At what level do you listen to music ?

[gryphon]

I'm interested to know at what level you listen to music and have devised some levels

I suggest that the following levels are possible

1. Just hear the music in the background
   
2. The the music and connect with it up to a point
   
3. Start listening to the music and connect with the beat and/or the rhythm
   
4. Get some idea of the lyric
   
5. Start to connect with the lyric and or the music
   
6. Have a dialog with the music and lyric
   
7. Connect and identify with the lyric/music
   
8. Start to look at the meaning of the lyric/music
   
9. Begin to look for meaning behind the lyric/music
   
10. Actively look for the meaning behind he music and/or lyric
    

[Tiggi]

It varies dependant on the music.

- Instrumental music requires no focus on lyrics at all
- Well written songs need much more focus on lyrical content

and there are all manner of intermediate levels.

Suffice to say that I don't listen to music as a background to anything. If I'm listening, it's usually quite loud, and I'm not doing anything but listening to the music. Having said that, the music can inspire chains of thought that can drag my focus away from the music.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

for the most part, i pick up on 'new' music in which the lyrics have something to say.

i much prefer intelligent lyrics that tell a good story or paint a picture to the "i love you,do you love me" rubbish eg: Dylan,Lennon, Weller

secondly, if the song has a melody that i like,that will also get me in eg: Madness,Neil Young

third, i much prefer songs with simple riffs so i can concentrate on the lyrics instead of the music,but the music has to compliment the lyrics
eg: AC/DC, early Kiss

if i'm listening to music that is more complex in structure,the lyrics arent the main thing i listen to eg: Pink floyd "the division bell"

if im lisening to predominantly instrumental tracks, they are mainly background music

[Music Head]

uh.............I'm a 7.