Is there such a thing as “guitar brain” or something like that

Submitted by nat_cat1521 t3_1206p42 in Music

I’ve heard that if you play guitar or drums, when you listen to a song with that instrument in it, your brain will isolate the instrument so that is what your brain focuses on and it tunes out the rest of the song. My first guitar hasn’t even arrived yet and I’m already experiencing this. Is it a real thing?

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Traditional-Cake-587 t1_jdhq1q6 wrote

As a drummer of 50 years and a new bass player of 1.5 years, I hear it all but focus especially on bass and drums.

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Jack_Q_Frost_Jr t1_jdfzpym wrote

I had a friend who was a professional bass player and it was definitely true for her. She practically heard nothing other than the bass lines whenever she listened to music. It was weird.

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wyntah0 t1_jdg1n4y wrote

I'm mainly a guitarist, but I play drums quite frequently and find that I gravitate to whatever's coolest in a song. Like "Heart of the Sunrise" by Yes, I only listen to the drums. It's like my brain can't stay away from Bruford's drumming. On a song like "Discipline" by King Crimson, I can only focus on the guitars.

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xtrafe t1_jdg3w4m wrote

Learning and playing music radically alters your perception of music, and will, over time, also influence your preferences and tastes as well. As you learn an instrument, you will become much better at picking that instrument out from a track, and discerning challenging passages. If you practice singing a lot you will begin to identify stylistic nuances that are very intentional, but seem like natural things that 'just happen' for untrained listeners. This phenomena isn't just limited to learning an instrument; if you get into music theory, you'll gain am appreciation for more complex chords and progressions that untrained listeners will be less likely to appreciate.

The trick to this journey is not falling into the trap of thinking your tastes are better (or more "refined") because they took time to evolve to their current state. No matter how long you spend learning and listening to music, you will never be even the littlest bit better at listening to and enjoying music than anyone else.

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FemKeeby t1_jdge5jf wrote

Ive never touched a bass but recently ive neeb hyper focusing on bass in music for sone reason lol

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siwel_am t1_jdgmhkp wrote

I'm a pianist who also plays guitar and bass. When I listen to music I switch all the time between all of the instruments used in the song (drums, bass, guitar, piano/synths, strings etc)

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Bugslugs47 t1_jdjx6fx wrote

I seem unable to hear the bass in any song unless it’s a solo break. Tend more to hear drums and especially brass/horns such as tenor sax. Once I hear a tenor sax my brain tend to marginalise the other instruments.

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