What's it all about

[James W]

I don't know if the birdsong IS music, but I sometimes enjoy them in a musical way.

This is it, for me. I tend to think of music as a way of listening. So anything can be music if you're listening in a receptive way (such is the expansion of possibilities of what constitutes music in the twentieth century.)

[emanresu]

Voices, to me, are a great example of a facet of music that I can't explain very well. There are some voices I absolutely love, and there are voices I can't stand, and some inbetween. It has nothing to do with vocal skill, either. There are enough contradictions in my own preferences that I know I can't explain it in a rational way.

It is so true. About the voices being attractive or "meh". There is a long lost quote of someone important saying about someones singing voice (opera): "he sounds clever". The example of the voice was right there,
and I did agree to that opinion. Now.... who could tell in simple terms, why a singing voice should sound "smart"?

[emanresu]

The topic of this thread addresses the reason why we all are doing it.
It is like "the meaning of life" kind of question. With less weight because it is just about entertainment?

There are a number of reactions:
1.explainable
2.mystical
3.i feel this is it for me
4. oh i know, it is like that!
5. a few definitions for "music".

Havent seen an "i don't know".

The problem we got is that "i don't know" is such a hard thing to say.

[Aiq]

Steve Kimock has said music is the feeling one gets when listening to music.

From another of his responses on the subject:

“Consistent with my definition of music as a succession of feeling states…I’m not convinced “feeling it” from the artist perspective has anything to do with “meaning” from the listener’s perspective.
It’s been my experience there’s no 1:1 mapping between specific resonances and specific feeling states for myself, so pretty sure that precludes any possibility of specific emotional meaning between you and I.

Beyond a general recognition we go on some kind of trip in the process of listening.”