Hi everyone,
If you were listening to a song and someone were to ask you e.g.: is this a happy or a sad song, would you look at the lyrics or whether its major/minor etc. or do you think it's a combination of both music and lyrics that create the mood of a song?
I tend to focus on the tunes rather than the lyrics (so I hardly ever know the words to songs) and for me it's the tunes that shape the character of the song.
All opinions asked for /welcome!
Charlotte

i always tend to learn the lyrics to songs i like pretty quickly! i don't look at major/minor etc. because when i hear it i know whether it's a sad song or not, sometimes this view might change slightly by looking at the lyrics in more depth, but i generally decide pretty quickly what kind of song it is. overall i think it's a mixture of lyrics and melody, instruments, instrumentals, type of singer etc.

Sometimes you can tell just from the composer/writer - if it's Leonard Cohen for example, you know it's unlikely to brighten up your day.

I always listen to the music first...then find I usually get the words wrong when I sing to it! When Robbie Williams said he writes all his own songs I used to think, wow, what great tunes. Then I realised he meant just the lyrics and it was Guy Chambers who wrote the music.
I still like Robbie, though, and think he is a great entertainer..but it's Guy I have to thank for all those great songs.

It depends on the song. If you mean chart songs/ballads they'll only catch me if the rhythm/ harmony/harmonic rhythm is interesting and I'll probably be more involved with the overall effect. With some I can't even discern the words. That doesn't worry me because I'm used to listening to "classical" songs in foreign languages where (again) I may not understand all (or even any of) the words.
Then again, I sometimes attend to the lyrics with contemporary "classical" music where the words are the mood.

I speak of listening. I can't sing.

NOOOOOOOO!!! Major/minor does not mean happy/sad at all!
I listen to the song...nothing in particular, if something strikes me as happy/sad it could be for any number of reasons. Usually though, the lyrics are incomprehensable so I guess it's the music! Listen to "No-One But You" by Queen...saddest song ever, in a major key.

I always get the words wrong - especially when they're difficult to understand in the first place- I then tend to make them up, which for me shows that the music really is more important!



That's interesting! But then, what makes it so sad, in your opinion? Not that major songs can't be sad or vice versa, but what musical elements then create the mood for you?

no-one but you is just a really powerful song - the lyrics are fantastic (and incredibly sad) the melody and vocals is really powerful..can't really explain very well - you should be able to get the lyrics off the internet to read, but you really need to hear the song! it's phenomenal *weepy*

The harmony, whatever the harmony is going into the chorus is a big bit of it...technical name for it anyone?