BassTractor Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) Remark made by a musician friend about a composer we both know: "Imagine that! 😱 He hears the music in his head! 🙇♀️ " I was all What the Flying, as from childhood I'd always imagined everyone can compose and everyone can hear new music in their head. I'd already learned that not everyone can compose, which at the time flabbergasted me (but hey, it explains the hitparade innit 😁), but now this ... So I ask you: is this a known phenomenon: like my friend not being able to hear new music? Is it rare? Is it the (well-)done thing? (Taking for granted most people can hear existing music in their head.) Edited March 17 by BassTractor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) I found myself humming a melody, over the space of a few days, and thought, after a while 'What is that..?'. Upon searching a bit, it turned out to be a piece I had, myself, composed a few years earlier..! Dummkopf..! Edited March 17 by Dad3353 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 If you can hear music in your head and as you say, I assume everyone does* how can you not hear 'new music', ie, any other tune your head has made up? * I was suprised when i learned that not everyone had their voice in their head, so maybe I am wrong about people being able to hear music in their head. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 50 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: If you can hear music in your head and as you say, I assume everyone does* how can you not hear 'new music', ie, any other tune your head has made up? * I was suprised when i learned that not everyone had their voice in their head, so maybe I am wrong about people being able to hear music in their head. When you say hear your voice do you mean the tonality/ accent we talk with or just talking to yourself? I’ve also assumed everyone can compose/ have conversations in their head, what else do people do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 59 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: If you can hear music in your head and as you say, I assume everyone does* how can you not hear 'new music', ie, any other tune your head has made up? * I was suprised when i learned that not everyone had their voice in their head, so maybe I am wrong about people being able to hear music in their head. 6 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said: When you say hear your voice do you mean the tonality/ accent we talk with or just talking to yourself? I’ve also assumed everyone can compose/ have conversations in their head, what else do people do? It's called an inner dialogue. Not everyone has it. I find it a real pain. Wish it would just stop sometimes. Notice some people repeat out loud what you're saying, slightly behind you saying it. I belive they don't have an inner dialogue and are processing what you're saying by vocalising it out loud. Although that may be a different phenomena and I'm misremembering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 I think there’s bound to be some people who can’t make up new music in their head ( i.e. make up a tune and ‘hear’ it, similarly there are people who say they can’t visualise. I’d guess many can make up a melody in their head, but that only a few could compose multi-melody / multi-instrument style pieces in their heads. The wonders of neurodiversity eh? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 A lot of non-musicians can't identify the different instruments playing in a tune. Everything is just one homogenous sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Just now, TimR said: Notice some people repeat out loud what you're saying, slightly behind you saying it. I belive they don't have an inner dialogue and are processing what you're saying by vocalising it out loud. Although that may be a different phenomena and I'm misremembering. Could be a form of echolalia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 3 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said: Could be a form of echolalia? No. I think that's different. The same people often move their lips while reading. It's a neurological connection. Everyone is different, we don't all work the same way, in last few years we are learning that no one is 'normal'. That's tough on people who want everyone to fit into their world view. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Just now, TimR said: No. I think that's different. The same people often move their lips while reading. It's a neurological connection. Everyone is different, we don't all work the same way, in last few years we are learning that no one is 'normal'. That's tough on people who want everyone to fit into their world view. Guess what I should have says was ‘that can be a type of echolalia’ - though as you said, we are all different so could be other things too 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 16 minutes ago, TimR said: It's called an inner dialogue. Not everyone has it. This (excuse the pun) blows my mind. Even before I type anything on here, I’ve already spoken it in my head. Back to music, the top improvisers also say they sing in their head the line/ phrase they want to play in a solo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 12 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said: ... they sing in their head the line/ phrase they want to play in a solo. Is there any other way..? I've never thought of it, but I can't imagine how one may not do this (nor yet silence that little voice incessantly rattling away between one's ears...). 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 5 minutes ago, Dad3353 said: Is there any other way..? I've never thought of it, but I can't imagine how one may not do this (nor yet silence that little voice incessantly rattling away between one's ears...). Some people just play by shapes or read the dots. Certainly my playing leaped ahead when I sang the notes in my head amd concentrated on intervals, before even picking up the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTractor Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 7 minutes ago, Dad3353 said: Is there any other way..? Oh, yes! Fingers often "knowing" what to play next from experience, for instance, and the musician being "surprised" by the sound of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) I quite often get tunes in my head, usually melodies but sometimes basslines that I then work out how to play on an instrument and record before I forget them. I even have a 'memo app' on my phone so that I can 'sing' the tunes into it and preserve them as and when they occur in places where there's no instrument to hand. I've built up quite the sonic scrapbook over the years. Problem is I'm never 100% sure if it's something I've come up with spontaneously or whether lt's something I've heard at some point somewhere beore, that's for some reason re-emerged from my subconcious, that I 'm then basically plagiarising. Edited March 17 by Cato Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 4 minutes ago, Cato said: I quite often get tunes in my head, usually melodies but sometimes basslines that I then work out how to play on an instrument and record before I forget it. I've built up quite the sonic scrapbook over the years. Problem is I'm never 100% sure if it's something I've come up with spontaneously or whether lt's something I've heard at some point somewhere beore that's for some reason re-emerged from my subconcious that I 'm then basically plagiarising. Even if it is not identical to something else, it will be a concoction of ideas that you’ve subconsciously merged or evolved. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) 53 minutes ago, TimR said: It's called an inner dialogue. Not everyone has it. I find it a real pain. Wish it would just stop sometimes. Know what ya mean My Dr called it 'Inner Monologue'... I had a chat about it and whether its the same as hearing voices, Especially as it's my own voice. It's always there, sometimes distracting like a running narrative, sometimes intrusive when trying to make ones mind up... indecision, procrastination, quandary and dilemma... Edited March 17 by PaulThePlug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) Interesting! I hear the music, new and old, in my head. I've never thought about it in this way before though. As an add on, I don't have perfect pitch when I hear music being played, but I've noticed that I do have perfect recall pitch when I listen to a song in my head. For instance, I can tune my bass to concert pitch by listening to the intro of Around The World by the Chili Peppers in my head as I know that it starts with Flea hitting a big E, so I tune my open E to his by singing that note and holding it, then the rest of my strings off that once I'm in. Is this normal? Do you recall songs in your head in the keys they are really in? Edited March 17 by miles'tone 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 1 hour ago, OliverBlackman said: When you say hear your voice do you mean the tonality/ accent we talk with or just talking to yourself? I’ve also assumed everyone can compose/ have conversations in their head, what else do people do? I mean actually talking to yourself in your head. You know the inner monologue that talks to you when you are around, I had assumed that everyone had it, but then found out that some people did it, and was very taken aback by that. I guess from that point of view it is hard to understand how peoples heads work if they don't have an inner voice, but I guess they would be the same about people having one. 1 hour ago, TimR said: The same people often move their lips while reading. It's a neurological connection. I had a girlfriend who would actually move their lips in time to anything that someone was saying to them, like repeating it herself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 24 minutes ago, miles'tone said: I can tune my bass to concert pitch by listening to the intro of Around The World by the Chili Peppers in my head as I know that it starts with Flea hitting a big E, so I tune my open E to his by singing that note and holding it, then the rest of my strings off that once I'm in. Brilliant, just tried that, great tip! 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilorius Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 I know only that the leader of the band - vocalist, can always hear any new music in his head, but drummers sometimes got problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tut Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 3 hours ago, TimR said: It's called an inner dialogue. Not everyone has it. . . . the debating society! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asingardenof Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Are we talking about something like an audio version of aphantasia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kowad Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 I have this problem back to front, I'm convinced the riff going through my head on repeat for the past 5 weeks is ACTUALLY QUITE A FAMOUS TRACK, but I've come to think it actually isn't. Because it's none of the things I thought it was. So, thought I was hearing non-new music, may have accidentally composed what should frankly be a phenomenon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTractor Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 2 hours ago, miles'tone said: Is this normal? Yup! We called it referential pitch. Don't know its official name. And yes, I've tuned instruments for like 50 years by listening to certain songs in my head. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.