Musical use and abuse

[da2222]

Hi Guys

We constantly use and hear the word ‘musical’/ ‘musicality’ to describe the presentation of the sound pouring through our speakers, especially via vinyl. It’s become such a generic term and banded around so widely I thought it’d be interesting to ask what we actually mean by it? Can an adequate definition, as it applies to this hobby, be narrowed down and nailed?

[Haselsh1]

Well Drew, for me it has to convey emotion. That's what it means to me. The ability to make me shiver or shudder with just three notes of a guitar for example. Sheer realism.

[Audio Al]

Richness warmth depth range realism soundstage presentation , just a few comments from me :)

[AJSki2fly]

Hi Guys

We constantly use and hear the word ‘musical’ to describe the presentation of the sound pouring through our speakers, especially via vinyl. It’s become such a generic term and banded around so widely I thought it’d be interesting to ask what we actually mean by it? Can an adequate definition, as it applies to this hobby, be narrowed down and nailed?

For me it would mean that when listening to a live recording made with real instruments it sounded as near as you would expect to hear if you had been at the live show. Musical nirvana maybe, but not impossible.

[Barry]

I've never really understood what is meant by "musicality" - so I look froward to a definitive reply.

Involvement or emotional engagement goes some way. It also seems to be largely unconnected with cost: how many times have you heard something played on a cheap radio that has transfixed you or moved you to tears?

[struth]

melodiousness

[mightymonoped]

I tried one time to try and define what I listen for in music, so I guess the closer it gets to the centre of this, the more “musical” it is?

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[Pigmy Pony]

Maybe musicality is there when you can just enjoy the music, without the playback system drawing attention to itself. Having said that, as music heard on a crappy transistor radio can have this effect, perhaps musicality is not a characteristic of the hi fi, rather it is built into the music itself, combined with our emotional state at the time.

[Barry]

Maybe musicality is there when you can just enjoy the music, without the playback system drawing attention to itself. Having said that, as music heard on a crappy transistor radio can have this effect, perhaps musicality is not a characteristic of the hi fi, rather it is built into the music itself, combined with our emotional state at the time.

I would agree with all of that. Your last sentence reinforces what I said above.

[Pigmy Pony]

I would agree with all of that. Your last sentence reinforces what I said above.

That's where I copied it from! I've never had an original thought in my life!

[Haselsh1]

Yeah, artistry definitely. The way Knopfler can play just a simple little phrase on the guitar of maybe three notes that just belongs so much in the whole context of the song. Time for wet eyes.

;)

[Haselsh1]

The way an album by Acoustic Alchemy or Al Di Meola can shift me into a zone of weird semi consciousness that is like shifting time. Priceless.

[da2222]

Some very interesting, revealing and diverse comments...

[stairpost]

I would have thought that the term musicality would be applied to the arrangement of notes you are listening to, not the equipment on which you are listening to it.
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[da2222]

I would have thought that the term musicality would be applied to the arrangement of notes you are listening to, not the equipment on which you are listening to it.
,

In a general sense certainly, but in this particular hobby many people tend to use it to describe the nature of aural 'output' conveyed by particular component/s and combination thereof, source etc

[da2222]

My own take on 'musicality' would be an engaging sound that gets feet tapping or the heart racing, wrapped in a warm emotive glow, where enjoyment immerses the experience and the critical, analytical, 'straight back' chore of listening for detail and clarity (finally!) fades into irrelevance...

[Pigmy Pony]

In a general sense certainly, but in this particular hobby many people tend to use it to describe the nature of aural 'output' conveyed by particular component, source etc

Yes they do, and in this way, of the following two statements:

1. Hi Fi exists to make the music more enjoyable

2. Music exists to make our hi fi sound more enjoyable.

the second statement is often closer to the truth even if we are unwilling to admit it. With this mindset, musicality is likely to be infrequent and fleeting. I think the part our own emotional state and mood plays is all too often overlooked.

And often I find myself enjoying music played through the radio or a friend's 'lesser' system as I can relax and I have no time and money invested and so can listen without criticism of the system.

[nickbaba]

I have at times described certain hi-fi components as 'musical' - interesting to think about how I would describe exactly what I meant by that to someone else.

I think the sense of it for me is when the music you are listening to sounds 'alive'. I don't mean necessarily a 'live' sound, more like unleashed. When there's nothing hindering or holding the music back, the flow is smooth and natural, and the synergy of all the parts (performance, recording, playback, reproduction) comes together to create an emotional experience in the listener that's unique to that moment.

[Gaz]

IMO it's reviewer BS.

All that matters is the owner/listener of a piece of equipment enjoying how it makes the music sound.

Airy, forward, dynamic, warm, bright etc?

Who cares what it's described as, you liking it is what matters not what some pretentious journalist calls it

[Pigmy Pony]

I can see some value in terms like 'warm' or 'bright', as it could help with system matching eg. an amp considered to be bright sounding may want to be put with speakers with a warmer tonal balance. Gets you there a bit sooner (less trial and error). Then the final sound can be tweaked to a degree with cables, placement etc. to suit individual tastes.

But I do feel that musicality is too subjective to be of any use in describing the sound, and as I've suggested before, it's probably more about the listener and the music than the equipment.

[Mike Reed]

I've never had an original thought in my life!

That's an original if rather self-deprecating retort !:lol:

Using adjectives rather than nouns, I'd proffer 'emotive', which can, in music, depend upon a number of mental (e.g., mood), geographical and audio factors. 'Hairs on your chest' stuff, I s'pose, except that I don't have any.

Conversely, can anyone come up with an adjective (or noun?) to denote excellence in audio playback but lacking that emotive factor ? Linn amplification tended to define that at audio shows in the eighties/nineties for me.

[jandl100]

"Musical" is just a sound presentation that you happen to like, based on experience, prejudice, arbitrary preference, current mood and whim of the moment.

[Yomanze]

"Musical" is just a sound presentation that you happen to like, based on experience, prejudice, arbitrary preference, current mood and whim of the moment.

Excellent description. One person’s musical is another’s forward and dry; one person’s natural is another’s smoothed over and too warm.

[anthonyTD]

Although every system has the potential to play the same music, we all hear that music diffrently, hence why we design our systems around what we want to hear, and thus what sounds apealing to us' as individuals [Musical ?] although I am pretty sure if most of us heard a system that we all agreed was un-appealing, we may feel or describe the reason being; down to the system as a whole" sounding un-musical ?
So I think the term Musical is a very good term to describe what we hear, and why it is used so often to describe the sonic virtues of a system, or a part in that system!
Just my Ramblings...:eek:
A...

[Spectral Morn]

To me its a type of presentation that isn't sterile, bright, thin, isn't spotlit, not in your face or fatiguing and not hifi sounding. Its a sound that is natural, and just sits to the warmer side of neutral. Of course this is a personal thing and one persons musical could be anothers idea of not being so. I guess to a degree it is a somewhat nebulous term.

[Barry]

To me its a type of presentation that isn't sterile, bright, thin, isn't spotlit, not in your face or fatiguing and not hifi sounding. Its a sound that is natural, and just sits to the warmer side of neutral. Of course this is a personal thing and one persons musical could be anothers idea of not being so. I guess to a degree it is a somewhat nebulous term.

Precisely - which is why I wouldn't even attempt to define it.

I go for a system that is 'warts and all' so that, by most people's definition, could not be described as "musical" if it is playing something that is poorly recorded.

[walpurgis]

My usual spanner in the works.

Try thinking of all the negative terms people use to describe equipment they don't like or are unimpressed with. Like 'grey sounding' 'dull' 'uninspiring' 'flat' 'uninvolving' 'two dimensional' and so on. Then think of words or terms that mean the opposite and you may end up with a decent enough description of 'musical'.

[Mike Reed]

My usual spanner in the works.

Try thinking of all the negative terms people use to describe equipment they don't like or are unimpressed with. Like 'grey sounding' 'dull' 'uninspiring' 'flat' 'uninvolving' 'two dimensional' and so on. Then think of words or terms that mean the opposite and you may end up with a decent enough description of 'musical'.

Let's try that. Rosy sounding, bright, inspiring, uneven, involving, three dimensional......tricky one, that .:lol:

[Oddball]

Tis a good job , we are all a tad different ;)

[jandl100]

Tis a good job , we are all a tad different ;)

Aye, true that!

Most of the descriptors folks are coming up with are highly subjective and so are no different to being just what happens to sound good to you! :scratch::mental::D