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Comment by kunley | Hacker News Reader

The crucial issue is: what kind of music. A lot of what's nowadays called music is actually rather a "sounds with some beat" category.

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Music major here. Surprise, all music you know is “sounds with some beat”.

I don’t know what counts as Music to you, but I sure hope you’re not out here trying to promote your particular taste as somehow more refined, because we know a lot about how that is usually just good old classist, generational, or racist biases peeking out.

Who is "we", this magical entity eager to accuse somebody for classism and/or racism? Who are you speaking for? Because for sure not for the entire HN user base

I once played a song that I swear had no verifiable beat. It was some insane Stravinsky piece, sounded like random-ass noise.

But other than weird avant-garde stuff that seems to intentionally try to not have a beat, I agree all music tends to be sounds with some beat.

I think the accusers here are far more likely to be the prejudiced ones

Damn kids and their hibbity hoppity...

Different frequencies, different arrangement of tones and melodies, production and tonal qualities of the recording, and all manner of composition variations have different effects.

It might be crass way to say it, but it's a real worthwhile line of inquiry.

Don't think you can smack any beat on someone's head and it will cure cancer. It's not all equal.

Broad strokes here... if you look at another vibrational medium for parallels: the colour red can indicate something about the chemical contents of a material, and thus the effects it may have. A soft black carrot may not have the same beneficial qualities as a crisp red, purple, or white carrot...

What I’m hearing is “it’s different music.” Why does this justify a reduction to “sounds with a beat”?

In this case, I see multiple parties resorting to pedantry over a legitimate point of discussion, reducing to mud slinging over semantics. The point stands.

What’s the point that stands? How do you justify the initial framing of “sounds over a beat”

I was pretty clear in what I said about music. I wasn't the one who made that remark, so I don't have anything to justify except my own statements.

The distinction is simple: music, as examined already during the times of Pythagoreans, invokes a soothing feeling of harmony, peace and belonging, while the mentioned "sounds with beat" (a non-technical term in this case) invoke body reactions like dizziness and anxiety. Check for yourself at a nearest shopping mall vs a concert hall.

From the study: "The musical pieces were selected based on their slow and meditative tempo (60-100 beats per minute), and only non -lyrical instrumental piano or flute based versions were chosen.The flute version which was preferred by most patients was a combination of Raga Yaman and Raga Kirwani. Raga Yaman is bright and uplifting and Raga Kir wani is known for its soothing and calming effects. Combining these two Hindustani classical ragas provides musically uplifting qualities that could be helpful in reducing the stress associated with surgical procedures and control the hemodynamic responses to surgery. Noise cancelling headphoneswere used to play the instrumental pieces at 60db."

I think you maybe just don't like it?

Music you like.

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