Not quite the same, the opposite in fact, but I can often tell what the song is from the very first note. There was a programme on TV in the UK called Face the Music, which tested people's ability to do this with classical music. One section involved watching someone play a silent keyboard. I think it is, as you say, a matter of rhythm, perhaps also pitch if you only have one note to go by. Fascinating post, Mark. 🎵
First note recognition is pretty cool! I don't listen to enough classical music to even attempt that with that genre but I might be able to recognize some pop songs that quickly.
It's fun and weird to hear something "for the first time" again. I do a version of this on purpose when I listen to an album I haven't heard in a long while. I appreciate *new layers* in the music that I hadn't noticed before. And granted, sometimes it's been remastered. I clung to this practice early in the pandemic. If I woke in the middle of the night, and couldn't sleep, I'd listen to an old album in my headphones, quietly in the dark. I highly recommend the practice any time. REM's wonderful 1985 "Fables of the Reconstruction" became a comfort Rx that got me through many long nights. Also: The National's "Trouble Will Find Me" and Lord Huron's "Lonesome Dreams"
When Doves Cry’s guitar intro is infectious. I think I’ll die happy nailing that sweeping section down to a T. Great read.
P.S. Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog has an interesting time signature. I heard it was constructed that way to make it difficult to cover. John Bonham’s drums drag against Jimmy Page’s catchy riff and I’m not mad about it.
I've heard that many pros could never figure out how Prince played that intro - supposedly it was a topic of conversation between him and Billy Gibbons when they met in person once. And Black Dog.... yeah, yet another reason was Bonham was one of the greatest rock drummers. LZ played around with time signatures a lot (it seems) in their music.
Tangentially, those moments when listening to a song known to you for years, sometimes decades, and your attention snaps in at just the right moment to hear something you never noticed before. A small sound effect, a low-mixed instrument, or something buried in EQ that only jumps out through a certain stereo or speaker. I heard something just the other day, in fact, on a My Bloody Valentine track that I had to rewind and check it was there as I'd never heard it before!
I always thought the Macarena sounded off when I listened to it, as a 90s child is wont to do, while dancing in the living room with friends. It didn’t quite sound the same way as it did when I was a kid - but you know, time had passed, etc.
Only to find out recently that there’s literally a cover version that was released shortly after the original by a Canadian duo and that’s the one we spent the 90s listening to! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarena
My cousins and I used to play a game at the family cottage, to see who could guess the song on the radio correctly before the singer started. I was never very good at it.
Somewhat related. My wife and I wake up every morning to a Time Life soft rock playlist. I know every song on there. But there’s close to 400 tracks from a bunch of different compilation CDs each of which vary in volume.
A few mornings a week one of the songs will play at a really low volume. And I’ll lie there, kind of hearing it but not really, trying to figure out what the song is. And then somehow my brain suddenly puts everything together and I know what song it is. And once that happens, suddenly the song sounds louder and I can hear every instrument, every nuance, every lyric. It’s such a bizarre experience!
Not quite the same, the opposite in fact, but I can often tell what the song is from the very first note. There was a programme on TV in the UK called Face the Music, which tested people's ability to do this with classical music. One section involved watching someone play a silent keyboard. I think it is, as you say, a matter of rhythm, perhaps also pitch if you only have one note to go by. Fascinating post, Mark. 🎵
First note recognition is pretty cool! I don't listen to enough classical music to even attempt that with that genre but I might be able to recognize some pop songs that quickly.
It's mainly pop songs I can do it with
It's fun and weird to hear something "for the first time" again. I do a version of this on purpose when I listen to an album I haven't heard in a long while. I appreciate *new layers* in the music that I hadn't noticed before. And granted, sometimes it's been remastered. I clung to this practice early in the pandemic. If I woke in the middle of the night, and couldn't sleep, I'd listen to an old album in my headphones, quietly in the dark. I highly recommend the practice any time. REM's wonderful 1985 "Fables of the Reconstruction" became a comfort Rx that got me through many long nights. Also: The National's "Trouble Will Find Me" and Lord Huron's "Lonesome Dreams"
Oh yes, great music will always reveal something new to you when you haven't heard it for awhile.
When Doves Cry’s guitar intro is infectious. I think I’ll die happy nailing that sweeping section down to a T. Great read.
P.S. Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog has an interesting time signature. I heard it was constructed that way to make it difficult to cover. John Bonham’s drums drag against Jimmy Page’s catchy riff and I’m not mad about it.
I've heard that many pros could never figure out how Prince played that intro - supposedly it was a topic of conversation between him and Billy Gibbons when they met in person once. And Black Dog.... yeah, yet another reason was Bonham was one of the greatest rock drummers. LZ played around with time signatures a lot (it seems) in their music.
Tangentially, those moments when listening to a song known to you for years, sometimes decades, and your attention snaps in at just the right moment to hear something you never noticed before. A small sound effect, a low-mixed instrument, or something buried in EQ that only jumps out through a certain stereo or speaker. I heard something just the other day, in fact, on a My Bloody Valentine track that I had to rewind and check it was there as I'd never heard it before!
Cool!
OKAY I HAVE ONE. Sort of related to this.
I always thought the Macarena sounded off when I listened to it, as a 90s child is wont to do, while dancing in the living room with friends. It didn’t quite sound the same way as it did when I was a kid - but you know, time had passed, etc.
Only to find out recently that there’s literally a cover version that was released shortly after the original by a Canadian duo and that’s the one we spent the 90s listening to! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarena
My cousins and I used to play a game at the family cottage, to see who could guess the song on the radio correctly before the singer started. I was never very good at it.
Did not see this coming
My mind has been blown for months and even anything almost related to it is going to get this story from me.
Somewhat related. My wife and I wake up every morning to a Time Life soft rock playlist. I know every song on there. But there’s close to 400 tracks from a bunch of different compilation CDs each of which vary in volume.
A few mornings a week one of the songs will play at a really low volume. And I’ll lie there, kind of hearing it but not really, trying to figure out what the song is. And then somehow my brain suddenly puts everything together and I know what song it is. And once that happens, suddenly the song sounds louder and I can hear every instrument, every nuance, every lyric. It’s such a bizarre experience!
Yes! That's exactly what I'm talking about!