TumorAttitude

Do you guys think there is a universal type of sound that virtually everyone likes?
The purpose of making music is NOT for everyone to like it, but still, can't help but wonder......
*prepares for joke responses*

LoathsomePete

There are particular sounds that do well at appeasing the ears, however as far as a "universal sound" I think it really does vary from person to person. "A Piece of Strange" is by far my favorite hip hop album of all time, and while people will agree with me on this it's not for the exact same reasons, we'll disagree on what songs we think is best because of our own personal preferences in logged in our brains somewhere. Oh and because you've prepared yourself for it, the ass is where poo comes from.

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TumorAttitude

Ass ass ass. I swear they censor me and not you....

Yeah, that makes sense. There are DEFINITLY certain sounds that are all-around PC and plesent. Muzak was built on that. (Even though its out of bussiness now, it was once a thriving empire of emotionless jibbery tunes.)

I think if anyone experimented and tried hard enough to find a sound to appeal to everyone, they would just make crap music...

cheezyridr

i call b.s. on that statement. that is exactly the purpose for making music. otherwise all you are doing is making noise. any 3 year old can make noise.
art has an appeal. otherwise it's garbage. people want to seem "avant garde" and say "ooh, i make music for me, not because someone might like it"

funny how as soon as they pick up an instrument the very next thing they do
(ALL MUSICIANS DO IT) is play for someone and look for approval. no matter what form it takes, wether it's getting laid by some hot girl, or someone telling you it's really cool, or selling cds.

The Unfan

There is a clear distinction here. The motive behind the music changes from person to person, and I will totally disagree with you. If your music is made to be marketable and for no other reason than odds are it won't be good. Being prefabricated with the notion of richness or praise is how bands like Nickelback come into existence.

SwayBreezy

When you say "sound" are you referring to a particular style of music? As in: "they sound like Sublime" or "that band has a Latin sound".

Or are you literally referring to sound? As in the sound a guitar makes or the sound a trumpet makes. Like, most people enjoy music that contains the sound of drums.

This is an interesting topic with no definitive answer. I do think that most people would say that they enjoy music because of the rhythm. Some might say that it is less about the rhythm and more about the mood or "feel" of the music. Even farther still, some might say they like specific songs for the content whether it be lyrical or musical.

I'm sure you could also find that many people enjoy music containing specific notes or tones. Some notes are more pleasing than others. Especially when played in conjunction with other notes to build chords and melodies. I'm sure someone out there knows the most commonly played notes, chords, and melodies in the history of music. I'm also positive that if you put many of the most popular songs in history side-by-side, they would share many of the same chords, melodies, and topics.

I believe there is a formula to music in every culture, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a musical formula that spans all cultures.

Of course, this is just my opinion.
-Sway Breezy

jackhammer

There are two sides to this. I mean virtually everyone on this forum loves the sound of a guitar, however many people do not like distorted guitar or many are bored by simple picking. There are certainly sounds that many of us connect to and prefer over others but a universal sound? Not really, although structure could certainly unite even more people but this is why music is so beloved of us. If we all liked the same sound then there is no fun in music.

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someonecompletelyrandom

The sound of a bass drop is something I think we can all appreciate.

Freebase Dali

I wouldn't like to believe there's a universal sound that every human likes equally. Regardless of whether it's a sound, a vibe, a tone, a song, a whatever.
Difference of opinion is what drives the progression of music.
Or, more elementally, individual tastes are what create the diversity of what we consider musical sounds.

I wouldn't want to live in a world that contained a universally loved specificity (besides the obvious, like rhythm and structure) involving music. If that were the case, we'd all be listening to the exact same thing.

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