Does the music we listen to affect our speech patterns?

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Does the music that we listen to affect our speech patterns?
Can the rhythm and structure of music affect our perception of time?


Classical music flows like a river meandering through the countryside. Tempo and volume are fluid. The music tells a story: it's a linear journey. There are repeating patterns, but these aren't strict and there's variations on the main theme. The music evolves organically.

A relative and some older people that I've known talk like this. Their ideas evolve in an organic linear way as they talk. Their speech varies and they don't repeat themselves often. They'd say:

First of all we'll...
Then onto...
This meant that...
So finally...


The music that I usually listen to is loop based. It's essentially the same moment repeating over and over again like a crank pin rotating on the wheel of a steam locomotive. The music is moving forward fast along a fixed track. The concept of time is mechanical and cyclical. The same electric riffs, beats or baselines repeat over and over. The music is grooving in the moment, essentially jogging steadily on the spot while the background
moves relative to the moment. Time loops just like the background looping in a platform video game. It's living second by second within the moment. It's about the now. It's time compression. A long length of time is like one moment happening again and again. Maybe this is why some people find video games addictive. The repetitive moment is trance inducing: one hour can seem like one moment. Perhaps this is why people can dance to music like this for a long time. They flow with the eternal moment until the cycle fades out completely.


People have commented that I often repeat myself when I talk, that I often say the same phrases over and over, and go back over the same ideas. I also repeat the question "Do you get me?" in between ideas.

People such as my relative and others have found that irritating and confusing.
Interestingly, They hate looping music with a passion. They say that it's repetitive, irritating and boring.

Perhaps they are in a different musical "time zone" to the one that I inhabit.
Maybe their musical "clocks" are set differently to and are completely different models from mine?
Could it be that their internal concepts of time are different from mine?
Could this be the root of some of my communication difficulties?
There's difficulty syncing up with the rhythms and timing of their speech, because these are radically different from mine. There are stumbles and awkward moments: cultural clashes.


Is music used for social/cultural entrainment?
Is this why people who like different styles or bands find it difficult to talk to and relate with each other?
Or perhaps why some parents can't understand their teenagers?

What about teachers who have different musical tastes from their students?
Does the teacher's musical preference affect his/her teaching style and delivery?
If musical preferences clash, do communication styles also clash?


Do people who listen to and produce looping music have speech patterns that also loop?
Do these people have a cyclical "in the moment" concept of time?

Hey I like your post. I was brought up (=studied) classical music, but search my way into jazz recently, which is a struggle, but I love it and such an excellent left-brain - right-brain stitcher, if i explain myself well. That comes through the study of harmony (which comes to me anything but like "plug-and-play"). The rhythm imposes itself, because you know "it doesn't mean a thing, if it aint got that swing". So here we're at what you say about loops: Groove! All that lighter or heavier recurrent beat is for getting us "grounded". Different people have different needs in their development and each do like what meets their needs -or does that sound too simplistic? I've found, that indeed the floating of classical music doesn't aide the feel for rhythm as much as repetitive beats, but one can groove hard even through classical music (when there is no apparent beat going on), after getting grounded well in sweat of good rhythm. Although by "classical" you probably mean music from the romantic period (later 19th) and 20th century. Earlier music is more groovy.
Anyway I share the need for some sort of foot-stomping.
If you repeat verbal phrases I guess that's what U do. You're kind a beatboxing. You repeat the material like a ruminant until penetrating it. Not all animals need to do that.
Of course music is for social/cultural entrainment, but I'd add engagement & expression: we wanna tell sooner or later and everybody has a different story.

Interesting post AmberEyes.

In my case I certainly hope not. I listen to a lot of songs that are loaded with slang, are in mangled English (due to the singers not having English as a native language) or otherwise just plain don't make sense.

Ah, but then why would looping music effect speech patterns in the same way as classical?(assuming his premise is correct)