# How do you listen to your music?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-listen-to-your-music/500403>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 20, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-listen-to-your-music/500403 "2009-06-20T16:53:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-listen-to-your-music/500403/1 "2009-06-20T16:53:48Z")

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When you listen to your favorite music, what parts do you listen to closely? For me, I’m a heavy metal fanatic, so sometimes I like to listen to the bassline or the drums, but I also enjoy the rapid guitar shreds and other elements. I don’t really listen to the vocals, especially if they are not presented as clean singing, but as Cookie-monster-esque grunting. Since I also enjoy progressive rock I enjoy listening to the complex rhythms and song structures. Sometimes the organ used in early Genesis, ELP and Yes music grabs me, and sometimes I listen to the lyrics more closely. In any case, with any music, I am apt to note the key in which it is played, being that I have perfect pitch. Metallica is heavy on E tunings, whereas a lot of bands that detune tend to play in C.

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-listen-to-your-music/500403/2 "2009-06-20T17:16:30Z")

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1. Lyrics.
2. Guitar solos. Fast does not impress me, though.
3. Bass line (alas, with iPods, this is often impossible)
4. Drums (if I can’t hear the bass).