View Full Version : How does your ADD/ADHD affect your taste in music?
Hi, I am curious:
How does your ADD/ADHD affect your taste in music?
I have inattentive type and I have always liked faster styles of music and I wonder if there is any correlation.
~boots~ 01-22-08, 07:10 AM COOL ;-) another Aussie...
I like a huge variety of music....except that hip-hop head banging stuff ;-)
oh....and I usually ONLY listen to music while I'm driving..
although I will listen to some songs if I'm interested enough to download them :)
I prefer silence so I can think :-)
It's also really weird with music..how 2 people can *hear* TWO TOTALLY
different messages in the lyrics :-)
radiancelis 01-22-08, 07:27 AM Hmm, I don't think it necessarily effects my taste in music. My taste is pretty eclectic, overall, and I like fast, slow, and mid-tempo songs pretty equally.
I know that I definitely have a tendency to hyperfocus with music. I will listen to music while I do other things, but if I can, I actually prefer to just listen. There are some nights where I'll spend 2-3 hours just listening to music on my iPod, frequently playing certain songs on repeat and making a point to actively listen to every single aspect that I can pick out. Listening to music is definitely not a passive thing for me, because I really like to be able to follow the instruments and listen intently to the lyrics.
I'm so drawn to focus on music in that way that it can actually end up causing a problem for me in social situations or when I read/study; even music playing in the background at a bar, I'll zero in on over all the other noise. It can end up distracting me from a conversation or from what I'm trying to read, especially if it's not just instrumental and has lyrics. I'll suddenly realize that I've missed parts of something someone has said to me, or with reading and writing, I'll start getting mixed up in my head with the words I'm hearing in the song and what I'm reading/writing.
I know that I definitely have a tendency to hyperfocus with music. I will listen to music while I do other things, but if I can, I actually prefer to just listen. There are some nights where I'll spend 2-3 hours just listening to music on my iPod, frequently playing certain songs on repeat and making a point to actively listen to every single aspect that I can pick out. Listening to music is definitely not a passive thing for me, because I really like to be able to follow the instruments and listen intently to the lyrics.
I'm so drawn to focus on music in that way that it can actually end up causing a problem for me in social situations or when I read/study; even music playing in the background at a bar, I'll zero in on over all the other noise. It can end up distracting me from a conversation or from what I'm trying to read, especially if it's not just instrumental and has lyrics. I'll suddenly realize that I've missed parts of something someone has said to me, or with reading and writing, I'll start getting mixed up in my head with the words I'm hearing in the song and what I'm reading/writing.
You sound like me!
Anyway, yes I like all sorts of music. Classical, all kinds of Metal, Punk, Folk, Rock, Musicals, Opera, only things I don't like is country, hip hop, and rap.
Well I've always liked hard rock music. I listen to music while driving, sleeping, working, and when I studied in school. I like all kinds of music except most country music. (Right now I'm listening to hard rock music on my computer at work.) :)
I like anything with fast beats and a great bass guitar. Examples include Coheed and Cambria's song Welcome Home and most of the songs by Dimmu Borgir.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAmMcBQavKE (one minute into it gets me pumped)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3ZYKSDbwQE
Here's the Coheed and Cambria song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEsnX4utdyQ
Basically I like anything fast and interesting. I'm quick to listen to something else if I find it slow or repetitive. I also like listening to techno.
I don't like rap, hip hop, or anything like that... I find it SO annoying.
Matt S. 01-22-08, 03:01 PM I am calmed down by heavy metal and goth/industrial music, Mozart on the other hand winds me up like a top. I like all styles of music, I appreciate it actually.
dyingInside 01-22-08, 03:04 PM I'm a headbanger (Black Sabbath, Motorhead, AC/DC, Metallica, Judas Priest, Maiden, Slayer, Zombie, etc.) but I also like traditional music and neo trad music (Irish, Scots, middle eastern, Scandinavian, etc.). Mostly I prefer dark stuff with a lot of tension and energy. Instrumental music helps me to be able to read and study (silence is distracting).
teemunney 01-22-08, 05:23 PM The only type of music I really can't listen to is R&B/soul type stuff. Not that I don't find the musicians talented (especially with older Motown stuff, for example), but I, like many, need faster-paced stuff. I only listen to it when I'm really relaxed.
Same goes for hip-hop/rap stuff. Most rap I listen to is far from the mainstream, so it's usually fair game...as long as it's complex enough for me. I can't do mainstream hip-hop unless I'm at a party and hammered. :)
Hard rock/heavy metal has been my choice lately, though I've been trying my best to remain eclectic. Metallica, Dream Theater, and Radiohead (not heavy of course but still a great band) have been on my most played list. At one point I was listening to Dream Theater so much that it sounded weird to listen to something in 4/4 or 3/4 time! So my preference I guess is something fast-paced and complex enough for me.
for me is in what mood im in is how i listien to music
sarsXdave 01-22-08, 09:41 PM I like a whole bunch of different stuff. For me, it's not affected by the ADHD-I itself, but the medication. I love listening to music while I work when "straight." But, when I've had Vyvanse that day I usually get annoyed, because I feel like I'm pulling myself away from what I need to be doing (and can't take both in simultaneously).
I can usually sit through my favorite things (music being my second favorite "thing") with decent focus. The 20+ minute songs on "Lift Your Skinny Fists to the Heavens Like Antennae" by GY!BE are some of my favorite. As long as a song stays good and feels like it has a direction, I'm good.
This is actually what maid me wary of getting myself tested before I noticed the sheer number of other symptoms I display. I can listen to a whole album, no problem. Then I realized that was probably only because I'd be jumping between several Wikipedia pages while doing so.
I like EVERYTHING (except stupid american pop).
That's how it affects me; I like everything and nothing.
Hmm, I don't think it necessarily effects my taste in music. My taste is pretty eclectic, overall, and I like fast, slow, and mid-tempo songs pretty equally.
I know that I definitely have a tendency to hyperfocus with music. I will listen to music while I do other things, but if I can, I actually prefer to just listen. There are some nights where I'll spend 2-3 hours just listening to music on my iPod, frequently playing certain songs on repeat and making a point to actively listen to every single aspect that I can pick out. Listening to music is definitely not a passive thing for me, because I really like to be able to follow the instruments and listen intently to the lyrics.
I'm so drawn to focus on music in that way that it can actually end up causing a problem for me in social situations or when I read/study; even music playing in the background at a bar, I'll zero in on over all the other noise. It can end up distracting me from a conversation or from what I'm trying to read, especially if it's not just instrumental and has lyrics. I'll suddenly realize that I've missed parts of something someone has said to me, or with reading and writing, I'll start getting mixed up in my head with the words I'm hearing in the song and what I'm reading/writing.
Same here. BG music is always drawing me out of conversations, cant say it sucks, I like it. I hear music in my head at other times. I like a wide variety of music.
chelle b. 01-23-08, 12:35 AM How funny, I have always loved fast music. Never thought of it being related to being ADD but it is just what I am drawn to.
I love speed metal even though I have outgrown the messages in the lyrics, I just love the music still!
My taste in music is fairly eclectic, but I cherish every favored piece of music I find.
I also find myself listening to more fast paced music, it's really difficult to listen to slow music... especially slow music which has no interesting rhythm.
I like complicated rhythms, and some music that may sound chaotic... but actually has some order and structure... you just have to find it. The best music forces me to pay attention to it, if the music is designed to fade into the background... it's just not good music to me.
I like classical music, but I find I can't pay attention to much of it. If there is some intensity, again with the rhythm... I find it much more enjoyable.
If it's more standard rock/pop stuff... the lyrics have to be clever enough for me to pay attention. Especially music that has unexpected lyrical content... like They Might Be Giants.
Don't know how much of this is ADD related... I find music I like grabs my attention like no other. So to enjoy it, I need to hyperfocus on the music. Which is also why I like to get into hi-fi audio equipment, hearing new details in old music I've heard 100's of times before is a very special joy.
I also get impatient with repetitive music, musical ideas should only be repeated a couple of times.... repetition is okay sometimes though... if the right musical effect is being created.
Iluvpoptarts 01-23-08, 03:33 AM Hi, I am curious:
How does your ADD/ADHD affect your taste in music?
I have inattentive type and I have always liked faster styles of music and I wonder if there is any correlation.
yeah usually i like songs with a faster beat.. rock
sometimes slow songs r annoying.. but sometimes they're OK
Luthien 01-24-08, 04:27 PM ow, I have also wondered about that. I have had a "strange" taste for music ever since I was a kid. I remember being totally impressed by a piece called "Finlandia" when I was about 7 .. and I wanted to share that with another girl and then she laughed at me because it was probably uncool in her eyes to like classical music.
I still like that piece. I am always looking for new music to love and can be totally happy with a new discovery .. play it again and again, then forget about it for a while, and rediscovering it just starts it all over again. It does so much to me, can bring me to tears of happiness. I can love almost any style, as long as it is made by "human beings" i.e. *not* by producers.
The things that I like in particular: serious (classical) music starting from about 1860 (debussy, french music in general; american composers like Copland, Gershwin; Strawinsky; Messiaen) .. Dead Kennedies .. Tom Waits .. the early Sinatra (columbia) .. Frank Zappa .. English pre-WW2 dance band music .. rockabilly ... doowop .. some good rave music .. folk ... obscure Liverpool bands from the '60s like Faron's Flamingoes (cant stop playing their version of Do You Love Me right now) .. can go on a lot longer.
So I cannot find a common factor in this. Except maybe that I love to be touched by music, deeply so.
cameron 01-24-08, 06:45 PM wow, great thread!!(which I rarely say, in my almost 4 years on this forum). I have to agree with you radiancilias. I'm bascically a music fanatic...one of my favorite things in life is listening to music, finding new music(usually on the internet), basically I'm a music nerd. I have a huge collection of cds(have moved to downloading now, not much cd purchasing anymore, like most people). I just to DJ in my teens and early 20s(tons of records, but sold them :(. I primarily like electronic music. A lot of different styles..now that i'm getting OLD I tend to listen to a lot of Ambient music(chill out/downtempo as well)... I find it very soothing and calming--especially at night. This sort of music is kind of "healing" not in a "new agey" way though. I think a lot of ADHDers would benefit from ambient, chill out or downtempo. If you want reccommendations I would be happy to give them out to people. BUT, at the same time I think a lot of people wouldn't like it...no vocals, WEIRD synthesizer, spacey stuff, etc..
Also, a big fan of electro and electronica. I like this sort of music becasue I love synthesizers and electoronics(computers, drum machines, vocoders, etc). 90 percent of the music I like doesn't have vocals(so this type of music is mostly listened to by males, I have found females usually have to have vocals in their music to really like it). I like to conjure up images and thoughts from instumental music.
There is a great book out that I saw yesterday at Border's. Its in the Psychology section and its titled, "Musicophilla" I think this is correct. Its about how important music is in people's lives and how it affects people's mood's, etc. VERY good.
If anyone wants any advice on Electronic types of music, let me know.
Music tends to get me through difficult periods of my life, which are more frequent than not! without friends, I find music to be like a friend...I know, sort of corny, or weird. But this has always been the case since I was very young.
Check out: beatport.com, good site where you can purchase MP3's for a lot of differnet electronic styles(techno, trance, chill-out, electro house, ambient).
I find it amusing that people say they are not affected in music taste by Add/Adhd yet there are so many responses for electronic/rock type stuff.
Perhaps my original post just inspired people with these tastes to post as I mentioned it.
Interesting to think about, though.
Teedrum 01-26-08, 07:02 AM metal, metal and more metal!!!
RunninL8 01-26-08, 02:20 PM I dig a wide variety. I'll listen to everything but country, shranz, and sea shanty!!!:cool:
Kinda off topic, but what I cannot abide is sports on the radio. Major sensory overload.
interesting discussion guys. I've always been a bit freaky when it comes to music. My favorite genre is techno without a doubt. I can go to a dance club and listen for hours, I guess all the sensory stimulation must give me what I need. I can put the same music on at home for ages too and it helps me hyperfocus usually. But it must be a certain type, the more repitition the better and definitly nobody singing thru it!
That said.. I can't reeally pin down what other music I like apart from just your usual top 40. I do like a bit of old stuff like pink floyd or mike oldfield and a bit of rock but I don't play it that often. I like u2 too. But If you were to ask me what artists i like I'd name a couple and forget the names of any other music I've in the past enjoyed.
Same goes for movies, tv and actor names. I rarely can remember lines in movies or anything like that prob because my attention is diverted too much when I go and see it in the first place!!
Should also point out the strange contradiction I'm also an audiophile a bit and usually if I listen to music with some attention I can pick out the finer detail. I have a several $1000 stereo at home which I built myself out of components and I have it connected to a mac mini with about 75gb of music on it. In the past ive hoarded and copied any music I could get my hands on. All that's got me is lots of music I dont like. A project i tarted 2 months ago and maybe have 1% completed is weeding out the stuff I dont like because i will just flip constantly in iTunes otherwise!
supamook 01-26-08, 07:36 PM fantastic thread! there are some great responses in here...i didn't even skim or skip a post! hehe!
i heart music so hard. huge music fan. i like harder stuff...black metal, punk, hardcore, old country western, some indie rock, 50's girl bands, old jazz and blues, 80's new wave... i also adore classical and opera. so intricate, so much going on, it's wonderful to me.
i really get into certain types of ambient music as well...like portishead, massive attack...that kind of thing. dreamy, floaty stuff.
and hillbilly/jug/revival band type stuff...pure awesome! there is something magical about fiddles...
for dancing, i dig EBM/techno remix type stuff...i can dance for hours...that, and big band swing.
I have a hard time hearing the words correcty on songs with vocals, expectually when its rock, or something like that. so, most of my songs fall under three catagories. Japeneese, instrimintal, or tecno/eletronica.
if you go to my myspace and listion to my profile song...OH! THAT IS THE MOST FAVORITE SONG OF MY LIFE!
but, I just don't realy like rock, because I hardley ever understand what they are saying.
I love ambient music I get most of mine at newgrounds .com GO supamook!
www.newgrounds.com (http://www.newgrounds.com) audio portal = music heaven!!!! (for me anyway)
I mean, I do have some rock, like eleventy seven, and flatfoot 56, red jumsuit apparatus , inhabited, etc. but its not my favoite, even tough i have more cds of it than anything else....
driver951 01-28-08, 05:04 PM I like two distint types of music: classical and death metal (and its millions of variants such as black, melodic, progressive, etc).
It's nice when people write music that is unique and thoughtful and multilayered (think J.S. Bach - greatest composer of all time).
ewkilgore 04-25-08, 07:11 PM I have found that taking vyvanse or ADHD medicine... has really taken a lot of enjoyment out of listening to the music. I don't need the music, tv, or books to stimulate my brain to be awake. Have any others of you experienced this? I have been on vyvance for 3 weeks.
qhcowgirl 04-25-08, 07:56 PM Music I detest: 99.9% of pop, metal, rap, hip hop,
Music I love: classical, opera (some -- the stuff I sing lol), operetta, musicals, country (old stuff), western swing, celtic, folk music, bluegrass, etc...
I have weird tastes in music. I know all the old stuff and none of the new stuff.
newfdog 04-25-08, 08:11 PM Not sure it matters, I am very eclectic and like opera to heavy metal, punk to country, cant stand rap though
SuzzanneX 04-25-08, 08:13 PM I like everything from big band and swing to rock, classic, southern, acid, funkrock
punkrock, hip hop, gangsta rap
I love it all.
but the dearest to my heart have clever lyrics.
.......and further more...seem to be meaningless random words...
but, they end up meaning something.
anthony kedis in red hot chili peppers is one of my favorate ADD writers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaOo3C79gaU
SuzzanneX 04-25-08, 08:20 PM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7iiF8U6y_U
can't stop
newfdog 04-25-08, 08:25 PM Maybe I was born too late, Always liked the big bands and the rat pack stuff, maybe it was my father who always listened to the big bands and my mother who like musicals and operas. Guess I am weird.... Love Sinatra, Martin, and Davis... AKA the rat pack. Also I never turn down a good musical and I live Broadway
SuzzanneX 04-25-08, 08:31 PM oh man me too!
...heres a couple for you fdog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2mjU-_PnEE
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2976830284869854741&q=fly+me+to+the+moon&ei=WWkSSO3wE5S-rQLl1734BA
newfdog 04-25-08, 09:00 PM Thanks Suzie, That was cool,
Here are a couple more, sorry to the younger crowd, I forgot to say, I liked Bobby Darin too
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4Qrjtr_uFac
And one from Frankie I can relate to on more than one occasion
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MtOawakx1TQ
Why do I miss the old standards? Of course everyone gives me the Rod Stewart and Barry Manilow, even Ronstadt, new old stuff.
SuzzanneX 04-25-08, 11:41 PM http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6025263028016987332&q=CLEMENTINE+-+BOBBY+DARIN&total=10&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1&hl=en
SuzzanneX 04-25-08, 11:42 PM http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6025263028016987332&q=CLEMENTINE+-+BOBBY+DARIN&total=10&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1&hl=en
so weird! I was gonna play this one, I LOVE Bobby darin
....you gotta click the top where the web address is.
meadd823 04-26-08, 12:01 AM Music I love - things that are in perfect key and precisely timed Music that I hate any thing played out of tune off key or timed badly.
I would rather be beat with the cat of nine tails than to listen to opera, rap or twangy country music.
I do not think ADD had very much to do with our taste in music - I think our experience and culture have more to do with what types of music appeals to us. I experience acutely sensitive hearing and perfect pitch I can be picky. . .
SuzzanneX 04-26-08, 12:47 AM I would'nt mind a cat o nine tails beating right now. *smiles*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n68WBx91nQE
4gotAgain 04-26-08, 03:07 AM my music taste changes based on my mood.
dance music / trip hop / hip hop / drum n bass etc - if im feeling rather hyper, good to dance to.
easy listening / pop - good to fall to sleep to
reggae - relaxes me
jazz - If im in the mood..
classical - mainly Bach and Mozart -helps me concentrate, can stir some emotion
emo/punk - during my occasional depressional spells
rock - just certain songs i like..
i always find i can write better (less mistakes, less all over the place than usual) , concentrate better, think clearer etc when listening to music...do other people have the same thing?
newfdog 04-26-08, 10:59 AM i always find i can write better (less mistakes, less all over the place than usual) , concentrate better, think clearer etc when listening to music...do other people have the same thing?
When I have reports and intense work to do at the office, the doors get shut and the music starts, play it loud OK?. Most the time they can tell what I am doing VS what I am listento
newfdog 04-26-08, 11:19 AM Music I love - things that are in perfect key and precisely timed Music that I hate any thing played out of tune off key or timed badly.
I would rather be beat with the cat of nine tails than to listen to opera, rap or twangy country music.
I do not think ADD had very much to do with our taste in music - I think our experience and culture have more to do with what types of music appeals to us. I experience acutely sensitive hearing and perfect pitch I can be picky. . .
I like certain types of bluegrass, but can't take much of the cat wailing if ya know what I mean.
Found out about Alison Krauss on a trip to West Virgina in the late 80's and was hooked. I guess I liked her before she was cool.
Anyway, here is a soothing song she recorded a while back. The other thing I like about her is she is so diversified in what she sings. Her voice in my opinion is so pure she does not need any fancy studio magic. She sounds the same in person, which is more than I can say about others.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9upE_PGJVq8
xstarchildx 04-26-08, 11:22 AM I love all types of music apart from Jazz.
Minicooper 04-26-08, 11:43 AM i always find i can write better (less mistakes, less all over the place than usual) , concentrate better, think clearer etc when listening to music...do other people have the same thing?
I'm the opposite. Music distracts me terribly when I'm trying to concentrate. I have tried all my life but I simply can't stop my brain from following music, even if it is just the tinny buzzing you can hear from someone else's earphones. Drives me insane at work! If it is instrumental, I can sometimes tune it out if it is unfamiliar. If it has vocals or is familiar at all, forget it. Even commercial jingles on TV drive me up the wall. :rolleyes: I never experience silence, because I suffer moderately severe tinnitus, but I need as close to it as I can get to concentrate when I am stressed. If not stressed, ambient noise is fine, as long as it isn't music.
I think it is for this reason I don't listen to music much any more, even though I love it deeply. It seems the older I get, the less I listen. I just have trouble finding the time, because listening to music is not a passive thing for me. It zero in on it, actively listening, inspired, moved, responding emotionally, singing along if there are vocals... ah, bliss! I wish I had a lot more time for it. *sigh* I can remember even in my young, party-girl days any time a song I liked was playing, I wanted only to listen/sing along and not be bothered. I wasn't interested in socializing - couldn't they hear the awesome song playing!? Sheesh! :p
Oh! To answer the OP's question, I don't think my ADD affects my taste in music so much as it affects the way I experience it.
qhcowgirl 04-26-08, 04:26 PM I love swedish country singers. Especially Jill Johnson.
This song isn't particularly "countryish" I don't think but they sing mostly country.
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Fraz_2006 04-26-08, 04:32 PM I seem to be highly addictive to depressing music.... I dont think it does my ADD symptoms any good.
SuzzanneX 04-26-08, 10:32 PM awwww
DynamiteBritany 04-28-08, 12:22 PM I listen to seriously anything and everything. Music is my life! I am an aspiring DJ. There are so many artists/bands out there that seem so very ADD. I love "different" and unusual music, experimental type of genre. Bands like Radiohead that break the mold, inspire me a lot. My friends steal my burned CD's all the time... they are like "where in the world did you find this stuff?"
4gotAgain 04-28-08, 07:01 PM i love experimental music. Have really gotten into it lately.
Do you also listen to alot of trip hop? love that as well.
and instrumental/orchestra hip hop.
how long have you been djing and how did you get into it?
DynamiteBritany 04-29-08, 09:08 AM i love experimental music. Have really gotten into it lately.
Do you also listen to alot of trip hop? love that as well.
and instrumental/orchestra hip hop.
how long have you been djing and how did you get into it?
I was actually listening to some sort of underground orchestra hip hop type group when I wrote that post. Funny! I haven't saved up enough money yet to afford the DJ equipment that I want, so thankfully a good friend of mine does it professionally so I'm always at his place experimenting. I have some great software I use on my mac though. So I'm still learning, but am seriously thinking about trying to make it professionally. We'll have to swap some playlists! :)
dcmoney05 04-29-08, 11:19 AM i listen to pretty much everythink except country. it call being eclectict. i dont know if i spelled that right.
i tend to block out the words and hear the music or the beat.
music helps calm me down and hyperfocus
busyhermit 04-29-08, 11:51 AM Music I love - things that are in perfect key and precisely timed Music that I hate any thing played out of tune off key or timed badly.
I would rather be beat with the cat of nine tails than to listen to opera, rap or twangy country music.
I do not think ADD had very much to do with our taste in music - I think our experience and culture have more to do with what types of music appeals to us. I experience acutely sensitive hearing and perfect pitch I can be picky. . .
I relate Meadd (amen to your second sentence!) - and I thought the same thing at first - what could ADD have to do with taste in music? Maybe nothing. But in addition to many other types of music - I love ethereal stuff like Brian Eno. If I have it on headphones and delve in, I can be inside the music, transported to another reality. Hyperfocus, perhaps.
I would rather be beat with the cat of nine tails than to listen to opera, rap or twangy country music.
I love Opera. Going by the diverse responses, yet again, people here need to learn to seperate their personalities from their ADHD.
ResilientFighter 07-12-08, 05:15 PM I have the artist formerly known as Prince symbol tattooed on my body :D
ResilientFighter 07-12-08, 05:16 PM I love Opera. Going by the diverse responses, yet again, people here need to learn to seperate their personalities from their ADHD.
my mom was a pro opera singer
planetdave 07-12-08, 05:26 PM I love Opera. Going by the diverse responses, yet again, people here need to learn to seperate their personalities from their ADHD.
But there does seem to be a theme.
You'd expect hyperkinetics to love high bpm dance or death metal and the inattentives to be Enya/Eno-philes.
And opera?
Why the hell not? It's big, bold and dramatic. All good passionate stuff and thus prime AD/HD fodder.
Any music has to be better than no music. I bet the % of members of this board that are not much interested in music is significantly lower than the general population. I reckon we connect better with music and can function better than most when it's being played.
Lackadaisical 07-12-08, 10:34 PM I love music. In fact, I first started thinking I might have ADD when I realized I couldn't concentrate on the lyrics for more than 30 seconds or thereabouts. I only put the effort into it if I like the melody. I also used to play in a band, and it would take me forever to memorize the chord progressions. I had no problem singing the melody over the top though. So I love any artist that writes great melodies, like Elvis Costello, Paul Westerberg, and New Pornographers. Add a bent harmony over the top, and I might wreck the car. Oh, in case you haven't guessed, I'm the inattentive type.
http://www.sewersofmars.com/storage/01%20Come%20See%20The%20Duck.mp3
I like many kinds of music BUT, I hate hearing songs that I don't like. I always change the station. That's why I have my iPod plugged into the car tuner at all times.
Planetdave, I can't imagine anyone who could not be interested in music!
Although, I did have a friend as a teenager who didn't care for it. At her house, I asked her who she listened to and she's like, "I don't really care about music." I was like, "What?!!!":eek:
I thought there was something seriously wrong with her, seriously!:confused:
Mu musical taste is quite wide. I strongly prefer music that I think is made with "inspiration" The modern mechanical pop culture does not appeal to me that much.
I have remarked that I believe many people are somewhat biased toward music they were subjected to when they were in their teenage years. For me that would be the late 70's and early 80's.
I also enjoy ethnic music and at times classical music, but only if it has a discernible theme, if it is "going somewhere"
And of course, the one and only Enigma. Where I feel everything else is 2 dimensional, their music actually tends to grab me and take me to a higher level, if I am in the mood for it. I never had this experience with any other music. I like all their CD's with the noted exception of Voyageur.
Laura89 07-14-08, 04:43 AM Music helps me think better. It works perfectly whenever I am moving around. Any kind of fast style music works the best.
Zerbinetta 07-14-08, 06:40 AM Music helps me think better. It works perfectly whenever I am moving around. Any kind of fast style music works the best.Exactly. I've always thought of it as providing rails for my mind to glide along more smoothly, something that helps focus my energy in high-stress environments, like traffic.
I suppose to NT outsiders, it looks really irresponsible when someone cycles through urban traffic with headphones blaring, but I daresay I'm probably more of a hazard without them. When my ears are occupied, my eyes have an easier time watching the road by far.
In this Wiki entry on stimming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimming), it says "For hypersensitive people, it may provide a "norming" effect, allowing the person to control a specific part of their sensorium, and is thus a soothing behavior." I can only speak for myself, but to me, that sounds about right.
The music that works best in heavy traffic is usually fiddly and fast - up-tempo klezmer, old-school punk, minimalist pieces or Baroque coloratura arias.
P.S. AD/HD opera lovers - I say we start a social group. Any suggestions for a name?
planetdave 07-14-08, 12:01 PM Planetdave, I can't imagine anyone who could not be interested in music!
Although, I did have a friend as a teenager who didn't care for it. At her house, I asked her who she listened to and she's like, "I don't really care about music." I was like, "What?!!!":eek:
I thought there was something seriously wrong with her, seriously!:confused:
I usually hang out with musicians and they're usually 'behaviouraly challenged' in some way.
On the other hand those not much interested in music appear to be otherwise super normal. Dull. So normal it's abnormal.
Which is weird.
o0starla0o 07-14-08, 11:12 PM Although my musical interests go all over the map I definitely tend to favor the songs with higher BPM. I always go for the most intense songs on an album. Sometimes, soft stuff is okay, but it's not my favorite.
Ummm Stuff that's on my playlist right now:
Ghostland Observatory
Justice
Digitalism
Pink Floyd
Frank Zappa
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Massive Attack
The EverybodyFields
MIA
Yea...I give myself musical whiplash constantly.
ADDBecky 07-28-08, 10:09 PM I listen to almost anything. I like anything fro classical to hard rock....i love music
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