Rllink
Well-known member
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I never really thought about it.
- Thread starter Rllink
- Start date
Ok if you are not singing it, it is not a song...........but if you are listening to it is it still a song.
If a man says something in the forest and his wife is not there to hear him is he still wrong. These are all deep questions my dear Rllink
OP
OP
Rllink
Well-known member
Yes, this is something very much worth discussing in the greatest detail I think.Ok if you are not singing it, it is not a song...........but if you are listening to it is it still a song.
If a man says something in the forest and his wife is not there to hear him is he still wrong. These are all deep questions my dear Rllink
I would suggest that if someone is singing it, it is a song. But what about all those "?????" that you hear on the radio that are just instrumentals? I guess they aren't songs. I don't know why I even started this thread. I do that sometimes, and then I can't go back and delete them like some of my more worthless posts. Well, at least it is something different to talk about.As far as the wife thing, just assume that you are wrong.
R
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Croaky Keith
Well-known member
There are songs, & there are tunes, but some people call noises a song sometimes. :biglaugh:
acmespaceship
Well-known member
The Irish trad and old time players managed to convince me years ago that there's a difference between a "tune" and a "song." They seem to care, and I don't, so that's fine. I'll agree with them and we're all happy.
I wouldn't call Alexander Borodin's Polovtsian Dances songs, but i think Stranger in Paradise is a song. To get the spelling of all that correct, I had to find this video which makes me happy because hooray for music students and I always did enjoy Borodin's original better than the adaptations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjhBUZ3vsmE
I wouldn't call Alexander Borodin's Polovtsian Dances songs, but i think Stranger in Paradise is a song. To get the spelling of all that correct, I had to find this video which makes me happy because hooray for music students and I always did enjoy Borodin's original better than the adaptations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjhBUZ3vsmE
Sorry that I have nothing meaningful to add to this topic.
It must be a slow day for me, since it seems that for the first time in a long time, this semantic hysteresis has got my attention. I'll bring the popcorn....
It must be a slow day for me, since it seems that for the first time in a long time, this semantic hysteresis has got my attention. I'll bring the popcorn....
UkingViking
Well-known member
There is of course the case of a tune that is traditionally sung, and is hence a song, but that you make an instrumental version off... It is still a song, though in your rendition it is not.
Tootler
Well-known member
In folk music, traditional song tunes played as instrumentals are often call Airs or Slow Airs. The latter name tells you something about how they are played. ld:
I definitely make a distinction between a tune and a song. A song has words and a melody. You can play the melody on its own on an instrument, then it's a tune. Just to confuse matters, though the melody of a song is often referred to as its tune.
These days, a lot of people use the words song and tune interchangeably which is a pity, but language changes over time and it's not usually worth fighting it as you never win.
Just enjoy the :music:
ld:I definitely make a distinction between a tune and a song. A song has words and a melody. You can play the melody on its own on an instrument, then it's a tune. Just to confuse matters, though the melody of a song is often referred to as its tune.
These days, a lot of people use the words song and tune interchangeably which is a pity, but language changes over time and it's not usually worth fighting it as you never win.
Just enjoy the :music:
PeteyHoudini
Well-known member
Maybe they are "instrumental songs." hehe
Petey
Petey
Funny you should bring this up now, Rollie. On Monday I wanted to text my guitar teacher about my progress on " A Distant Twang", but I wasn't at home with my music and couldn't remember the exact title (yes, I know, it wasn't that complicated, but I was tired). Calling it a "song" didn't seem right, because there are no words. Calling it a "tune" seemed a bit jaunty, especially since I play it at dirge-like speed (at this point). I settled on "my newest piece".
stevejfc
Well-known member
A voice singing is just another musical instrument.
Pueo
Well-known member
Yes, I had learned that an instrumental composition is referred to as a "piece." A song has lyrics.
SO - where it all goes awry is how about Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig in the Sky" - great vocals, beautifully sung, but no lyrics, no actual words, just vocalizations. And birds - they sing, right?
SO - where it all goes awry is how about Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig in the Sky" - great vocals, beautifully sung, but no lyrics, no actual words, just vocalizations. And birds - they sing, right?
UkingViking
Well-known member
It seems logical enough to me that it is only a song if it has lyrics.
Nobody would refer to Beethovens 9th symphony as a nice song.
I think the confusion can only have arrived since popular music made it standard for 90% of all tunes played on the radio to have lyrics. Now the word "song" goes for most tunes, and hence it is easy to get confused when faced with a rare exception.
Edit: I stand corrected, it seems that part of beethovens 9th is in fact a song. I am not a connossiour of classical music, just picked that one because I believe to have listened to the non-lyrics part at one point. Anyway, pick whatever symphony, ouverture or whatever without lyrics, and few people would refer to it as a song.
Nobody would refer to Beethovens 9th symphony as a nice song.
I think the confusion can only have arrived since popular music made it standard for 90% of all tunes played on the radio to have lyrics. Now the word "song" goes for most tunes, and hence it is easy to get confused when faced with a rare exception.
Edit: I stand corrected, it seems that part of beethovens 9th is in fact a song. I am not a connossiour of classical music, just picked that one because I believe to have listened to the non-lyrics part at one point. Anyway, pick whatever symphony, ouverture or whatever without lyrics, and few people would refer to it as a song.
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Pueo
Well-known member
I had to chuckle as Beethoven's 9th is "Ode to Joy" which does have lyrics and is a nice song
70sSanO
Well-known member
Excellent example why Wikipedia has to beg for money... lol.
John
John
