Seeing music
March 4, 2010 2:32 PM Subscribe
Whenever I listen to music I see and plan out choreographies. Is this common?
I'd imagine that I'm not a special snowflake on this one but does this happen to most people? (asking cos it's kinda hard to know how other people 'experience' music)
It's also something that comes quite naturally to me; what I imagine is fairly intricate and developed and, at least in my mind's eye, pretty damn good. It's frustrating that I'll never be able to see the ideas I have acted out in real life. I've never been much of a dancer, I'm 22 now, and I don't have the best coordination or rhythm. I don't think I could become a choreographer.
Is this something that I should act on? Or is this just how I enjoy listening to music and should I leave it at that?
I'd imagine that I'm not a special snowflake on this one but does this happen to most people? (asking cos it's kinda hard to know how other people 'experience' music)
It's also something that comes quite naturally to me; what I imagine is fairly intricate and developed and, at least in my mind's eye, pretty damn good. It's frustrating that I'll never be able to see the ideas I have acted out in real life. I've never been much of a dancer, I'm 22 now, and I don't have the best coordination or rhythm. I don't think I could become a choreographer.
Is this something that I should act on? Or is this just how I enjoy listening to music and should I leave it at that?
I do this.
Why not act on it? You don't think you could become a choreographer, but an actual choreographer may think differently. There are adult dance classes. If it's a passion for you, follow it and see where it goes. Don't shoot yourself in the foot just because you don't think you can.
posted by desjardins at 2:52 PM on March 4, 2010
Why not act on it? You don't think you could become a choreographer, but an actual choreographer may think differently. There are adult dance classes. If it's a passion for you, follow it and see where it goes. Don't shoot yourself in the foot just because you don't think you can.
posted by desjardins at 2:52 PM on March 4, 2010
"...does this happen to most people?" Data point: Not to me. Not at all.
Should you act on it? Sure why not? Go join a dance class / studio thing and see how you like it.
posted by Suspicious Ninja at 3:10 PM on March 4, 2010
Should you act on it? Sure why not? Go join a dance class / studio thing and see how you like it.
posted by Suspicious Ninja at 3:10 PM on March 4, 2010
Act them out yourself. In the privacy of your own home, who cares if you're any good or not? You can only get better! I got myself a pair of thrift-store tap shoes and even though I suck, have an awesome time following along as a glamorous 30s chorus girl with Youtube videos. Embarrassing, but so what? It's happy cardio!
Eventually I started stage managing and occasionally performing in a third (fourth? fifth?)-rate burlesque show and cabaret in Brooklyn. I never made much money, but it was a hell of a lot of fun and an experience I'll never forget. What do you have to lose? Practice up and go for it!
posted by aquafortis at 3:16 PM on March 4, 2010
Eventually I started stage managing and occasionally performing in a third (fourth? fifth?)-rate burlesque show and cabaret in Brooklyn. I never made much money, but it was a hell of a lot of fun and an experience I'll never forget. What do you have to lose? Practice up and go for it!
posted by aquafortis at 3:16 PM on March 4, 2010
That's pretty awesome, very entertaining! Never too late to give dance classes a try - a friend of mine runs a dance school and welcomes anyone, young or old. I'm sure there's something like that near you too.
posted by lizbunny at 3:18 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by lizbunny at 3:18 PM on March 4, 2010
Re: Is this common? Nah uh. I'm strictly a not dancing kinda girl. It's safer that way for the rest of you. Trust me.
Re: Should OP do something about it? I don't see what would stop you from seeing how fun this could be for you. Take some classes, make some contacts, give it a try.
posted by kirstk at 3:27 PM on March 4, 2010
Re: Should OP do something about it? I don't see what would stop you from seeing how fun this could be for you. Take some classes, make some contacts, give it a try.
posted by kirstk at 3:27 PM on March 4, 2010
You should definitely give it a shot and see how it works out. You won't be choreographing for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders but you could volunteer at an elementary/jr high school or Boys and Girls Club to put together some routines for them and see where it goes from there.
posted by MsKim at 3:33 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by MsKim at 3:33 PM on March 4, 2010
That's great. Never happens to me. But when I watch movies, I often visualize script pages. Weird!
posted by Superfrankenstein at 3:44 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by Superfrankenstein at 3:44 PM on March 4, 2010
I see DDR arrows. Not all the time, but often enough.
I think it's a good clue to where your interests lie, if only subconsciously. Maybe you should follow that and see where it goes.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 3:54 PM on March 4, 2010
I think it's a good clue to where your interests lie, if only subconsciously. Maybe you should follow that and see where it goes.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 3:54 PM on March 4, 2010
The younger/more fun loving you are, the more common this is.
posted by davejay at 4:02 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by davejay at 4:02 PM on March 4, 2010
"Gone Daddy Gone" always brings out the choreographer in me.
posted by Raymond Marble at 5:28 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by Raymond Marble at 5:28 PM on March 4, 2010
I do this all the time. When I was younger I would dance with my fingers. I stopped the finger thing in my 20s since it got me odd looks. Take some ballet or modern dance classes.
posted by fifilaru at 5:42 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by fifilaru at 5:42 PM on March 4, 2010
I conduct.
posted by Hildegarde at 6:42 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by Hildegarde at 6:42 PM on March 4, 2010
I don't choreograph but I imagine images to go with the music. I'm a visual person, maybe you are a kinesthetic type.
For doing something about it, maybe read a bit about it, attend a lecture, go to a short course and get a feel for it!
posted by SarahbytheSea at 6:46 PM on March 4, 2010
For doing something about it, maybe read a bit about it, attend a lecture, go to a short course and get a feel for it!
posted by SarahbytheSea at 6:46 PM on March 4, 2010
I imagine being in the mixing booth, sampling sounds and swaying to beats. And this if for music I don't even like.
But if you have a strong feeling, go for it!
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 6:48 PM on March 4, 2010
But if you have a strong feeling, go for it!
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 6:48 PM on March 4, 2010
I do this too. I've done it since I can remember.
posted by SisterHavana at 9:15 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by SisterHavana at 9:15 PM on March 4, 2010
Hey there!
Yes! You too! I'm 25, and I remember doing this when I was 12, if not younger. Around 14 I started to have a recurring dance fantasy where I would imagine that tiny little multi-colored fuzz balls were wearing sneakers and bouncing for joy and pulling crazy dance moves on a crazy neon flashing floor. It sounds like a rave, I know, but at the time it was super engrossing and seemed like a natural extension of the music - not like I was making it up, but it was the perfect visual representation of the music (I don't remember what it was - the Gorillaz?). I imagined lots of other human-based choreographies, but this one little sequence stuck with me. As for real dancing, I felt pretty awkward outside of my house, especially couples dancing.
Well, when I went to my little liberal arts college I discovered a social event we had called 'dance tutorial' - basically people would come up with ideas for dances, pitch the ideas to willing participants, practice for a couple of months, and then perform it. These were awesome to watch - quirky to technical. So I decided to act on my imagined dance - I pulled together around seven of my friends, bought a whole bunch of different colored synthetic shaggy fur cloth, borrowed as many pairs of chuck taylors from my student community as possible, stuffed newspapers into the furry cloth so my friends looked like chubby furballs, and set a slow-motion pseudo dance routine to a Flaming Lips song (Fight Test). We also got a disco ball, but didn't have any secure place to hang it - so someone just held it and we danced / bounced around. The end result was kinda haphazard, pretty cool-looking, and mostly fun (and the audience seemed to really like it, too). I'm glad I did it, I'm really glad my friends added their personalities to the show, and I still make up dances in my head sometimes. I get giddy choreographing in my head.
In conclusion, if you have some understanding friends (or just yourself, really) and a public venue at your disposal, you can recreate imagined mayhem. I don't think you need to have physical coordination and rhythm to do physical movement to music - an idea or a direction is enough to create something that can be visually interesting. If you're nervous about being on stage, props or personas can help.
Also, I now contra dance and thoroughly enjoy it. (Sorry for long post, but this is one of my favorite memories from college - glad someone else imagines dances in their head.)
posted by ajarbaday at 9:53 PM on March 4, 2010
Yes! You too! I'm 25, and I remember doing this when I was 12, if not younger. Around 14 I started to have a recurring dance fantasy where I would imagine that tiny little multi-colored fuzz balls were wearing sneakers and bouncing for joy and pulling crazy dance moves on a crazy neon flashing floor. It sounds like a rave, I know, but at the time it was super engrossing and seemed like a natural extension of the music - not like I was making it up, but it was the perfect visual representation of the music (I don't remember what it was - the Gorillaz?). I imagined lots of other human-based choreographies, but this one little sequence stuck with me. As for real dancing, I felt pretty awkward outside of my house, especially couples dancing.
Well, when I went to my little liberal arts college I discovered a social event we had called 'dance tutorial' - basically people would come up with ideas for dances, pitch the ideas to willing participants, practice for a couple of months, and then perform it. These were awesome to watch - quirky to technical. So I decided to act on my imagined dance - I pulled together around seven of my friends, bought a whole bunch of different colored synthetic shaggy fur cloth, borrowed as many pairs of chuck taylors from my student community as possible, stuffed newspapers into the furry cloth so my friends looked like chubby furballs, and set a slow-motion pseudo dance routine to a Flaming Lips song (Fight Test). We also got a disco ball, but didn't have any secure place to hang it - so someone just held it and we danced / bounced around. The end result was kinda haphazard, pretty cool-looking, and mostly fun (and the audience seemed to really like it, too). I'm glad I did it, I'm really glad my friends added their personalities to the show, and I still make up dances in my head sometimes. I get giddy choreographing in my head.
In conclusion, if you have some understanding friends (or just yourself, really) and a public venue at your disposal, you can recreate imagined mayhem. I don't think you need to have physical coordination and rhythm to do physical movement to music - an idea or a direction is enough to create something that can be visually interesting. If you're nervous about being on stage, props or personas can help.
Also, I now contra dance and thoroughly enjoy it. (Sorry for long post, but this is one of my favorite memories from college - glad someone else imagines dances in their head.)
posted by ajarbaday at 9:53 PM on March 4, 2010
I do this too. I noticed it when I was about 12 or 13. It inspired me to become a film major in undergrad - I didn't want to dance, but I wanted to make the movies I saw (and still see) in my head. I didn't have MTV growing up so I am quite sure it wasn't just the influence of pop culture in my case.
posted by k8lin at 10:06 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by k8lin at 10:06 PM on March 4, 2010
After seeing "Save the last dance" 1 and 2, I do this a lot more than I used to. It's also really hard to not dance in the car when it's stopped at traffic lights.
I signed up for salsa, bachata, hiphop and reggaeton classes, but unfortunately had to drop the last two after ending up pretty tired all the time (this was on top of full-time work and part-time study).
So get thee to a dance class or two, and like zombo.com, the possibilities will be endless!
Great question!
posted by flutable at 3:15 AM on March 5, 2010
I signed up for salsa, bachata, hiphop and reggaeton classes, but unfortunately had to drop the last two after ending up pretty tired all the time (this was on top of full-time work and part-time study).
So get thee to a dance class or two, and like zombo.com, the possibilities will be endless!
Great question!
posted by flutable at 3:15 AM on March 5, 2010
I've always done this, but I grew up a dancing fanatic. I always have dreams of being a legit choreographer :)
posted by june made him a gemini at 10:49 AM on March 5, 2010
posted by june made him a gemini at 10:49 AM on March 5, 2010
YES! I do this all the time. When I was in high school sneaking into big closets with my firend and acting out dances was a valuable way to spend hours of time.
You should act on it with no expectations except entertainment, though who knows, you still might get somewhere like that guy that did the video for "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim. link!
posted by WeekendJen at 1:06 PM on March 5, 2010
You should act on it with no expectations except entertainment, though who knows, you still might get somewhere like that guy that did the video for "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim. link!
posted by WeekendJen at 1:06 PM on March 5, 2010
I've always done this too. Its pretty automatic, right? I think its just the way we enjoy music but I also think its fun to get ideas out there and to be able to see them in action.
What sucks is that I can have a big amazing dance sequence in my head to this one song and no one to immediately do it for me, let alone several some ones.
If you don't dance, its cool. I don't think you have to be able to do it to explain it or find someone else doing it and say "that! do that here!" no dancing required. I would get into it just so you can be familiar with technique and how it fits with the movement if you ever plan to take these dances from your head to a stage. Just might make it easier but still no requirement.
I don't know really but I say act on it. I'm a dancer and I'm clumsy with no rhythm so much so that my sisters tease me and I don't want to choreograph but I have on the side. Its nice to have your ideas out there and to see what more you can do with what comes naturally to you.
There are many ways to go about it if you ever decide to do so. I say go for it!
posted by grablife365 at 10:33 PM on March 6, 2010
What sucks is that I can have a big amazing dance sequence in my head to this one song and no one to immediately do it for me, let alone several some ones.
If you don't dance, its cool. I don't think you have to be able to do it to explain it or find someone else doing it and say "that! do that here!" no dancing required. I would get into it just so you can be familiar with technique and how it fits with the movement if you ever plan to take these dances from your head to a stage. Just might make it easier but still no requirement.
I don't know really but I say act on it. I'm a dancer and I'm clumsy with no rhythm so much so that my sisters tease me and I don't want to choreograph but I have on the side. Its nice to have your ideas out there and to see what more you can do with what comes naturally to you.
There are many ways to go about it if you ever decide to do so. I say go for it!
posted by grablife365 at 10:33 PM on March 6, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by threeants at 2:33 PM on March 4, 2010