I don't see the appeal of music

[Rattja]

Sorry, it may be a thing, but I don't belive it. I believe you have just not found the right sound for YOU.
There is so much music out there, and it's amazing what some of it can do to you, what it can make you feel.

I would advice you to go digging some, listen to stuff you have never listened to and stuff you may think you would not even like, it may surprise you.

 

[Revolutionary]

I used to think I didn't like music, and then I started listening to random bands until I found what I liked, and it all kind of fell together from there. There is a mind blowing array of different kinds of music out there ranging from classical to Dub-Step and everything in between I guarantee there's something out there for you, even if you never find it.

 

[sageoftruth]

If anything, it helps drown out the little shits making a ton of noise in the waiting room at work. You can't deny that ear buds with music work far better than ear plugs.

 

[happyninja42]

I don't know what it is, I cannot get into it. I feel nothing when I hear stuff I like. I rarely buy CD's. Last one was a few years ago. It dosen't help that what I like isn't on the radio anymore. Then theres gatekeepers that judge me for whatever I like/dislike.

So what is it that people like about music?

Because for some of us, music stimulates a very strong pleasure center in our brains. For me, music can bring me to tears of inspiration, joy, and sadness, depending on how it's used. It can also give me amazing mental visuals to what I'm hearing. I basically make a mental video for what I'm hearing, I always have. So it's a very stimulating creative outlet. Also, I just like to rock out.

I can't really explain it beyond that. If you don't get it, you don't get it. But that's ok, you're not required to like music if you don't like it. I don't get why people like a lot of things, and I never will, but that's their thing, so more power to them.

You can't touch music, but music can touch you.

I NEED AN ADULT!!!

I am an adult.

 

[Cycloptomese]

Honestly I prefer audiobooks to music. I have a flash drive full of audiobooks that I listen to in my car on road trips and such. Listening to The Martian while on an 11 hour drive is a lot more engaging than switching on the radio in my opinion. When I'm working out I do listen to music though. Metal, Techno, anything with a really strong driving beat to get me pumped up pretty much. Going to live concerts is always fun though!

Only Eye of the Tiger will do!

On-topic... I've got a weird problem with music these days. For years, I loved music. Then I started playing a lot of music and learning a lot about music and technique. This has led to me habitually overanalyzing the music theory and technique behind the particular music I might be listening to, and completely missing the "feels" and artistic expression of a song.

But yeah, if you don't like music, don't listen to it. That doesn't make you a weirdo.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Wouldn't be able to deal with it if I couldn't listen to music.

It is my way to express myself next to writing poetry and it helps me concentrate. In fact, while I'm pretty much a loner I cannot stand complete silence. Which brings music into play even more. Besides, music allows me to drown out everything when I'm outside, which is another plus.

But if music isn't your thing, there's nothing with that.

 

[FuzzyRaccoon]

I kind of get you OP. For the longest time I didn't like music at all. Even when I found music that I liked I never really understood music the same way everyone else seems to. With one exception, I can't even listen to orchestral music (the exception being a the Drakengard opening piece so it's vidya anyway).

And even when it comes to finding songs that I "like", there's issues there. For example I got really into 30s-50s music because of Fallout 3, Bioshock just kind of reinforced that. I appreciated that there were often stories in the songs. Or there are a lot of songs my siblings listened to and I like listening to them occasionally because of nostalgia, no inherent enjoyment of the source material.

Actually, I only play music in very specific situations. As a kind of approved way to ignore things, even that music usually. I don't even have it playing in the car, at work, or when I'm reading something. Although I'm almost positive that I'm "neurodivergent" or whatever it's called.

And you know, it DOES sound like there's something you kind of like for whatever reason, just that people think it's lame maybe? What is it? No way I'd judge with all the people giving me a hard time about the old school music. Seriously, either they think I'm a hipster or they don't know what to do with me.

 

[RedRockRun]

If you've only heard modern pop music, then I don't blame you.

 

[CaitSeith]

There is little that can be explained when it comes to tastes you don't share. Personally I hear different songs for different tasks. But the ones that I love trigger in me a biological reaction that causes my glands to release endorphins.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Errr.... Ok, great? Thanks?

I love music. I love to lose myself to music. I love playing music and I love to talk about and share the music that I like and listen to.

You don't have that connection? So what?

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Music is awesome. What more needs to be said?

Also, try going on a roadtrip with no music. Suicide will become a viable option.

Or sleeping. Or playing vidget games.

These are not viable options when driving... :/

 

[NiPah]

Hmm, this made me think of this video:
While the video talks about color, I'd think the issues of Qualia and the Explanatory Gap both play a part in why we can't describe the sensation of sound and rhyme.
There's also things like Autonomous sensory meridian response or ASMR differ from person to person, I'd believe given what we know it's inevitable that different people will have different responses to music.
On top of all that, we haven't even gotten into taste, take studies like Ragu trying to find the perfect sauce blend, or Pepsi finding the perfect sweetener, in the end they found there is no perfect mix and it all comes down to levels to meet as many people as possible, if this is the case for taste then it's likely a factor in sound, and sight:
http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce
In the end all I can tell you is you don't like music because you don't like it, no one will be able to explain or give you a reason on why music is good.

 

[visiblenoise]

We choose to be interested in most of the things we're interested in. Maybe not consciously, but on some level we have a say. So maybe you've heard songs you liked, but music just isn't something you want to be into, so you don't go seeking more music that really appeals to you.

I like the idea of music, but I'm not one of those people who can find something to like about just any music, so I have to dig around. But because I've already decided that it'll be worth the effort and it's something I want to do, I keep digging.

Also, being able to rationalize the appeal of something like the idea of music is irrelevant to the enjoyment of it.

 

[Jadak]

It's just noise, perfectly fine to not care about it.

While I can't say I don't like any music, there's definitely an extent to which I can't understand how other people react to it, dancing is the best example. I mean, what the fuck is that? You hear some noise so you have to move around? The whole rhythm inspiring movement thing is a completely alien reaction to me.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Also, try going on a roadtrip with no music. Suicide will become a viable option.

I've done that every day for a little over 5 years now.
(my car is ancient. no CD player, and the radio antenna mast is shot; radio staions around here suck rocks anyway)
It's dreadfully dull, but I eventually got used to it.

OT(ish): Doesn't mean I dislike music. (quite the opposite)

 

[RaikuFA]

Music is awesome. What more needs to be said?

Also, try going on a roadtrip with no music. Suicide will become a viable option.

Or sleeping. Or playing vidget games.

These are not viable options when driving... :/

You just need to learn to multitask.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

I would have to agree, I don't see the appeal.

I mean, I can finally enjoy music now, but nothing like others do. But, for me, the rhythm, beats, and abstracting nature of songs to emotions and events helps fuel my brain when writing or thinking, cutting out other things.

I suppose, how it helps or elicits my creativity.

 

[Auron225]

It's not really the sort of thing anyone could talk you into. It's like trying to talk someone into liking a certain food.

People just like what they like the sound of. If it makes you wanna sing along, that's a sign. If you find yourself singing something (and enjoying it), without it playing anywhere nearby, that's a bigger sign.

 

[gritch]

I'm going to probably take a slightly different approach than most in the thread. Music can oblivious cause an emotional response by itself but while this has happened to me I find such instances are rather rare. Often it seems music triggers an emotional response via connection with secondary memories. Something like hearing a particular song while in a certain mental state or while performing a certain task imprints it on you and hearing the song again helps bring back the initial emotional state. The longer the exposure or the stronger the initial emotional state the more easily the brain makes the connection between the two. It's used all the time in movies and TV shows and affects you probably more than you're consciously aware.

Sort of an odd personal example but one year for Christmas I got Assassin's Creed (new at the time) at the same time my younger brother got a CD for the Alvin and the Chipmunks soundtrack. Of course I spent most of my day playing my game and my brother spent his day listening to that goddamn CD the next room over. All day I got to listen to Alvin's high-pitch singing while playing AC. Later when I heard the CD again I suddenly had a strong urge to replay AC because I had associated the two stimuli in my head.

I used a similar trick in college. When studying for an exam try listening to a short playlist(~0.5-1hr) of similar songs. When the time of the test came up I would hum the same songs.I'd hit a certain chord and suddenly remember nucleophilic substitution of a primary organohalide normally proceeds through a SN2 mechanism.

The brain's a complex thing. It likes to find patterns and organize thinks subconsciously. The rhythmic beats of music affects your general state of thought probably more than you're consciously aware. Some people make emotional connections with music more readily than others. If you don't get the appeal of music you're brain might not make these connections as readily. That's not necessarily a bad thing of course.

At least that's how I normally think about music.

 

[Dizchu]

If you don't see the appeal of music, that's fine. I'm a musician, occasional music critic and all-round connoisseur, and I sometimes think music is completely pointless. I mean it's such an abstract form of art but it comes with so much pretentious nonsense too. No Will.I.Am, your sterile four-chord garbage is not revolutionary. It's a bunch of beats and notes played within the confines of the Western 12-tone scale. Even prog legends like Dream Theater or Rush don't extend that far beyond those ideas, as much respect as I have for them. They're still playing the same chords with the same beats and same tones a thousand other bands have played.

I also wouldn't worry about not seeing the appeal of music. The way brain-dead masses eat up novelty rubbish and top 40 hits gives me the impression that lack of music appreciation is quite widespread. I know that sounded snobby as hell, but it's true. Most people treat it like a disposable commodity.