How To Describe Music Playing
When someone asks you what kind of music you like, how do you describe it? Most people have trouble describing music and there’s a reason for that!
Music is one of the most powerful tools we have as humans. It can motivate us, inspire us, bring up emotions, and even help with meditation. As such, it’s very important to know how to describe it so that others can understand what you listen to, why you enjoy listening to it, and whether or not they want to try it!
Descriptioning music can be tricky because there are so many different types of songs out there. There are folk songs, ballads, rap, heavy metal, trance, and more. Each type of song requires its own description, which makes it hard to generalize.
Use descriptive words
There are three main ways that music players describe themselves when they start playing a song. They are by genre, artist, or track name.
When you use any of these as a prompt, your description will more likely be accurate than if you simply gave the album title. That could potentially mean people assume what the play list is about because it has a catchy phrase.
Music genres can be very confusing. For example, how do you define new age? Many consider it to be just instrumental music with soft vocals. Others include nature sounds in their definition. Both are valid uses for the term, but depend on who you ask!
Using the word “new” in a music genre label is also tricky. New old school is considered an older style of hip hop, while newer wave is considered a sub-genre. Only use one or the other, not both at once!
Avoid using vague terms like “soft” or “melodic” unless you know what those refer to clearly. Instead, choose from our list above or find another term that fits better.
Provide definitions of terms used in music
A song is usually characterized by its structure or form, what musicians call a verse-chorus format. This format consists of a chorus (or sometimes just a part of a chorus) and an extended or second bridge section that often includes more lyrics and/or another musical idea. The songs you listen to have these basic components!
The other important term in this context is meter. Meter refers to how quickly the notes occur within a measure, or grouping of beats. There are many types of meters, like regular swing time which has a quick beat followed by a slow one, or all fast ones as seen in a lot of dance music.
Music theory also gives us concepts like tonality, key, and mode. These refer to the quality of the sound, and how it relates to other sounds and themselves. For example, major keys use white note letters (A, B, C, D) very frequently, while modes typically start with a specific chord and then move around it.
Provide examples of music
Now that you have someone else doing the work for you, it’s time to give them some instructions! If they ask what kind of music you like, tell them so they can get going with those songs.
Tell them how you feel about that type of music, or if there are specific pieces you like. Or maybe you have a favorite genre. Either way, describe your favorites!
Describing music is definitely a fun topic and can make talking about music much easier.
Tell stories about the music
A story is always better than no description at all, so try telling some anecdotes or using comparisons to describe the music you like. Or tell us how your favorite song makes you feel!
Music has an incredible power over our emotions, which is why it’s such powerful media. When you listen to something that you love, you become immersed in its lyrics, its melody, and what feelings it brings up for you.
It’s like looking into a window and seeing everything else go by while you focus only on what lies ahead. In this way, music can be very motivating, inspiring, or even entertaining.
There are many ways to describe music. You know when someone listens to their phone too loud? That’s describing the music as “loud.” If they have headphones on, that’s described as “earbuds with a band around them.” If they use the speaker instead of earbuds, then we say they have a “headphone jack.
Provide tips for describing music
There are many ways to describe what type of music you are listening to, as well as how the song is played or conducted. If you know any of these, write them down!
Describing the genre of music you like is very important because it helps people understand your musical taste. It also gives an idea of what kind of songs you like to listen to, which can help inspire other artists to create their own pieces in that style.
Knowing some basic terms related to musicians is helpful too since most people do not - this includes how they spell their names, what instruments they play, etc.
This article will go more in depth about defining genres and terms such as those mentioned above.
Talk about the musician
What is the music? Who is playing it? Is there any pattern or structure to what they are doing? If you can describe these things, then you have described the song!
It may be someone’s voice, it could be instruments such as guitar, piano, bass, etc., it might be a combination of all of them, or it could just be noise. (A loud sound that people seem to like.
Provide details about the venue
At this bar, they play music that is typically considered dance music. This includes songs with lyrics that feature frequent use of autotune or other features designed to make the song sound more like someone else’s voice.
Musical styles like this are referred to as “dance-pop.” They are usually very catchy and well performed, which helps explain their popularity.
Some people may find such songs distracting because they are hard to focus on what the singer is saying. It can be difficult to determine if this is true for you when you listen to these types of songs.
If this is the case, then perhaps it is better to look for bars that do not have loud music. Or try listening at night, when most people are asleep and the distractions are reduced.
Touch on memories related to the music
What is the tone of your song? Is it upbeat, energetic, emotional, soft, or relaxing? A good way to describe the tone of a song is to compare the lyrics with what’s going on in the listener’s life at the time.
If you are listening to an album that includes songs about love, then the love theme in the song will match how you are feeling for yourself right now. If there are lots of partying songs on the radio, then you may be seeking more party spirit lately!
The other thing to consider when describing the tone of a song is what instrument(s) it has. For example, if the song has a guitar riff, then some people might associate that sound with success and money.
On the other hand, if the song sounds like it could be set to music anywhere (no specific instruments used), then its effect can be more calming and relaxed.