Emotional while listening...

"The song that has always moved me and brought me to the deepth of my heart's calling is La Petite Fille de La Mer ~ Vangelis I really do not know why and how, but it just does." - Amey

I know what you mean - I find the most of the pieces on the Vangelis "Voices" album deeply moving - I dont know why..

Some of these pieces have lyrics, but the actual words are, to me, of no importance - to me these are "instrumentals" with the voice as a musical instrument.

I do think there could be something about the sound of the human voice which accesses emotional response more than other instruments - and that this vocal quality is perhaps what gives some instruments (including the theremin, synthesiser and perhaps electric guitar) an edge over others - particularly for lead.

One thing which convinces me that the voice has special ability to convey emotion, and that this ability is not due soley to the words being sung, is that I am emotionally affected even when I dont understand a word being sung. Much of my musical influence has been from South Africa - And no music has ever touched me more than the wonderful singing from Xhosa women - often just their voices.

I am not  into opera - But sometimes I am deeply emotionally affected by several of Wagner's operas - I dont know why ! There are not many operas I can listen to from start to end, but my first real "encounter" with "Der Ring des Nibelungen" was when I found a set of CD's in my local library, and I played all 4 operas in one listening and expierienced a huge range of emotions - fear, rage, excitement, sadness and some which I could not name  - not all were pleasant - listening to these operas isnt something I will do often! (and I must admit that quite often I play them but just dont get it - they dont touch me at all, and after 20 minutes I am bored and turn it off - this doesnt happen with any other music I listen to.. Also, this is the one genre which doesnt go permanently into my brain - I dont remember this music - it doesnt play in my head).. I dont think the reason is its complexity - I remember every note of "Tales from topographic oceans" and every note in Liszt's piano sonata, and these play in my head - But I only remember opera music when I am actually listening to it - real strange! (I also cannot remember Gordon C's music until I listen to it - seems my brain files this in my 'opera' folder, LOL ;-)

Fred

Coalport wrote;

"Within the category of INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC, I would include vocal music that is sung in a language that the listener neither speaks nor understands. [...] the voices might as well be instruments."

 While this is not a song that inspires a strong emotional response in quite the same way as other songs mentioned in this thread, it occurs to me that as it is a very popular internet meme it would be interesting to see if some portion of that popularity would be passed on to a version of the song played on a theremin with the dreaded "Talking Machine" effect. ;-)

He kinda looks like Mr. Pringle? :)

"While this is not a song that inspires a strong emotional response in quite the same way as other songs mentioned in this thread..."   - GordonC

Wonder why singers around this time affected bouncy gaits, gestured expansively, and sported big goofy grins?

Kind of reminds me of Tomita's analog synth gibberish patches.  I particularly like them in "Mars, The Bringer of War" (from "Holst The Planets") where presumably someone in mission control and an astronaut on the pad are singing their national anthem together.

"where presumably someone in mission control and an astronaut on the pad are singing their national anthem together" - Dewster

I like most of what Tomita has done.. But I hated "Mars" (and didnt really like Tomita's "the Planets" at all) - perhaps because I was well into Holst's classical version before I heard Tomita's version - For me, the classical version is emotional, and Tomita's version is a comic parody.

In some other musical context, the "analog synth gibberish patches" could IMO have been great - but in "Mars" they were just too far from the original "feeling" IMO - in fact, I feel this is true for almost all of Tomitas interpretations in "the planets" - Tomita's "Jupiter" for example - it has some beautiful constructs and sounds - but IMO (emotionally) doesnt convey "jollity" nearly as well as the original - Jupiter was "darkened" and Mars was "lightened" - the "gibberish" in Mars was more "Jolly" than the gibberish in Jupiter.

Any yes - I can see how Mr Trololo would remind you of Tomita's planets! ;-)

Fred.

"Isn't it extraordinary how potent cheap music is."  Noel Coward PRIVATE LIVES

Absolutely.  And there's not a thing wrong with that, although I'm not exactly sure what he means by the adjective "cheap".

"Since we are a group dedicated to a musical instrument, I would love to know what sort of entirely instrumental music people are moved by..."

For me, all sorts. I personally love instrumental music that is extremely simplistic and some that is extremely complex (which obviously can't be played on a theremin), and everything in between. It is not a particular type but rather it is to particular characteristics that I'm drawn.  To put it as simply and generically as possible, it must draw me in, create a mood, and take me on a mental and/or emotional journey (hopefully both).  To me, music is not meant to be background "noise" - it is something to be experienced in the deepest sense.

Of course, by some people's standards, I may be too easily amused.  So be it...

You can take any piece of music, and there will be people who believe it is the most beautiful and sublime thing they've ever heard, and just as many others who think it is the biggest pile of crap they've ever heard.

"You can take any piece of music, and there will be people who believe it is the most beautiful and sublime thing they've ever heard, and just as many others who think it is the biggest pile of crap they've ever heard." - Jeff

Asolutely spot on! ... And actually IMO, the only person who is "wrong" is the person who believes the other is wrong... (and I am often wrong.. ;-)

Fred

^ Agreed, there is no accounting for taste.  And when it comes to music there seems to be absolutely no accounting for taste.  Which I find somewhat counter-intuitive.

Good music: music you like

Bad music: music you don't like

Garbage: music that you dislike so much it makes you angry

Dangerous music: music you do not want others to like

Subversive music: music that could divert people from thinking what you want them to think, or encourage a lifestyle with which you disagree

Just a quick note...

I have no doubt that the Talking Machine is a great piece of gear.

It's worth noting that combining a low-pass filter in combination with something like the Q-Zone (a fixed wah pedal in a small box, with a knob for frequency) can produce female formants. I was playing my Gakken Premium through the combination and getting ethereal alto and soprano vocals.

It's definitely inspiring to play something so very human-sounding, but capable of vocals which I'd never be able to do in real life.