What instruments MUSICALLY turn you on?

Sharpshooter · Post by **Sharpshooter** » 2005-02-16 09:46pm

Most folks, I suppose, have that certain special instrument set in a piece that, when listened to, drives them nuts in that good, musical way. A certain sound in a certain frequency and in certain amounts that, when applied in the right manner, makes a song so much better.

The obvious question: what sound sets do you love to listen to?

For me, it's a close three-way between brass, organs, and synth.

Brass is a rather interesting set, with variable levels of feeling that can be experienced by a listener. It's got a really nice "shine" sound of sorts to it, serving well as a central role in an instrumental, and can serve numerous areas, from low-level dull and easy background support to something sharp and center stage. When you get several pieces playing in tandum, it produces this awesome resonation that's extremily pleasing to my ear - though being Polish might make me a bit biased. (The song in question is a demo cut from an album released by the Dallas Brass, and is a quickie-version of Brahms' Hungarian Dance #5 - you know, that song from the ballroom scene in Dracula: Dead and Loving It).

Organs have a serious, sanctified sort of air about them, which is really helpful for setting a mood in a fantasy or quasi-religious instance, and can also produce a rather nice reverberation of sorts, especially with two or more playing in synch with one another. (The song in question is Crime and Punishment from the Y's V: Sand City of Kefin/Y's V: Expert soundtrack, though was extracted from its game-ripped SPC with SPCTool. The central organ score itself is great, but the choir and the strings make them even better).

Synth sets are lovable oddballs of sorts: sort of fluid, ever-changing, and artificial in that rather nice way. It can take on pretty much any role you want it to with the right tweaking, and is especially nice for Sci-Fi music. (The song in question is the background music from stage 3 of Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie for the SNES. The quality's a bit lower than with the others, but I had to convert it to GSM 6.10 44,100 mono for the sake of space, though it didn't suffer too much asides from stereo problems).

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2005-02-16 10:05pm

Synth, definately, especially when used in metal. I love the electronic influenced metal music, I find it gives the music something extra, even if it's barely used. Say, if it's only used on the end of a few riffs as a bleepy sound, or as a background to a transition to a slow heavy bit, or if it's successfully integrating dance and metal like ...and oceans' cypher album.

...and oceans - tears have no name and all the cypher album are great examples of this, as is what i've heard of soilwork, and fear factory uses it occasionally, and they're my favourite band. Dimmu Borgir, Children of Bodom and Bal Sagoth all put synths to good use, too. Inn I Evightens Morke pt 2(dimmu) has a cool little bit with a synth in it that's essentially what i listen out for in that song because it differentiates it. Follow the reaper (children of bodom) has it right in your face from the beginning along with the guitars. Bal Sagoth have them noticable in pretty much every song, but I love the egyptian sound they get out of one at the start of "Enthroned in the temple of the serpent king."

Currently, I'm listening to "The Iconoclast Deathride" by God Dethroned that's employing a synth that sounds sort of like Bach's organ from toccatta and fugue in d minor. Lots of black metal bands have used this in the past, I think it's very well used on Cradle of Filth's Midian album, especially at the start of Cthulhu dawn.

James Carpenter's themes from "assault on precinct 13" are great uses of synth too.

Daft punk are a dance music band, that naturally, use a lot of synth and it really works for them.

Choirs - well, human vocal chords are musical instruments! Yeah, when you put choirs to interesting use I think it sounds great. Dimmu Borgir have a load of songs that use choirs to interesting effect (though they're probably synthesised); the best example that comes immediately to mind is "Tormentor of Christian Souls" that has them in from the outset.

Those electronic voice thingies - even though they're used a lot in pop to cover up pop artists' lack of talent, I really like what they can do. Daft Punk use them to good effect, and I like what Crotchduster used them for in Mammal Sauce, and the one song I heard from I Monster (I forget the title for now) had them doing all kindsa crazy shit.

DOUBLE BASS DRUMMING - because it's just so great. I don't really care about the other drums as much as the double bass, that's where it really matters. I would be completely content with a band that only had double bass drumming in a song. Fear Factory, Kataklysm, Cryptopsy, Hate Eternal all have excellent examples of how to drum super-excellently.

Post by **Zaia** » 2005-02-16 11:04pm

Argh, I can't stand the sound of synths, unless they're ultra cheesy like "The Final Countdown" by Europe. Anytime a synthesizer is attempting to replace actual instruments played by people bothers me.

Anyway, I love the quality of sound of celli, horns, marimbas and pianos, with their wide ranges of emotion... *sighs* So beautiful.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2005-02-16 11:16pm

I'll echo the Synth comments. The exact kind and style depend on the music of course... but I do like that electronic sound. Probably my oldest addiction, dating to way back before I really discovered mainstream music of any sort (which has only been in the past year). Examples include Sandstorm, What is Love (Haddaway), and the SNES/Genesis game Desert Strike's main theme.

Organs and Choirs, no matter how badly misguided Christianity has been over these two millenia, are the quintessential "holy" music. They are perfect for whenever I'm in a 40k mood. For this reason I tend to listen to Gregorian chants from time to time.

Flute. I played it for several years, and theoretically still can. I love the instrument, in an... instrumental kind of way. The utter clarity of the notes, not to mention medieval-style music which features the instrument prominently, just add to its appeal.

Brass, particularly trumpets. I thought about playing one briefly. This one's harder to explain, I just like brassy sounds in a lot of music. Those high notes on a trumpet, while lip-splitting, are amazing to hear.

And finally, last and most certainly not least... my most favorite instrument of all time and the instrument of my all-time favorite musician, which I am currently learning to play... the one, the only... Electric Guitar. I've always loved the sound. I just never realized it until recently, when I discovered classic rock and Jimi Hendrix. Sounds weird, I know. I'm 18 years old, and I'm literally living out the 9-year-old dream of air-guitaring to music and all that. My parents were sadly not much into modern music (i.e., 1950s and up) and I was never introduced properly to it. I thought I just didn't have much interest in music; I was wrong, what I was hearing was just crap! Certain... venues allowed me to research, learn, and expand on music whenever I heard a piece I liked; usually Vietnam-era stuff. And thus, I discovered Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, the Kinks, and many others, and I finally found the proverbial "wicked kewl guitar solo" I'd been lacking up to that point. The sound is unparalled. Jimi's rendition of Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower never gets old, no matter how many times I listen to it. Smoke on the Water and other classic are the same way. Without a doubt, the electric guitar is the musical orgasm.

Post by **Dalton** » 2005-02-17 01:39am

For me it doesn't get much better than electric guitar and drums. Though I do love it when a piano alone or a piano and full orchestra is used in a rock song (eg. November Rain).

On a related note, there's a song on the Bill and Ted soundtrack by Extreme called Do You Want to Play? which includes some Excellent bits of Beethoven on electric guitar.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2005-02-17 02:09am

I guess drums, mostly. Sometimes they don't do it for me, but usually they do.
Brass is usually awesome, too.

I hate electric guitar, though. It can be cool, but generally it's just retarded. That's why I dislike most rock bands, they emphasize guitar too much.
According to Dave Chappelle, this makes me odd for a white person. I agree with him.

In general, though, I don't dig on music. I don't have any talent for it (no rhythm, no tone, no ear for it), and I generally prefer not listening to music than listening to it. Most people have passions for certain types of music (for or against), but I'm neutral. I think most music is all right, neither good nor bad. Rap, rock, techno, classical, pop, whatever. Except for country, which I don't like because everybody who likes it is the devil, not because of any problem with the music itself.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2005-02-17 02:23am

Brass. Especially, the trombone.

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2005-02-17 04:21am

Zampoña.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman · Post by **Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman** » 2005-02-17 07:04am

Uh... my taste is pretty different, since I'm a big fan of Electronic Music. So what really turn me on are various synth voices artificial "percussions", and effects which are common in house/techno/chill-house music. Particularly "piano-type" synth which you can found in the song Fogger (OST Red Alert; the first Red Alert, I mean), and "string" synth like in Moby's Porcelain, or in Chicane's No Ordinary Morning.

If you ever heard DJ Tiesto's Flight 642, or Carl Cox's Manual, those also contain the (electronic) "instruments" I've mentioned above (well technically Manual was performed by Continuous Cool but it was published on Carl Cox F.A.C.T 2 album.).

Or for easier way to figure out, Safri Duo's percussion is one of those instruments turn me on.

El Moose Monstero · Post by **El Moose Monstero** » 2005-02-17 07:14am

Dalton wrote:For me it doesn't get much better than electric guitar and drums. Though I do love it when a piano alone or a piano and full orchestra is used in a rock song (eg. November Rain).

On a related note, there's a song on the Bill and Ted soundtrack by Extreme called Do You Want to Play? which includes some Excellent bits of Beethoven on electric guitar.

Ditto on that, a good electric guitar solo at the right moment, a piano solo in a song which you wouldnt expect to hear or stringed or orchestral moments in it, fantastic stuff. But piano on it's own in the middle of a song is the favourite out of all of those.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2005-02-17 07:22am

guitars and synths working in combo for me. examples would include bands like Dream Theater and E Nomine.

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2005-02-17 07:24am

Bass instruments.
I'm not talking about crap like drum and bass where the room shakes to some incredibaly low synthesised bass line, i'm talking about cellos, double bass, bass guitar, bass drum, etc. etc.
It's the underlying beat to the song that drags me in and normally that's a bass instrument. I'm not sure whether this is the reason for me starting to play the cello, or if playing the cello is the reason for liking bass.
I also think this is a reason why i like bands like Muse where in some songs the bass takes the lead and is the most memorable part of the song (eg. Time is Running Out)

This is also probably the reason i don't see what's so good about "guitar legends" such as Hendrix. My brother was bigging up Hendrix when he came back from uni and when i listened alll i heard was a decent song, not something godlike that i'd heard proclaimed by just about everybody.

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2005-02-17 09:02am

A good string orchestra can bring all sorts of heart twanging melody to life. Listening to Barber's Adagio makes me tingle.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2005-02-17 09:13am

Guitar, followed by drums.

ROCK.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2005-02-17 09:15am

Strings and choir music

Doubely so if working in concert

Dead_Ghost · Post by **Dead_Ghost** » 2005-02-17 09:40am

Saxophone, violin, and the classical guitar. Most musics from Santana and Eric Clapton touch me deeply. Some Jazz musics, like those from Cassandra Wilson, where a sax enters (can't remember any now

) change my mood so spontaneously. And I just looove a solo violin, damn the way the music flows... These are three instruments that definitely touch me in ways inexplicable.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2005-02-17 10:43am

2000AD wrote:This is also probably the reason i don't see what's so good about "guitar legends" such as Hendrix. My brother was bigging up Hendrix when he came back from uni and when i listened alll i heard was a decent song, not something godlike that i'd heard proclaimed by just about everybody.

Have you listen to Jimi's version of All Along the Watchtower? For added fun, listen to the original Bob Dylan song immediately followed by Jimi's. If that isn't godlike guitar playing, I don't know what is.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2005-02-17 11:36am

Single instrument? Screw that, give me full orchestra.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2005-02-17 01:45pm

e-guitar rocks.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » 2005-02-17 02:21pm

I guess I have simple tastes. My favorite is just a plain old acoustic guitar. Theres nothing I find more relaxing then listening to someone play an acoustic guitar.

Pick · Post by **Pick** » 2005-02-17 02:51pm

Organs are wonderful. I love how deep and rich they can be. Bell sets are also often beautiful when played correctly. I enjoy the lute tremendously, perhaps more than any other instrument

. I like the sound of a good bass as well.

Woodwinds are nice though. Fuck, I LOVE bassoons and oboes. Notably bassoons. Love bassoons.

I tend to dislike brass instruments. Too shrill, often.

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2005-02-17 03:39pm

JediNeophyte wrote:
2000AD wrote:This is also probably the reason i don't see what's so good about "guitar legends" such as Hendrix. My brother was bigging up Hendrix when he came back from uni and when i listened alll i heard was a decent song, not something godlike that i'd heard proclaimed by just about everybody.
Have you listen to Jimi's version of All Along the Watchtower? For added fun, listen to the original Bob Dylan song immediately followed by Jimi's. If that isn't godlike guitar playing, I don't know what is.

I've listened to his greatest hits album (which had AAtWT) and it was just good. I can't really hear any difference between his playing and most other good guitarists. He's good, but no where near the masturbation level that people raise him to IMO.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2005-02-17 03:48pm

I've listened to his greatest hits album (which had AAtWT) and it was just good. I can't really hear any difference between his playing and most other good guitarists. He's good, but no where near the masturbation level that people raise him to IMO.

Get better ears.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2005-02-17 04:05pm

Flute and violin.

entfern · Post by **entfern** » 2005-02-17 04:50pm

A well played Flute, Piano or Harp will get me to do whatever you want as long as you don't stop playing music. I should never have stopped playing piano. . . but I don't love playing it enough to put up with the hours of practice to be good