Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Are you surprised at the type (genre) of music you play?

The other day Mrs. Hunky just flat out asked me "how'd you end up playing that spongy spaceship music anyway?".

I had to laugh as I knew exactly what she meant by that.

"You mean hauntingly beautiful/romantic music" I replied.

"Yeah sure, if that's what you call it" she said.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I listen to all types of music throughout the day. Anything from the phunk junkeez to Mark Knopfler and everything in between but certainly not the goofy stuff I play on the piano.

The thing is, the type of music I am playing right now is nothing similar to what I listen to on my own so I'm wondering where it is coming from?.

Also, I am free to play anything I want on the piano but I always seem to play the spacey stuff and I don't know why. It seems to be the only melodies that pop into my mind when I am playing so that's what I end up with.

I'm wondering, is anyone else at least curious as to why you play the type of music you do?.

Is the music you play the same as the stuff you listen to during the day or are you at a loss as to why you play the music you do like me.

Listening to music is a passive experience, whereas playing it is very active. You become part of the music, and it flows from you. That is an extremely different feeling than you get when you just listen. Which is why I personally like playing some classical, whereas I wouldn't dream of listing to it on the radio.

I'm pretty stuffy about what I listen to and play - classical and classical. I grew up with the sound of classical music in my home.

I recently discovered that I was apparently born with a slight hearing loss. Ever since I was a little girl, I've had a hard time picking out conversations in noisy venues and I have a slight loss in the the treble range. I think my distaste for popular music may stem from the fact that I can barely make out the words while the bass dominates what I hear. Basically I hear mostly boom boom in popular music so I just don't like it. I even have the radio in my car adjusted for very, very low bass. I have no difficulty listening to classical music but the sound of the announcer's basso voice drives me up a wall.

My problem is that I love too many types of music. I can sit for my two hour practice in the morning and do nothing but play blues and think, "damn, I should just concentrate on blues and learn it in all the keys"...or rock and think "damn, I should work with my Korg and drum tracks and work out a cd of rock songs"...or jazz and think "damn, I really should really study this stuff so i have some sort of idea what I'm doing"... or "space music" and think "damn, I should try and do another Snippits cd cause this stuff is so much fun" or songs and think "damn, I could just sit and write and play songs forever"... or classical and think "damn, I should just take some more lessons and really push at becoming a good classical pianist.".

I think it's too bad I don't just concentrate on one kind of music because then maybe I would actually get good at it instead of dwelling in music mediocrity... :rolleyes:

I too like all kinds of music. Believe it or not, I like Classical music.

However, lately I’ve taken a particular liking to Blues. In fact, I’ve improvised a new Blues tune called “I’m on my way”, with lyrics and all. It sounds so good to me I just can’t believe I’m the one playin it and singin it.

When I get it perfected I’ll record a video and put it YouTube so you all can listen to it and tell me what you think.

Ain’t music fun!

Take care,

Rickster

That pegs me out quite well, especially for guitar, with one exception, I am barely approaching mediocrity.

Great observation Hunky!! I rarely listen to the spongy spaceship music, but yet most of what I attempt to play falls into the classical or spacey spongeship music genre.

I bet there is Freudian explanation, maybe it’s just our id trying to manifest?

I play the music I love to listen to during the day, although there is also a lot of music I enjoy listening to (rock, mostly) that I do not attempt to play.

As for *why*, that's easy. New age/ neoclassical/ contemporary piano solo music is the most beautiful music ever written. :p

To borrow an expression from another thread, I'm gobsmacked by the kind of music I play.

I had every intention of learning blues, rock, and pop when I started, but about 90% of what I play is either text book classical like Bach, Beethoven and Clementi, or modern quasi-elevator music like Einaudi, Tierson, or Senneville/Toussaint. I do have a couple Beatles songs and a Rolling Stones song in my rep, but no blues and no jazz. Even the "rock" stuff is really mamby-pamby ballads.

I keep telling myself I'll move to more popular stuff someday, but I enjoy what I play, so no hurry.

BTW - I hardly ever listen to the kind of music I play.

Now that's an unbiased, lowkey, impartial understatement that we probably never would have guessed :p

But, then there's alot to be said for consistency

I would agree - except that I would insert the words "some of" between "is" and "the"

Regards, JF

I only wrote it that way because I knew it would get your goat, John Frank.

If I do listen to music while I drive or on my ipod at the gym it will be mostly rock...stones, doors, zepplin, and many others. Rarely do I listen to classical on the radio but that is what I have most enjoyed playing on the piano until I found this forum.

I have always enjoyed playing classical music on the piano simply because I find it fun and challenging to learn and play. I love how it feels under my fingers.

Since finding this forum, I have been motivated to learn other types of music...jazz, new age, and some older tunes such as "Last Date" by Floyd Cramer, etc.. Even so, classical remains my first favorite type of music to play for the sheer fun of playing the piano.

It worked - goat gotten! JF

I mostly listen to rock and 70s stuff on the radio, but I think it's because I like to hear what I've heard before (I guess I haven't listened to new music since 1979!). If I listen to classical, it is usually a CD of something I'm trying to learn or particularly like. I can listen to the same piece 10 times in a row if I like it.

I rarely try to play popular music on the piano. I just never sound like Billy Joel. Classical is fun and challenging for me, and I have no idea what Chopin really sounded like, so I don't get as discouraged!

Nancy

I listen to many kinds of music, but they have nothing to do with the one I play at the piano.

Maybe because it's difficult to have piano versions of some of the music I like..... (How would some gothic-metal piece sound at the piano?)

I play mostly classical (Which I love and listen, too), but mainly listen to gothic metal, industrial folk, after punk, alternative...

Hey Boira, I'm actually working on a new rendition of Evanessence "My Immortal". I'll be sure to post it up somewhere when it's done. Maybe you would like it if your into beautiful "haunting" gothic melodies.

When I was younger, I never suspected I would become such a fan of classical music. There was no classical influence in my youth.

I like listening to it as much as playing (well, playing is more fun). When I improvise, what I hear is definitely classical influence... But my fingers don't always comply. With improv, I'm usually happy enough if it has some flow, and so it winds up on the slower side.

WOW, I'll be sure not to miss that

La Terra Santa by Haggard and The Sacrament by HIM also have beautiful gothic melodies, and even are played on the piano in the original songs
Nightwish have also tons of "haunting" gothic melodies on the keyborad... uhmmm *brain starts working frenzy*

Edited for typos, as always :rolleyes:

I'm really bored and my son woke me up shouting at some stranger he was trying to kill somewhere across the country on some stupid video game, so I began to see what was on page 300. This thread was my favorite of the page, as it totally fits for me. I never listened to a single piece of classical music, yet that's just about all I'm playing now .

Even better though is Monica's response. And this is from 10 years ago. Enjoy .

I like playing classical on piano but don’t listen to it elsewhere.
I like to play all sorts though - this one that sounds great on piano but it’s too advanced for me at the moment
https://youtu.be/Se_zHkzs5HM

Blast from the past...

Spongy Spaceship Music - nice description of New Age/Neoclassical/Minimalist/whatever music

Sam