A recent thread on harmony got me thinking about a debate my father and I used to have…one of those every day things that I miss very much now that he’s passed.
Dad was not a lyrics man. He preferred classical music and instrumentals because he felt that “lyrics limit your imagination and emotional reaction to the music”.
I can appreciate his perspective, at least on a conceptual level, but I’ve always been a big lyrics person. I also enjoy classical and instrumental music very much, but I think of it the same way I think of vegetarian food. It isn’t an either/or situation. I don’t eat vegetarian/vegan food as a replacement for anything. I eat everything, including veggie/vegan, because I enjoy the taste for it’s own sake.
I also think that I enjoy music on multiple levels simultaneously. Listening to a song with lyrics causes my brain to simply split off the verbal story from the music, then happily appreciates both on completely different levels. If I happen to like the lyrics but not care for the music, I appreciate it more like poetry. If I happen to like the music but not care for the lyrics, I’ll downplay the narrative and concentrate on enjoying the tune. When both come together with equal levels of appreciation, I consider that a great piece.
I have favorite poems and favorite pieces of lyric-less music. But there is something special and unique and goose-bump raising about the pieces that can strike that harmonic in my brain with both.