I was just commenting on Thorsten Hinrichsen's "Oh my dear my Reindeer" instrumental album, the question came into my mind do people prefer vocal or instrumental songs, in my view doing instrumentals is very difficult, it is harder than doing songs with lyrics as there has to be plenty of strong phrases and riffs in there to keep the listener's attention!

I sometimes add the odd instrumental in an album, not to make the numbers up but just because some pieces don't need lyrics, there is plenty to say without words but it has to be busy enough to hold the listener's attention otherwise it could just become background music.

Many artists such as Justin Johnson have mastered the instrumental and they prefer to play these all the time - I have yet to hear him sing...one day maybe ! ;-)

Justin packs a lot of technique and interesting twists and turns into his pieces and has mastered the skill of holding the listener's attention, usually if you're singing lyrics people will  listen, especially if you include a catchy chorus, some lyrics from classic well known songs  are so strong they would stand up without any music at all, they would stand alone as poems, is a song just a poem with music? 

Up until the 50's, 60's and into the 70's it seemed to be all about the lyrics, there was always a story in the song, many modern pop songs rely on very few lyrics, just a repeated phrase matched to a riff, good for dancers and Gym users but has the popular music song been dumbed down?

Interested to hear your thoughts! :-) 

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Popular music today is primarily popular because you can dance to it. Other than that, the lyrics are either 1) crap, or 2) the same story: He loves me - he doesn't - she loves me - she doesn't - stay with me tonight, I'm lonely - we're gonna party like it's 1999 / 2019 - nobody loves me - everybody hates me - I hate the world - I'm gonna kill all you muthafuckas - because I'm happeeeeeeeeee.

Me, I write about 2/3 instrumentals, 1/3 lyrical songs. I prefer to tell song stories. They engage the listener's interest. The instrumentals are me working out techniques / lack of lyrical fit or lack of creative flow. I find writing a song is easier when starting with lyrics, because I believe songs are poetry set to music. My lyrics have rhyme and meter. When I compose an instrumental, it is more about playing emotions without words. Only other guitar players typically have the patience to listen to my stuff. I'm still working on telling a story through an instrumental.

the old Classical composers were masters of story telling through music - I find it  ironic that these days they use the tunes in pop songs, as many famous compositions started life as folk songs the composer had heard on the street or in the local ale house!  

Yes. No. Maybe. (?/!)

 

During my trips taking students to football practice/matches I endure their brand of pop culture coming from their poorly concealed small metal boxes - the lyrics, accompanied by what can only be described as chant, contains so many graphic sexual innuendos they would make the cast of Carry On movies, the entire crew of the Royal Navy and the hardest Liverpool dockers blush - they call it poetry, but in that reasoning could you find a rusty Escort RS2000, spend all night bashing it with a sledgehammer and in the morning spray it red  and call it a Formula 1 car..... ?   ;-)

I doubt if even the fastest rapper could keep up with Scruggs..! ;-)

I like both instrumentals and singing numbers. Also with age I find I enjoy a much wider range of music. I particularly like it when a song/tune is done in a different musical genre. I find it interesting to be able to see the lyrics on the internet and find they are different to what I thought they were eg Rihanna 's Only girl in the world - I thought it was "I want you to love me like a hot pie" which coming from the North of England is a reasonable line because I do enjoy a hot pie. It should be a "hot ride" which makes it a bit more sexual (unless you prefer pies to rides). Does that mean it is the sound of the voice rather than clearly pronounced words that is important? On the other hand I can clearly hear the lyrics on a rap song but don't find I like many. Perhaps as I age further I will find I start to enjoy rap too.

everybody likes pies - whether one would prefer a hot ride or a hot pie could maybe depend on their age or physical condition....many might prefer a hot cup of tea ;-)

The trifecta!

I like both.  I come into two conflicts when doing my own stuff.  1)  I have a great riff, but can't imagine what to sing to it or 2) I have great lyrics, but can't hear any music for it (Burying Ground is an example).  Collaboration with other musicians has overcome both problems and I've had a bunch of fun that way.

When there is a very strong lyrical melody or rhythm, I find that I don't listen to the words much at all, but give attention to the beats or notes.  I used to listen to a lot of rap music, but I was fairly selective.  Chuck D had a punch that I couldn't give up.  As a white kid growing up on a rural farm, I couldn't identify with the words, but I hardly listened to them anyway. There's no way I could really understand "By The Time I Get to Arizona", but it was one of my favorites.

Pop rock, dance and pop country aren't on my radio dial.  I mean, I'm all about that bass.  Just not that way.

nnnnnnice...! :-)

Of course I like both. But instrumentals have a very special place for me. As a visual person, most things I experience become an image in my mind. Words bring a certain clarity or specific image. Instrumentals are more abstract and allow for more interpretation on my part. I really enjoy that experience. I can still remember my first reaction to Pat Methany's music, which always makes me feel like I'm traveling. Vistas, landscapes... I have no idea if that is his intention, but for me it works.

As an avid listener to both Jazz and Classical music I'd have to say both. Good lyrics. The kind that tells a story without saying it. The Rolling Stones 'Wild Horses' is a great example. Another good example is Aerosmith's 'Love in an Elevator'. Singer songwriters like Bob Seger who are capable of painting a picture wile singing mundane subjects. Band like Led Zeppelin and The Beatles who could toss in off the wall lines. "I notice the floor and see it needs sweeping. Wile my guitar gently weeps". Nirvana and Yes. Both bands used words to create a picture. Straight forward lyrics have their place. Until they are simplified down to one or two lines constantly repeated.

Bad lyrics can ruin a song. Everyone here has probably heard the theme song for M.A.S.H.. Had the words to that song been sung the TV show would have likely been a flop. People in general would not relate to it's lyrics. Most would be offended. And most would not put a connection between the lyrics and the TV show. And then there's Stevie Ray Vaughen. Great guitar player. Horrible at writing lyrics. His guitar playing alone made him popular.

Good lyrics. Good melody and good over all song is a hard combination to come up with. Songwriters use sex, love and violence as a theme. Because they are easy to relate to subjects. Done right,The Rolling Stones' 'Start me up' = sex, makes a great song. Done wrong, anything recorded by 'Two Live Crew"' =sex, is junk.

I have to agree with your statement that instrumentals are harder to become popular. A catchy melody without lyrics is easy to come up with. It's weather or not people relate to that melody. People in general want to hear lyrics.

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