarPanda (75)
• United States
13 Jun 08
Yes I do. The first beat, I automatically know the song right then and there. It's quite remarkable.
@aimee3 (35)
• United States
13 Jun 08
i personally pay more attention to the lyrics of a song. i am not going to listen to a song if i dont like what they have to say in the first place. the beat is important though, if it is so slow or anoying or something then im not gonna be able to pay attention to the lyrics. so i guess its a mixture of the two when i listen to music.
@emskoneko (805)
• United States
12 Jun 08
The beat is what I look for. I mean, even when the lyrics just talk about dancing in a club and the beat gets my feet tapping, then I know the beat is worth listening to the whole song.
@bongkarpasang (1377)
• Indonesia
12 Jun 08
melody would be the first one I noticed. the beat would be the second one.
lyrics ... sometimes when it was foreign songs, I might not catch the words as soon as I heard it. however if the melody and the beat were great, I would surely 'memorize' the lyric automatically as I listened it again and again. ;)
@dinhquanghuy (647)
• Vietnam
12 Jun 08
I don't think what thing I have to notice first ,music say another languague and it show it when a song to be played .Sometime ,the first thing make me notice is beat or melody ,but sometime is the meaning of lyric.
@shilpa_p (198)
• India
12 Jun 08
I'm the same.I tend to pay attention to the beat first.But its not because i think the beat is what will determine whether i listen to the rest of the song or not.I think you'll find that people that are more observant tend to focus on the background than the lyrics.I listen more to beats but there are some songs in which the lyrics catch my attention first.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
14 Jun 08
the background? uh, you mean the little percussions and what not in the song aside from the major sounds? yeah i also listen to those when im using an earphone coz you cant really hear them when youre using a speaker. the lyrics can be catchy to if your listening to pop and ballads. and if its clearly sung by the artist.
@xoxoneverland (48)
• China
12 Jun 08
beat i think.
if the lyrics can make me feel better,it's perfect!
@wangchunlin (155)
• China
12 Jun 08
lyrics, of course. for many foreign songs, i really don't care about its content.
