# which one you pay more attention to lyrics or the music and melody?



## Ninjaws (Jul 10, 2014)

The words don't matter, it's the feeling (or vibe) it gives off that is important. If I feel the emotion the artist is trying to convey, then all the other things just fade away.


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## Cesspool (Aug 8, 2014)

I like them both. Depends on my mood. 

Right handed.


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## bigstupidgrin (Sep 26, 2014)

First listen is always the music/instrumentation. Second listen, if I'm really into the song, is with a copy of the lyrics up. My exception is with Modest Mouse, because their song lyrics are more important to me than their melodies. 

I'm a righty, always was one.


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## TheEpicPolymath (Dec 5, 2014)

Lyrics, duh.


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## Blindspots (Jan 27, 2014)

I listen to the music foremost. I perceive the vocals as simply providing the melody line for the whole piece of music until I realize, "The words that are supposed to mean things?!" Then after figuring out the words, I decide whether to appreciate the poetic value of the lyrics or dismiss them altogether like I tend to do with most pop songs nowadays.

I use my left hand for writing and other things needing precision ever since I learned how to do stuff with my hands as a kid.


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## .17485 (Jan 12, 2011)

melody and beats

I'm a ISFP 

Preferred hands: Right Hand and been using that since I was born


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## Alpha_Orionis (Jan 18, 2015)

I mostly pay attention to the lyrics.

I am an INTJ and i am right handed.


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## Beetle (Oct 2, 2014)

Melody first, then I'll listen to the lyrics. But I mostly like a song if I like the melody.
I'm right-handed.


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## raminan (Jun 20, 2014)

melody, I never like a song just because it has good lyrics.


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## Nekomata (May 26, 2012)

It depends. If the song is in English then I pay attention to the lyrics, if it isn't in English then I pay attention to the tunes and melody. Something like that anyway.


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## lumostartarus (Apr 1, 2014)

I care more about the lyrics.
Right hand.


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## Im FiNe (Oct 17, 2013)

The question in the OP:


tsyspublic said:


> when you listen to a song do you pay attention to lyrics(as if you feel its meanings are related to you ) or just the melody and beats? ...


I think you were getting at how this member posted:



Ninjaws said:


> The words don't matter, it's the feeling (or vibe) it gives off that is important. If I feel the emotion the artist is trying to convey, then all the other things just fade away.


As if asking, “Do you agree with this response or are the lyrics important to you?”

To that end here is my most direct answer: when a piece of music has lyrics in English (the only language I understand fluently), I do notice them. They can contribute to or distract from my overall take on the piece of music. They can even go so far as save a piece of music that I would otherwise not listen to because of its musical qualities or keep me from listening to a piece that I might otherwise love.

INFP, right-handed since birth (as far as I know)

And now for the extra stuff…

* *





Not all music has lyrics (consider Rush’s *La Villa Strangiato* or *YYZ*). Some types of music use only voices to make the music (no accompanying instruments, _a capella_, chant). Some music does not have melody or follows a particular key. Some music even entreats us to wonder about the nature of music itself (_e.g._, the works of the composers in atonal expressionism and the _avant garde_). John Cage stands in the forefront with his “work” *4’ 33”*, wherein the “performer(s)” sit without producing a note for 4 minutes and 33 seconds and the audience listens to the environmental sound.

For music with lyrics that do have some accompaniment that adds something musically rather than simply reinforcing the notes sung, the words may be in a language that I don’t understand fluently. That can do one of two things to me: it can separate me from the experience (more so with popular music than with classical) or it can make me treat the voice as just another instrument producing special sounds (this is mostly true for classical music that I listen to).

There are some modern musical styles (mostly types of metal) that incorporate use of the voice in a less-than-melodic sense. Some of the hoarse croaking (that can be very effective in the overall ambience, tone, and mood) seems far from singing, and it can be exceedingly challenging for even the most ardent fan to actually understand the words. 

Sometimes music that contains lyrics works well when the two support each other, when the composer’s (or song writer & lyricist, whether a single person or a pair) intention is that the two interplay constructively and supportively. Yet there are times when the two are meant to clash and juxtapose ideas. With the vocal aspect this might be with simply the words chosen, simply the notes sung, or possibly both.

Usually when human voices are part of a musical experience the lyrics are meant to convey meaning. That is not always the case. Sometimes non-word sounds may be sung (consider repeated “na” as used by Steam in *Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye* or by J. Geils Band in *Centerfold*). Philip Glass took this to an extreme in his opera *Einstein on the Beach* wherein sung words were either the name of the note (in solfege) or the number of beats of the current meter. In those instances our attention is being purposefully directed to the music and to the voice as adding a layer of musical color or flavor or energy to the piece as a whole. 

This clip of a performance of _*Knee Play 3*_ from *Einstein on the Beach* is notable in that it is purely vocal music, incorporates words, but does not focus on word meaning in any way but the most abstract of considerations. Despite the lack of depth of meaning in the words, the music profoundly touches and connects with me.






The norm, however, is that the words are meant to say something. We should be listening to what is being said/sung. 

I do think we need to be aware of how readily we allow ourselves to listen to music "without listening to the words". Music is able to touch us profoundly. Consider that advertising has combined music with words. There is an attempt to bolster both memory/recall of an idea (their product or service, purchasing it) as well as sway opinion and shape thought. When we pay no attention to the words that we let into ourselves especially within the context of music we open ourselves to manipulation and possibly accepting ideas that we don't really want.


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## tsyspublic (Sep 28, 2014)

TheEpicPolymath said:


> Lyrics, duh.


if I were I you I would've read the complete answers posts before saying "Duh" 

thanks


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## Cesspool (Aug 8, 2014)

TBH music is about sound, not words.

The greatest music genres are Classical and Jazz, and there are no lyrics in these genres.

Saying music needs good lyrics is like saying porn needs a good story line.

There's nothing wrong with good lyrics, but it being a deal breaker is kinda silly.


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## Im FiNe (Oct 17, 2013)

Cesspool said:


> TBH music is about sound, not words.
> 
> The greatest music genres are Classical and Jazz, and there are no lyrics in these genres...




Um, what about the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Bach's cantatas, Handel's oratorio's, Wagner's operas, most of Mahler's symphonies, _etc_. You are correct that music does not need words to be music, but much of Classical music does have lyrics._Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum.
Deine Zauber binden wieder,
Was die Mode streng geteilt,
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt._​


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## FluffyTheAnarchist (Sep 9, 2013)

Music first, hands down. If I like the music, I pay attention to the lyrics, if I don't like the music, the lyrics don't stand a chance. 

Right-handed, ENFP


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## Morfy (Dec 3, 2013)

It depends on the type of music honestly. Most of the time I'm all about the sound.


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## biggytalls (Mar 11, 2015)

95% melody, but crappy lyrics can ruin a song for me. 
Lefty INFP


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## daud2001 (Mar 5, 2015)

Melody first, lyric enhance it.

Right-handed INTP.


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## Runemarks (Jul 23, 2012)

Depends on my mood. I usually focus on one instrument (or voice) at a time, though.
Right-handed INFP.


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## Peter (Feb 27, 2010)

tsyspublic said:


> when you listen to a song do you pay attention to lyrics(as if you feel its meanings are related to you ) or just the melody and beats?
> 
> kindly write your type and your preferred hand(left/right/ambidextrous) (please mention if your hand preference is due to hand injury of the other, or from the day you born)
> 
> thank you


Almost total focus on the "melody and beats". I do analyze the lyrics too, but if the melody and beats aren't of my liking then I'm not interested. I can think the lyrics are dumb or awfule or whatever, if the song sounds good, I'll still like it. I don't really feel music. 

I'm right handed (no injuries) and INTJ.


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## knife (Jul 10, 2013)

Melody first. I'll listen to the lyrics _after_ I've decided I like the song.


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## johnnyyukon (Nov 8, 2013)

which one you pay more attention to lyrics or the music and melody?



Me!!


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## tsyspublic (Sep 28, 2014)

johnnyyukon said:


> which one you pay more attention to lyrics or the music and melody?
> 
> 
> 
> Me!!


hehehehe


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## Tetsuo Shima (Nov 24, 2014)

Right handed INTP. Lyrics all the way.


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## starvingautist (Mar 23, 2015)

Always the melody.


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## baby blue me (May 9, 2014)

INTJ - the arrangement (esp the timing of the instruments and the voices + the beats)


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## Helweh18 (Jul 30, 2013)

I like to focus on the lyrics, If I have heard the melody before the lyrics kind of pop into my head. I am right handed.


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## aSnowyEvening (Mar 27, 2015)

I pay more attention to the melody and the harmony of a song. The sound of the voice, including syllables that they are singing, is secondary to me. I need to listen with intent to the lyrics in order to adequately learn them, it's not something that comes naturally to me. I'll often fall in love with a song without realizing what the lyrics are - there can be a huge disconnect between the music and the lyrics...

Right-handed INFP.


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## Clyme (Jul 17, 2014)

tsyspublic said:


> when you listen to a song do you pay attention to lyrics(as if you feel its meanings are related to you ) or just the melody and beats?
> 
> kindly write your type and your preferred hand(left/right/ambidextrous) (please mention if your hand preference is due to hand injury of the other, or from the day you born)
> 
> thank you


I listen to the melody initially, but lyrics are an important second. If there's a really good melody, I can usually ignore unintelligent lyrics and enjoy the song, unless it's blatantly offensive (like being misogynistic). If the lyrics are very intelligent though, it makes a song so much better, and I really do look for songs that have intelligent or deep lyrics.

Right hand, due to an arbitrary choice I made in elementary school.


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## Maidelane (Sep 21, 2014)

If I like a song by its melody, I will surely check the lyrics. If the lyrics are boring to me, I won't enjoy the song anymore :-/


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## Skyblade (Mar 28, 2015)

What initially draws me to a song is the melody, but I always check the lyrics. I really prefer if they actually hold a meaning that I find at least sonewhat significant, inspiring, and useful.

I'm INFP, and right handed...


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## Mexxihh (Oct 25, 2014)

INFP and definitely the lyrics. How the lyrics sync in with the melody is also important, but the words and the tone of the singers voice can make you feel so much.

Right-handed from birth.


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## Cesspool (Aug 8, 2014)

TBH, I think judging a music based on words is disrespectful to music. 

If you want good words, read some literature or poetry.

The best pieces of music are instrumental, they have no words.


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## NTlazerman (Nov 28, 2014)

I'm an ENTP and I rarely listen to lyrics. I listen HiNRG, disco and hardstyle. So it's all bass octaves and pads. I'm right handed.


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## zanah0dia (Apr 8, 2015)

INTP//right handed since birth
I pay attention to melody and layers in the music. The voice is another layer, just like each respective instrument. I generally pay no attention to lyrics but if it's a song I really like I probably know all the words.


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## Miharu (Apr 1, 2015)

The music/melody/composition first before the lyrics.

A shitty melody can have nice lyrics, doesn't mean I'd enjoy listening to it. I could just read the lyrics instead lol.


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## AddictiveMuse (Nov 14, 2013)

I listen to the music first, I can usually gain a grasp at what the songs talking about at the same time, so if I like it musically and am not totally disgusted by the subject of the song, rarely does a song disgust me via subject, I will listen to it more. As I listen to it, I might come across at random individual listens something about the lyrics I never noticed before, and gradually look deep into the lyrics themselves.


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## VinnieB (Mar 3, 2015)

First melody, sound, then lyrics. If a song with a great melody has terrible/meaningless lyrics, I won't like it anymore.

INFJ, right-handed.


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## mrhcmll (Nov 22, 2013)

Melody and beat for sure. However, I agree with many others that the music is the hook and the lyrics is what makes you pliant enough to be reeled in. 

Left handed since the day I was born.


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## sinaasappel (Jul 22, 2015)

Both honestly
Its the lyrics that get me 
And the melody that keeps me
Entp right handed
Allegedly born right handed


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## Owtoo (Aug 20, 2015)

It's interesting because I both make music and write lyrics, but have been writing lyrics for much longer and more effectively/extensively, and yet when I am actually _listening _to songs, I pay more attention to the music. I'm a complete sound junkie, and love exploring the relationships between sounds and feelings.

I do love listening to/reading lyrics as well though, they just don't always catch my ear as much as the music does. 

It's really a whole though.

I am a right-handed INFP btw. I think I was born right-handed, not sure really...


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## Candy Apple (Sep 10, 2015)

Lyrics. If I don't agree with the content I don't listen to it.




If there are no lyrics, then I think about the tempo.

ISTJ 

I was born left-handed so I will pick up pieces of food with my left hand, carry my handbag in my left hand/left side. Whatever activity that was taught at school to use the right hand (I guess including sports - not that they'd make me use that one though) is what I use.


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## The Hammer (Aug 24, 2015)

Lyrics. ISTP. Right-handed (since birth).


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## djekhradt (Sep 13, 2015)

it's always been music and melody. lately i've been making an effort to focus on lyrics, but it doesn't come naturally. 
i think the theory, that optimistic people focus on the music while pessimistic people focus on the lyrics, is probably spot on


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## Exquisitor (Sep 15, 2015)

The music. I find lyrics are often "metaphorical" to the point of meaninglessness, or just not very clever, and it doesn't matter how closely I pay attention, although I try to. It's the music that really communicates the most to me.

Right-handed, INTJ.


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## xForgottenOne (Mar 7, 2015)

INFP, right handed since I was born, and I pay attention to both music and lyrics. I perceive the lyrics as a tool -the actual emotion of a song is in the music- to understand the song, but it's not the most important part. I do like it when I can relate to the lyrics, and feel kind of uncomfortable listening to songs that are about topics like sex, but if the music is good then so be it.


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## TheOddRhombus (Jul 30, 2014)

Right-handed Ni-dom. Definitely music and melody--most of the songs I enjoy best are without vocals.


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## naraya888 (Jul 29, 2015)

Ambidextrous INTP (since birth)

I enjoy both, but favor a beautifully written composition over clever lyrics.


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## Riven (Jan 17, 2015)

Melody, but on occasion, and sadly, increasingly, the lyrics. Then again, I can still focus enough on the melody to hate on Shake It Off and that Sam Smith song.


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## Yasminec19 (Sep 16, 2015)

The melody is more important to me. Music is music first and foremost, lyrics are poetry and add to its charm (or not). 

I'm right handed and an INTJ


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## jessers_alti (Sep 19, 2015)

INTJ/right-handed - The music is way more important to me than lyrics. I listen to music in many different foreign languages and don't understand most of what they're saying. Music is universal and the feel of the song is 100X more important than the lyrics. Anyone can write lyrics, but it really takes someone talented to compose and arrange music.


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## Whitewolf (Sep 21, 2015)

I generally pay attention to the music, but if there is a very refined text, is better :3
Left Handed ENFJ, from my born (actually, I can use both but I am a lot more left handed)


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## Cbyermen (Nov 28, 2014)

It comes as a package to me. I once cried listening to the three second piano intro of _Stuck on You_ by New Politics, but lyrics and melody always add an extra depth to the song.


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## Meganemer4 (Aug 3, 2015)

Definitely the music!! I love alternative rock. I like when the lyrics are cool, but they're not as important as the musical aspect.


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## irulee (Jun 25, 2012)

When first hearing a song, I mostly listen to the melody of a song since I don't know what the lyrics are at first (until I look up the lyrics on You Tube). After I know the lyrics, I pay attention to the combination of the beat and the lyrics.

I'm a naturally right-handed INFP


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## xXMariahXx (Nov 13, 2015)

When I was 15, I rarely payed much attention to the lyrics (much less contemplated). I just let the beat and melody soak into my mind as a way to medicate my pain and validate my feelings.

Now in my early 20s, I find that I first pay attention to how a song is making me feel, and if I approve I then zero in on the lyrics and try to find relation. I contemplate the depth of the lyrics in how it applies to my life and the breadth in how it possibly applies universally. In this way, I allow the song to connect and resonate deeply with my emotions and can sometimes be found crying listening to a song that's not necessarily sad.

ENFJ-Ni
right handed from birth


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## benoticed (Nov 14, 2012)

classical i pay attention to the melody
and for music with singing involved usually the singing style accompanied with the lyrics.


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## NewYorkEagle (Apr 12, 2015)

I would pay attention to both, unless the song has terrible lyrics or a godawful beat.


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## mariafg (Oct 15, 2015)

Interesting :tongue:
I pay more attention to the melody and beats (in the first place...); then, the lyrics. and... right


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## A Temperamental Flutist (Nov 14, 2015)

ENTP/J I pay attention to the lyrics.


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## Mizmar (Aug 12, 2009)

I'm definitely drawn in by the musical aspects of a song, not the lyrics. I usually pay the lyrics little regard. I'm right-handed by birth. My self-typings are below.


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## bruh (Oct 27, 2015)

The melody affects me more thanews lyrics do, ice noticed


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## Dangerose (Sep 30, 2014)

Lyrics, but if the song has no beat or good melody then I'm not going to listen to it


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## sometimes (Dec 26, 2013)

Lyrics. But I am also good at remembering a tune.


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## INeedToP (Nov 23, 2015)

The music and melody. But if the song doesn't have a good lyric, I would get easily bored.

INTP. Right-handed.


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## JimJackson25 (Nov 23, 2015)

Both


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## Aizar (Mar 21, 2011)

Music and melody. Half the time I can't even tell what the people are saying, so the lyrics are pretty unimportant to me. I also get annoyed with songs where the melody is awesome, but then is ruined by a subpar singer, or a singing style that clashes with it.

INFJ, naturally right-handed.


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## Kalix (Nov 9, 2015)

I use to care solely about the lyrics in songs, but now I focus more on the composition

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk


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## Glassland (Apr 19, 2014)

Only melody. I can't really pinpoint when I like a song, but I know when I do.
Lyrics are not important to me.

INFJ 5w4
Right handed since birth


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## ai.tran.75 (Feb 26, 2014)

Enfp 
794
Lyrics - whether it paints a picture or I can connect with its meaning

I do enjoy new age - punk rock revival and classical/instrumental though it's just lyrics sticks out to me more 

Ambidextrous - I was born left handed but my grandma taught me how to write with my right hand . I draw - write - see-chop- carries thing with my left 
And write - use the scissors - draw with my right hand 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MisterPerfect (Nov 20, 2015)

I listen to the music, I dont necessarily care what they are saying.


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## ai.tran.75 (Feb 26, 2014)

So from observing these last 2 pages - Ne/si likes lyrics - as to Ni /Se melody - interesting 


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## TTBird1998 (Nov 29, 2015)

ENFP- Right Handed, naturally, and I listen to lyrics.


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## Gilly (Apr 22, 2012)

ENFJ - if the lyrics are good I like it even if the music is shit. 
If the lyrics are shit I usually -but not always- prefer not to listen even if the music is good. 

Exceptions made for some pop/rap music. Too damn catchy, and probably greatly amused by the shitty lyrics. So they aren't shit at all!


Left hand at birth. Converted to right via nun who thought left handers were Devils children.


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## Handsome Jack (May 31, 2015)

Melody is more important. ENTJ. Right handed.


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## Gossip Goat (Nov 19, 2013)

Melody.

Fe/Ti user. 

Right handed.


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## Kalix (Nov 9, 2015)

Gilly said:


> ENFJ - if the lyrics are good I like it even if the music is shit.
> If the lyrics are shit I usually -but not always- prefer not to listen even if the music is good.
> 
> Exceptions made for some pop/rap music. Too damn catchy, and probably greatly amused by the shitty lyrics. So they aren't shit at all!
> ...


Lol about that hand thing, I was born left hand too, til a babysit converted me to right behind my parents back


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## Watchtower (Aug 20, 2015)

INFP, right handed since birth. I pay attention to the melody and how it makes me feel, how it makes my mind drift. If it's a song I really like, it creates a very pleasant bodily sensation of warmth and connectedness with the essence of the song.


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## Gilly (Apr 22, 2012)

Kalix said:


> Lol about that hand thing, I was born left hand too, til a babysit converted me to right behind my parents back


I still don't get why some people think one way is better than the other 

It seems crazy to actually force a change against a persons natural thought process.


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