instrumental vs. vocal

[j666]

soooo...what is it? do you like the instrumental stuff or no? my old singer hated listening to anything that didn't have vocals cuz they weren't "real" songs. vai, satch...and the like bored the fuk out of him.

so where do you stand on the issue?
me personally, i love instrumental stuff. i am biased tho cuz when i listen to ANY band, the vocals are not a major factor to me. i listen to them and if they sound good with the song then bonus. let's put it this way...i can listen to a band that has good music and lame vocals all day, but i cannot listen to a band with lame music no matter how amazing the vocals are.

 

[jesserides2005]

Instrumental music is "not" songs by definition. Song's by definition have lyrics and are sung. My old classical guitar teacher used to bust my chops when I first started taking lesson's because I'd refer to a "piece" of guitar music as a song.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song

That being said I like both depending on the mood................

 

[j666]

i had no idea that it had to have vocals to be a song...whoever made up that definition should be kicked in the nuts...twice...even if he/she is dead...dig 'em up and kick 'em in teh ballz.

fuk that...it's a song to me and i'm stickin' with it. FTW!

and for all you youngsters that THINK ftw stands for "for the win"...grow some balls like the old-school and realize it means "FUCK THE WORLD".

 

[jesserides2005]

i had no idea that it had to have vocals to be a song...whoever made up that definition should be kicked in the nuts...twice...even if he/she is dead...dig 'em up and kick 'em in teh ballz.

fuk that...it's a song to me and i'm stickin' with it. FTW!

and for all you youngsters that THINK ftw stands for "for the win"...grow some balls like the old-school and realize it means "FUCK THE WORLD".

Better watch your language living that close to "The Temple" & all!

 

[j666]

what temple? do i know you?...like in real life?

 

[jesserides2005]

what temple? do i know you?...like in real life?

No, I just assumed by your location description under your avatar that there's probably a "Temple" nearby!

 

[j666]

there's actually 2 of them within 20 miles...makes me fukn sick.

 

[shadowfax29]

soooo...what is it? do you like the instrumental stuff or no? my old singer hated listening to anything that didn't have vocals cuz they weren't "real" songs. vai, satch...and the like bored the fuk out of him.

so where do you stand on the issue?
me personally, i love instrumental stuff. i am biased tho cuz when i listen to ANY band, the vocals are not a major factor to me. i listen to them and if they sound good with the song then bonus. let's put it this way...i can listen to a band that has good music and lame vocals all day, but i cannot listen to a band with lame music no matter how amazing the vocals are.

I definitely don't mind a well thought out instrumental, but I don't necessarily agree on the if the music is good, I can stomach it though. Perfect example......Cacophony. I've always loved Becker's and Friedman's solo stuff but man, why the hell did they let that guy sing is beyond me. It completely ruined it for me.

 

[j666]

that
s what i'm sayin' tho...FOR ME, the vox do not matter at all as long as the music is good. it's always been that way for me. maybe i'm just wierd but that's all i know and i'm cool wit that.

 

[CharFace]

As with everything I am usually in the vast minority here, but I tend to find instrumentals very boring. I like Metallica's instrumentals, well the ones on KEA/RTL/MOP/AJFA I don't really know the "rest" of their stuff. And I like Bob Savage's and Pete Laramee's albums. But I cannot get into Satriani/Vai etc. I guess I'm not cool enough

I cut my teeth on punk and hardcore 'cause 1) I was a tad bit too young for the whole '80's metal scene (still love it, but being born in '76 I was a young 'en for most of it) and 2) I just could not get into 99% of the "grunge" music that existed it the '90's. Let's add #3) I will never be able to play like any of these instrumental/shred guys, but I can certainly keep up with the Dead Kennedys, Agnostic Front, Bad Religion et al.

Another part of music that I love is the "message." I gotta know what the band is all about. The vocals don't specifically have to be good, but the lyrics damn well better be. But what do I know...

 

[j666]

As with everything I am usually in the vast minority here, but I tend to find instrumentals very boring. I like Metallica's instrumentals, well the ones on KEA/RTL/MOP/AJFA I don't really know the "rest" of their stuff. And I like Bob Savage's and Pete Laramee's albums. But I cannot get into Satriani/Vai etc. I guess I'm not cool enough

I cut my teeth on punk and hardcore 'cause 1) I was a tad bit too young for the whole '80's metal scene (still love it, but being born in '76 I was a young 'en for most of it) and 2) I just could not get into 99% of the "grunge" music that existed it the '90's. Let's add #3) I will never be able to play like any of these instrumental/shred guys, but I can certainly keep up with the Dead Kennedys, Agnostic Front, Bad Religion et al.

Another part of music that I love is the "message." I gotta know what the band is all about. The vocals don't specifically have to be good, but the lyrics damn well better be. But what do I know...

i can't play even close to the majority of stuff i listen to but that has little bearing on wether i like sumthin' or not. there's also some dudes here that are the flip-side of that. if they can play it, it's not that "good" anymore...can you imagine someone like steve vai being like that? that would suck. you wouldn't be able to listen to anything anymore.
really tho, my love for music is not based on my ability to play it, or not. if i was like that, i'd rather not play guitar at all (not saying that you should quit or anything like that). i'm a music fan before i'm a musician and i love the fact that there are still things out there i don't know how to do or how it's done period. it does keep a mystique there that i enjoy.
there's plenty of cool peeps that don't like a certain type of music.
and agnostic front is one of my alltime faves

 

[CharFace]

i can't play even close to the majority of stuff i listen to but that has little bearing on wether i like sumthin' or not. there's also some dudes here that are the flip-side of that. if they can play it, it's not that "good" anymore...can you imagine someone like steve vai being like that? that would suck. you wouldn't be able to listen to anything anymore.
really tho, my love for music is not based on my ability to play it, or not. if i was like that, i'd rather not play guitar at all (not saying that you should quit or anything like that). i'm a music fan before i'm a musician and i love the fact that there are still things out there i don't know how to do or how it's done period. it does keep a mystique there that i enjoy.
there's plenty of cool peeps that don't like a certain type of music.
and agnostic front is one of my alltime faves

I should prolly proof-read shit before I post it, but it ain't gonna happen

If I only listened to what I could play I would only have like 2 albums

But I still find most instrumental to be boring.

To me, lyrical content is as important as musical content. I love tons of music that has freakin' awesome musicanship, but crap for lyrics, and I love me lotsa tunes that have a killer message in the lyrics, despite suspect playing. But when I find a dope combo of both lyric & music, I'm there dude

 

[j666]

if, and this is a big if, i do like the message or like the lyrics period...it's a huge bonus.

 

[Bob Savage]

Instrumentals blow. They're not real songs. They're not real music. Instrumentals are for beginners and dum dums.

 

[j666]

Instrumentals blow. They're not real songs. They're not real music. Instrumentals are for beginners and dum dums.

how would you even know?

 

[Bob Savage]

Instrumentals blow. They're not real songs. They're not real music. Instrumentals are for beginners and dum dums.

how would you even know?

I'm a dum dum.

 

[mrp5150]

I love instrumentals if they're written well, same as a regular song with lyrics. Some of my favorites...

Soilwork - Entering The Angel Diabolique

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrt-0CJw1nM

Arch Enemy - Stigmata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyshai_D0MU

Iron Maiden - Genghis Khan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PHAwWUx21U

 

[Rob Tahan]

I can see both sides personally.
Alot of instrumental stuff is kinda boring. I think if most people spent as much time on songwriting rather than just wankage riffing then they'd have a much more appealing product. Good melody is key. Perfect example...Cliffs of Dover. I mean c'mon, how often does a instrumental song get on the radio. EJ really wrote an amazing song there. Not that every instrumentalist should write for the radio or anything.
Now the test for me personally is practicing what i preach. I had my first studio session last night with my instrumental project. My biggest hope is not that people be woo'ed by any kind of shred riffs on the cd, but rather MOVED by the emotion in the music and the melodies.
I'll hopefully have something by next week to put on here if anyone cares to listen

 

[j666]

I can see both sides personally.
Alot of instrumental stuff is kinda boring. I think if most people spent as much time on songwriting rather than just wankage riffing then they'd have a much more appealing product. Good melody is key. Perfect example...Cliffs of Dover. I mean c'mon, how often does a instrumental song get on the radio. EJ really wrote an amazing song there. Not that every instrumentalist should write for the radio or anything.
Now the test for me personally is practicing what i preach. I had my first studio session last night with my instrumental project. My biggest hope is not that people be woo'ed by any kind of shred riffs on the cd, but rather MOVED by the emotion in the music and the melodies.
I'll hopefully have something by next week to put on here if anyone cares to listen

i hear ya, but sometimes i want to be woo'ed by shred wankage. there's a time and a place and a balance for it. i'll definitely listen.

 

[Bob Savage]

Perfect example...Cliffs of Dover. I mean c'mon, how often does a instrumental song get on the radio.

Your point is well taken but practically, instrumental rock left the radio for mainstream play shortly after Eric release Ah Via Musicom (or whatever it was called). Instrumental rock's mainstream radio lifespan was very short, beginning with Surfing with the Alien and ending a few years after it.