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Musical sounds you hate


Quintus

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We all like the sound of a well performed strings section or fanfare of triumphant brass and some love nothing more than the glorious vibrations of an electric guitar to a drummers beat, but what distinctive musical sound gets up your nose? What 'instrument' can you not stand to hear?

The first 15 seconds of that song features an awful but thankfully rarely used synth sample which I detest no matter how good a song or piece of music might be inspite of it. The crap Doogie Howser theme had a similar version of it

Its a sound which screams cheese and tackiness and I hate it.

What about you?

And before one of the hilarious cleverboys gets their 'choice' in, I'll beat 'em to it:

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Overly amplified piano playing soft, plaintive music. Turn that damn volume down!

Poorly intonated strings are the worst. Ugh....

YouTube examples would be good!

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Axl Rose

Each to his own and all that, but I was only thinking the other day (whilst listening to Sweet Child O'Mine) about his amazingly unique voice and how much it compliments the Guns N' Roses sound. I love that band though.

But yeah, you illustrate perfectly my meaning with this thread.

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Poorly intonated strings are the worst. Ugh....

I'm sure you meant to say "poorly intonated horns are the worst", everybody knows it's God's honest truth. :P:D

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You want YouTube.com examples? Alright then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upR3V4zhqj4&feature=related

Please note that it is usually the younger musicians who have this problem, which they cannot really be blamed for because they were never really taught how to improve it.

Of course, YouTube.com has a lot of videos of people teaching this delicate art, like this one starring a Jeff Goldblum impersonator.

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I didn't mean GNR is metal, I was just saying that's what I can't stand.

Ah ok. You wasn't specific though, hence my presumption. As for GNR, have you heard Patience? It is a superb song with a nice, quieter melody and a great musical structure. Have a listen if you're ever inclined.

You want YouTube.com examples? Alright then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upR3V4zhqj4&feature=related

Please note that it is usually the younger musicians who have this problem, which they cannot really be blamed for because they were never really taught how to improve it.

Well, I agree with you of course, but linking very young kids playing the best they can isn't really the most suitable example either and more than a little unfair, regardless of the fact that it obviously not their fault.

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Poorly intonated strings are the worst. Ugh....

I'm sure you meant to say "poorly intonated horns are the worst", everybody knows it's God's honest truth. :P:D

Jesus H. Christ, yes. :D I know this sounds evil, but I'm not sure whether I should die of laughter or of horror ... :P:D

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Poorly intonated strings are the worst. Ugh....

I'm sure you meant to say "poorly intonated horns are the worst", everybody knows it's God's honest truth. :P:D

Jesus H. Christ, yes. :D I know this sounds evil, but I'm not sure whether I should die of laughter or of horror ... :P:D

Unlikely that there's horns in an elementary ensemble. But yeah...when us horn players are out of tune and playing as a section, it's terrifying!

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I've gotten rather irritated with RCP's stereotypical useage of that blend of electronic and ethnic percussion that they use, but one of the crowning jewels is that sort of clicky thing that was put to obnoxiously gratuitous use in 3:02-5:33 of "The Battle" in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

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Well, I agree with you of course, but linking very young kids playing the best they can isn't really the most suitable example either and more than a little unfair, regardless of the fact that it obviously not their fault.

You are absolutely right, of course, but intonation tends to be less of a problem with more experienced and older groups, and I thought it would be much faster were I to search for a younger ensemble, where bad intonation is a commonality.

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One of the crowning jewels is that sort of clicky thing that was put to obnoxiously gratuitous use in 3:02-5:33 of "The Battle" in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."

It sounds like something I would hear while playing an NES game.

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Singers with nervous, overactive vibrato. Almost any popular music that sounds angry. Whatever type of woodwind instrument Horner has used in scores such as Braveheart...again, overactive vibrato. Anything involving the brass and/or percussion sections of the Prague Philharmonic. Saxophones being overused in bands and wind ensembles with little regard for their unique and rather prominent timbre. Re-recordings that opt for completely different and painfully inferior tempi, even if they're being conducted by the composer (e.g. just about any performance of "Theme from Jurassic Park").

The Zimmer cliches can be very effective or very annoying, depending on my mood, which score it is, and how much I've heard them in recent times.

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I don't know if I'm saying the correct instrument, but it's a clavichord? Well, the electric version, which appeared in many funky 1970s songs.

Oh, okay, here's an example you might be able to bring up in your mind... it's the keyboard instrument that's very prevalent during Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious." I absolutely cannot stand that sound.

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Also: any of the various synthesized sounds that loop over and over...and over...and over...and over again in most rap. I don't see anything inherently wrong with repetition in music, but...seriously!

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Rap is the most unoriginal music. They sample other people's music, make it loop and say random crap over and over.

Hmm, let's take this 80s one hit wonder and turn it into hip hop, no one will notice and think we're amazing.

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They do have minimalistic traits (A.I. far more so), but they are not extreme to the point where they have practically two measures repeated for twenty minutes. Or I could just say that there was a reason I wrote "tend to", but I like the other answer

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They do have minimalistic traits (A.I. far more so), but they are not extreme to the point where they have practically two measures repeated for twenty minutes. Or I could just say that there was a reason I wrote "tend to", but I like the other answer

Fair enough.

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