Maybe it sounds a it silly but I've been wondering, what does music feel like to you? As in, do you just hear it with your ears or maybe feel it inside of you? Because for me it's like, I can almost physically feel it, except inside and that is why I can't study while listening to music, because the beat literally feels like little explosions in my head, lol. So is it like that for everyone?
I feel it, hear it, imagine it. If I start listening to music my imagination kicks in to over drive and I start imaging the future, or a whole other world usually made up around the lyrics I'm hearing. Other times I start thinking about everything, and then there are the timed where music simply lulls me to sleep; even the metal songs.
Music I love deeply just penetrates my mind and emotions! It creates a personal motion picture in my head. I never could listen to music while studying and I need complete silence when reading.
What I experience depends on what I'm looking for. But it can range from being purely entertained (e.g. 80's one-hit wonders), to entering a meditative state (e.g. Steve Reich). Most of the time, it's somewhere in between.
Music can be that way for me when I search for that feeling, but I can typically just listen to music in the background as a minor distraction from other things. When it comes to a song that resonates within me though, I will usually go overboard with it.
For me it's the song not the music. The stories they convey are what touch me deep inside. Most instrumental tunes bore or even sometimes annoy me. through out my life songs come out that touch me emotionally. Music alone usually doesn't do that for me. When I was younger & I would hear A good song. I would ask my friends what they thought of it. When the would say something stupid like, It's got A good beat & I can dance to it. I wanted to slap them on the back of their head. And say the song stupid not the dam music. At least that's what I wanted to do. I usually just walked away thinking, ( What an idiot)
Music is how I think, this might sounds crazy or just incredibly artsy, but I think in sound before I think of words. Melodies and harmony are always going around my head, I want to become good enough to finally get them out of my head instead of just tucked away. So for me music is like hearing a persons thoughts and emotions, or a way to tell a story. If you listen to a piece of music that was written purely from the intention of the artist, it can tell you a whole story about them. So basically, Music is my mind. in general
I'm somewhat similar to SAYGEUR. The music needs to catch my ears before I get into the lyrics. If the melody, harmony, etc flow in a certain way, my affection for the song will shoot high, and it will be my favourite song within a blink of an eye. Lyrics can do the same if they express how I feel. Other than that, "Certain melodies" are what make me experience music. I also think of a scene in my head where the song would fit. By emotion of the music or lyrics, if that makes sense.
I'm more or less the opposite to opposite to SAYGEUR and Lonesome - lyrics are, for me, just as if not more important than the beat/background song it-self. The lyrics honestly stick more to me than the background beat. It's why I can listen to one evanescence for hours on end without a complaint but usually can't listen to instrumental/video game music for too long without getting... 'sick of it', I guess, with a few exceptions. On the otherhand, I also have no particular reservations about genre - I judge each song by it's own merits. It also means I tend not to like non-english songs as much usually - I can't understand them. Usually I don't hold it against them though (and I look up english subtitles if I can). Gangnam Style is the exception. I just can't stand brainlessly sexual songs, for instance. Perfect example - "Turn me on" by David Guetta and Nicki Minaj. No effort, no thought, no love, no soul. Also songs about drugs, 'bitches', love songs depending on how they're done... In general, the more effort, thought and love that I feel went into the lyrics of a song, the more inclined I am to like it. It's one of the reasons I like Total Eclipse of the Heart so much - it's in my top 3 favorite songs of all time. Very good background song, nice voice, good presentation... but it's also very complex, with an absolute ton of symbolism in the lyrics and video. You can just tell how invested Bonnie was into that song - and when you understand it all, the song is far darker. It's also a big part of why I like bands like Skillet and Evanescence.
I'm constantly listening to music, there isn't a day where I don't. ┐(´∀`)┌ Usually I just listen to music and focus on the different sounds and instruments, so, since I'm not actually doing anyhing at the same time, I like to just kinda imagine stuff to the music and in context with the lyrics. Like an AMV playing in your head. ( ̄︶ ̄)