Swedish Folk Music

     When people think of Swedish music, typically the first thing that comes to mind are pop artists like ABBA and Avicii, however Sweden has a really interesting folk music tradition as well. 

The earliest example of Swedish folk music is Kulning. These pieces date back to the Middle Ages, and were used for the purpose of herding sheep, goats, and cows. These tunes were typically sung by a woman as they needed to be in a high register in order to carry across the fields. Their melodies use quarter and half tones which give them a distinctive sound. The composer Edvard Grieg (Norwegian), used a lot of Kulning melodies in his music, including in his famous Peer Gynt Suite.

Example of a Kulning

A lot of Swedish folk music is now dance music, with many traditional pieces being waltzes, mazurkas, and most importantly Polskas.

Example of a Polksa

Polskas are popular folk dances in Sweden that originated in Poland. However, they have been adapted into Swedish culture, with Swedes using their own melodic elements and instrumentation to give them a Swedish sound. Polskas are typically written in 3/4 , but unlike waltzes, the emphasis is put on Beats 1 and 3 instead of just the firsts beat. In Sweden there are 4 main types of Polskas:

1.     Even Polska (Jamn Polska)- In this type of Polska, the beats are divided into two eighth notes of even length, and 16^th notes are often used as well. This type of Polska is common in the Southern and Eastern areas of Sweden.

2.    Uneven Polska (Ojamn Polska)- This type of Polska divides the beats into 3 triplets or two notes with uneven lengths (like a dotted eighth-sixteenth note rhythm). This version is the most popular and is played throughout most of Sweden.

3.    Polska with Short First Beat (Polska med Kort Etta)- In this type of Polska, the first beat is shortened. This version is common in Western Sweden. 

4.    Polska with long first beat (Polska med leng Etta) – In this type, the first beat is prolonged and the third beat is shortened. This version is also common in Western Sweden. 

An important element of Swedish folk music is its instrumentation. Fiddles are the most commonly used instrument in Swedish Folk music. Fiddles often use standard tuning (G-D-A-E), but it is also very common to retune the fiddles. In Western Sweden, A-D-A-E tuning is used so frequently that it is often called standard tuning in that region. Retuning the fiddle to A-E-A-C# (called nackastamning) is associated with the devil or fairy tale creatures like trolls. Accordions are also commonly used in Swedish folk music. The 5 row button accordion is most commonly used, but piano accordions are also used fairly often. Clarinets and flutes are also pretty commonly used. A really interesting instrument used in Swedish folk music is the Nyckelharpa. It looks similar to a standard fiddle but it is actually more similar to the Hurdy Gurdy. It has 37 keys that are attached to switches that change the pitch of strings when pressed. It also has 19 strings, some of which are used to play a melody, some of which are sympathetic, and one of the strings is meant to play a drone. 

The Nyckelharpa being played

One thing that was really interesting to me as I did research is how much Swedish folk music is important to Swedish culture. There are fol, or folk music clubs all over Sweden. In addition to this, group singing and community sing alongs are very common in Swedish culture. During these events, people gather together to sing ballads and other folk tunes. Today the show Allsang Pa Skansen(sing along at Skansen) continues this tradition. Singalongs have regularly taken place in Skansen since the 1930s and have been televised since the 1970s. Thousands of people will gather in Skansen to sing traditional songs with the hosts and celebrity guests, and there are often over a million people viewing the show. 

Clip from the show

There are also numerous festivals in Sweden, like the Midsummer celebration, where people gather to sing and celebrate. The Midsummer celebration marks the start of the summer holidays in Sweden. People come from all over to gather and dance, eat traditional food, and sing classic Swedish songs. 

Midsummer celebration

There are also numerous small music festivals called Spelmansstamma. Most places in Sweden have one of these a year, some being really small, and some drawing in thousands of people. In the summer, these meetings are generally held outdoors. There are often lots of small groups playing, and each festival includes a visstuga, or a singing session which usually happens in a house in order to make it easy to hear voices. 

An example of some of the small groups (often called buskspels which translates to “playing in the bushes”) at the festivals

Another interesting part of Swedish folk music culture is the idea of Riksspelman. This is considered a badge of mastery for Swedish folk musicians. The term was created in 1933, and an average of 10 people a year receive this title. To gain the title you must perform for the Zorn Jury and be awarded the silver Zorn badge. There is also a Gold Zorn Badge, but you can not compete for it; it is reserved for one or two musicians who are preselected by the Zorn Jury. 

The Silver Zorn Badge

    

    The Zorn Jury is made up of 9 members, generally folk musicians with great experience and knowledge. They often are people who have won the title of Riksspelman. One spot on the jury may be held by a scholar with an academic background rather than a musical background. 
Every year, three members of the Zorn Jury are selected to judge the Zorn trials. A fourth judge is selected from the region where the trials are being held. The Zorn trials are held during the summer, each year in a different location. They are open to any musicians over 16. Participants have to play instruments regarded as “traditional” or the jury can deny their requests to participate. (There is no set idea of what is considered traditional, as the jury has not put out a list, however it is not uncommon for people to be denied the opportunity to participate based on their instrument.) There are no restrictions on nationality; currently there are four non-Swedes who are riksspelman. Each participant is given 15 minutes to play and asked to play 3-5 tunes for the jury. They are judged on rhythm, technique, intonation, and ‘qualities as a folk musician’ which is the most heavily wieighted category. Partipants are expected to demonstrate mastery of a specific region’s music; badges are never given to people who play tunes from multiple regions. Trials are closed to the public but are recorded. At the end of each day, results are posted and at the end of the week, badges are distributed at the National Folk Musicians gathering (rikspelmansstamman). 
    Overall this was a really interesting culture and music tradition to learn about. I think all of the festivals and competitions that go with the music help reinforce the importance of music in Swedish culture. 
                                                                        Works Cited

“Evolution of Swedish Folk Music.” Swedish Press, 26 June 2021, swedishpress.com/evolution-of-swedish-folk-music/.  

Goldrick, Stacey. “Midsummer Means Classic Swedish Music and Lots of Tomas Ledin.” Spotify, 20 June 2019, www.newsroom.spotify.com/2019-06-21/midsummer-means-classic-swedish-music-and-lots-of-tomas-ledin/. 

Jean, Janae. “The Musical Bridge - Scandinavian Folk Music.” Perennial, perennial, 4 Nov. 2019, www.perennialmusicandarts.com/post/the-musical-bridge-scandinavian-folk-music. 

“Swedish Folk Music.” Folkworld #53: Music of Sweden, www.folkworld.eu/53/e/sweden.html. Accessed 26 Jan. 2024. 

“Swedish Traditional Music.” Swedish Traditional Music - Svensk Folkmusik,  www.norbeck.nu/swedtrad/. Accessed 26 Jan. 2024. 

Music and Family

             For my blog I interviewed my Mom! I’ve always liked listening to her music and singing in the car with her, so I thought it would be fun to interview her to learn a little bit more about her and her music. Throughout the blog my words will be in normal font and hers will be italicized.

(Me and my mom!)

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Hey Mom thank you for doing this interview with me! Let’s start out with your early life; How were you exposed to music as a kid? 

I would listen to music on the radio the most often. I remember listening to music on the way to school with my best friend Lori and her mom. We’d always have fun singing songs together.

Are there any songs you specifically remember? Maybe a favorite thing you guys had to sing? 

One of our favorites was “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mixalot. We knew all the words.

(I remember my mom singing this song for me and my brothers at one point and she put on this video and I thought it was so funny)

And you still do! I remember you singing that for me and the boys one time because we didn’t believe you could rap. Did you ever take any music classes or lessons in school?

I never really did, I went to a pretty small school and so they didn’t really offer any ensembles like your schools do now. I do think it would have been cool to do though. 

But you’ve taken lessons since then right? I remember you were trying to learn guitar at one point, how was that?

I liked guitar but lessons were never super fun for me. The guy I was taking lessons from mostly had us focus on changing between chords which I understand was important but I wanted to learn songs I knew, and I think we could have done that and still learned things. I want to try and learn guitar at some point though, I think it would be a fun hobby to have. 

I think it definitely is! And you can play a lot of songs with the same few chords, so its definitely worth trying again. What are some artists you like right now?

Some of my favorites right now are Zach Bryan, Chris Stapleton, John Mayer, P!nk, James Arthur, and David Gray. 

All good artists! I haven’t heard much from Zach Bryan or David Gray but I know I’ve listened to the other ones with you before. What do you usually use to listen to music?

I like to use Pandora. I like how it puts music into stations and shows me new music. Some times my stations all start to sound the same which can be annoying, but for the most part I like it. 

When do you usually listen to music?

I mostly listen in the car or in the mornings while I’m getting ready for my day. 

What is the importance of music to you?

I like how much it can be used for. Its nice to have as background noise in the mornings, and its nice to have something to listen to while I’m driving. It’s also important to me because of the way it gives me ways to express myself and how it allows others to express themselves. 

 

I agree! I love how much music can have expression and be an outlet. What an example you’ve seen of music giving others a way to express themselves? 

I’ve noticed it in both you and your brother, you both tend to play music a lot. I know for you it can be a way to destress but you also will play things when you’re really happy. 

I do tend to do that! I find it’s really helpful for me to play music when I’m stressed to calm down. How do you express yourself through music?

Because I don’t play any instruments, I can’t use music the same way you do, but I will listen to certain songs when I feel a certain way, either to help me feel a certain emotion or distract from it. 

What are some examples of music you use?

As you know, I don’t listen to Christian music often at all, but I do find that it helps when I’m feeling down. When me and your dad got divorced I would often listen to Chris Tomlin’s music because it was usually upbeat and pretty uplifting. It would help keep me in a good headspace.

(My mom used to play this one a lot and I always liked it)

 I do remember some of his songs! They were happy and fun to sing. I know you grew up in the Catholic Church; what was the music like there? 

It was boring to me. I never really felt connected to God through that music because they just played hymns. As I’ve gone to churches from other denominations, I’ve liked their music a lot better. It seems more relevant to me and helps me feel more connected to God.

That makes sense, I never really like hymns either. Speaking of more recent music, what do you think of the music I listen to?

I honestly don’t really know what you listen to, you don’t play your music around me other than when you’re playing guitar in your room. I like the bits and pieces I hear but I never really know what you’re playing. 

That’s fair, I don’t tend to blast my music around the house like the boys do. Is there anything you think I should listen to?

I think you would really like Matchbox Twenty. You probably have already heard a few of their songs. I used to listen to them on the way to work before I had you. I had two of their albums I really liked and I think that their music would suit your style.

I’ll have to check them out! I don’t think I know much about them other than hearing their name a few times. Are there any favorites that I should listen to?

I like their song “Rest Stop.” There is also a version of the song “3AM” that I love. I don’t like the radio version much but there was an acoustic version of it that I heard once and loved. I haven't been able to find any recordings of that version but I wish I could.

(Rest Stop by Matchbox Twenty)

Alright I’ll check those songs out! One last question. I know you enjoy going to concerts, is there a favorite concert you’ve been to?

That’s hard to say, I’ve been to a lot of good concerts. I recently went to a John Mayer concert and its definitely one of the best concerts I’ve been to. It was part of his acoustic tour so I really got to hear him. He’s one of my all time favorites so it was super special. The guy who opened for him was also really good. I didn’t know any of his songs but I was captivated by his whole set. He had so much emotion in his voice and his voice was so strong; I’d definitely go to see him at concert at some point. 

That sounds like such a fun experience, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me interview you, it was so fun to hear more about your music!

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I really enjoyed getting to talk with my mom and do this interview. I already knew a lot of the music she listened to, but it was fun to hear her stories and get to know more about her.

Tejano Music

     Tejano music, also known as Tex-Mex, is a popular music style which combines Mexican, European, and US influences. It began in Northern Mexico and Texas in the mid 19^th century when the accordion was introduced to those areas by German, Polish, and Czech immigrants. It also adopted the use of stringed instruments such as the violin, and brass instruments like the trumpet and Tuba from those immigrants. Tejano music also draws from norteño, a style of music from Northern Mexico, as well as Conjunto music. Conjunto music is traditional tejano music originating in the Rio Grande borderlands and is a large influence on the sound of Tejano music. These groups use instruments like the accordion, bajo sexto (a 12 stringed guitar), bass, and drums. Tejano music draws from traditional Mexican song formats such as corridos/ballads and dance music such as cumbias, polkas, and waltzes. This genre also pulls from American genres like rock, blues, soul, and country. Tejano ballads often include elements of pop music as well. 

^ a bajo sexto

            Tejano music started to gain popularity in the 1930s when Latinx and Latin American musicians started playing to Mexican and Eastern European audiences along the Mexico-United States border. As “race records” (music recorded by Black and Latin performers) were beginning to be recorded in the US, artists such as Narciso Martinex, an accordionist and conjunto musician, and Santiago Almeida, a bajo sexto player, were able to spread Tejano music through their recordings, also adding to its rise in popularity. In the 1950’s American rock and country started to influence Tejano rhythms as well as instrumentation, with some groups replacing accordion with synthesizers. Around this time, radio stations began to broadcast “La Onda Chicano,” or a wave of new Chicano music to people in Texas in Mexico, making Tejano music even more popular in those regions. By the 1970’s and 80’s, tejano musicians became more prevalent, and started to win awards. Selena became the first Tejana to win a Grammy in 1994 with her pop-influenced Tejano music. Her success brought more attention to the genre and allowed other Tejano musicians like Emilio Naviara, Mazz, and Los Palominos to gain popularity. In more recent years, Tejano has become less popular, however it is still very prevelant in Texas and northeastern Mexico. 

    

^ an early tejano group performing

            There are 3 forms of Tejano music- Conjunto, Orquesta, and Modern. 

    Conjunto was the original form of Tejano music and uses the same instruments as traditional Mexican conjunto and norteño bands. It features accordion as the lead instrument. The accordion was originally backed by the bajo sexto, as well as an acoustic bass guitar. The acoustic bass has since been replaced by electric bass, and this form often uses a drum kit. This form includes elements from traditional Mexican music forms such as waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, and rancheros. Some of the best-known performers of this form were Pedro Ayala and Narciso Martinez in the 1920’s and 30’s and Tony de la Rosa and and Leonardo Jimenez in the 1940’s and 50’s.

^ Pedro Ayala performing

    Orquesta Tejano music formed as big bands were added to conjunto groups. These groups combine Mexican folk music and conjunto music. The instrumentation includes the traditional Conjunto instruments as well as trumpets, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and guitar. They also sometimes include synthesizers in place of accordion. A popular orquesta group is La Orquesta de Beto Villa. 

^ an example of an Orquesta Tejano group

Modern Tejano often features synthesizer with accompaniment from a rock style band (electric guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums.) However, some groups today have started to use the accordion instead of the synthesizer in order to connect back to the original tradition. Selena is an example of a modern tejano musician.

^ Selena Performing 

Two notable early Tejano musicians are Lydia Mendoza and Ruben Ramos. 

Lydia Mendoza (1916-2007) started playing music early in life as she formed a band with her parents. They travelled around the Lower Rio Grande Valley and would play in restaurants and barbershops for Mexican and Mexican American laborers. She became associated with cancion ranchera, a genre from the rural working class, and her music showed the social and economic struggles of Tejano from the 1920s-50s. Was given the nicknames “La Alondra de la Frontera” (the meadowlark of the border) and “La cancionera de los pobres” (songstress of the poor). She played the 12 string guitar and learned to accompany herself. In 1934 she made her first solo recording entitled “Mal Hombre.” From then she had many successful recordings and became the first interpreter of rural popular Tejano to become a star and was given the name “the Queen of Tejano.” She received the National Medal for the Arts in 1999 as the result of her achievements.

^ Her song “Mal Hombre”

Ruben Ramos (1950-2021) was born into a musical family. His uncles had started performing just after WWI, however they joined the military during WWII. During the war, Ruben’s father worked at the cotton fields and the railroads, as well as playing the fiddle while his mom would play the guitar at family gatherings. Once Ruben’s uncles returned from the war, the family stared a band that was well astablished by the 1940s. By the 1950’s Ruben’s siblings had joined their uncles' group, and Ruben would play with the band on weekends. Ruben would play the drums as well as sing with the band, which played a variety of music.  In 1969, Ruben’s brother started a new band, asking Rueben to be the band’s front man. Ruben left his job to play with the band, entitled “The Mexican Revolution,” and was very successful.The band toured from Dallas to the Rio Grande Valley and recorded multiple albums. In 1985, Ruben and his brother Alfonso created a series of albums and were named the best vocal duo at the 1987 Tejano Music awards. Around this time, Ramos wrote one of his most famous songs “El Gato Negro” (The Black Cat,) which eventually became his nickname. He continued to play throughout the 90s, and in 1998 He was inducted into the Pura Vida Hall of Fame, and The Tejano Music Awards Hall of Fame. In 1999, he won a Grammy award for Best Mexican American Performance, as well as The Best Male Vocalist and Video of the year Awards at the Tejano Music Awards. 

^ Rueben Ramos at the Tejano music awards. He was the only performer to perform live at the awards ceremony. 

Conway, Lindsay. “Before Selena: Lydia Mendoza and More Queens of Tejano Music: NLS Music Notes.” The Library of Congress, 6 Jan. 2022, blogs.loc.gov/nls-music-notes/2022/01/before-selena-lydia-mendoza-and-more-queens-of-tejano-music/. 

“Ruben Ramos & the Mexican Revolution - Bio.” Ruben Ramos & The Mexican Revolution - BIO, rubenramos.com/bio. Accessed 20 Jan. 2024. 

“Tejano Music History: 4 Characteristics of Tejano Music - 2024.” MasterClass, www.masterclass.com/articles/tejano-music-guide. Accessed 20 Jan. 2024. 

“Tejano.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/art/Tejano-music. Accessed 20 Jan. 2024. 

Music and Gender

 Music and gender are intertwined in many ways, from the instruments each gender chooses to play, the music each gender is expected to listen to, and the way that artists of each gender are expected to present themselves. In this post, I am mainly focusing on how gender stereotypes effect word choice in music, as well as how music can be perceived differently based on the gender of the artist.

Separate from music, men and women are expected to act specific ways as societal steretypes push ideas of how each gender should act. Men are typically expected to be tough, relaxed, loud in comparison to women, and often hypersexual in that being too affectionate can be perceived as “gay.” Women are expected to be delicate, quiet, emotional, attractive but also not too sexual in any way. As society believes these traits are what are acceptable for each gender, they shape our perceptions of people in all facets of their lives.

These stereotypes are often seen in the music industry, one way being the topics that artists tend to write their songs on, as well as word choice used in shared topics. In the music I typically listen to, I find that women often write songs about love, breakups, or general feelings, while the men I listen to tend to write more about drugs and sex, as well as love or breakups. These ideas go back to the stereotypes I mentioned earlier, wher men are expected to have less feelings, while women are expected to be emotional. 

Something interesting to note is how both genders perceive topics such as love or breakups in different ways. While I had thought of this a little on my own, an article I read while doing research for this post made these differences more clear to me. The author of the article pulled certain words from breakup songs in order to understand how each gender perceived those breakups. They found that women often used a mix of positive and negative words to describe their partner and emotions, while men used few positive words and tended to heavily rely on negative words to describe their partner and emotions. 

Women’s word choice; there is a good balance of positive and negative words. 

Men’s word choice; very skewed towards negative words

They also found that women’s songs often included themes of self improvement, while men included themes of partying and drinking as ways to cope with that breakup. A good example of this is the song Flowers by Miley Cyrus in comparison to Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear.

In Flowers, Miley describes her ex, saying they were good, and throughout the song talks about forgiveness. The main chorus is about her learning to love herself after the breakup.

In contrast Hot Girl Bummer starts out with the artist dissing his ex and then the chorus is him saying he's going to go party and get wasted. 

It can also be noted that gender affects how these songs are perceived. Maybe it is because of the choice in lyrics each gender often uses, but their songs are often perceived differently. For example, a lot of the female artists I listen to tend to be more emotional in their songs, and my brother always makes fun of me for it. He likes to say that all I listen to are “blonde white girls who play somber music and play guitar.” This is not true, and he likely has not seen pictures of most of the artists I listen to, but there are stereotypes around female artists that allowed him to come to this assumption.

A song I like, about putting so much into a relationship just to end up alone and feeling worn out.

 What’s interesting is that a lot of the music he listens to has the same topics, but he thinks they’re cool. When I asked him what some of his favorite songs, he told me that Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead and Lithium by Nirvana were two of his favorites. Both songs are on the sadder side and Fake Plastic Trees is a sad breakup song with guitar, the same thing he makes fun of me for, however because the artist is a man, he thinks its cool. If he heard the same song played by a woman originally, he probably would not have liked it.

The song my brother likes, also about putting effort into a relationship and it just wearing them out. 

I find it very interesting how gender affects word choice as well as the way songs are perceived by the general public. I had not thought about it much before this, but as I researched I found that I kind of knew all these things anyway. That makes it even more clear how deeply stereotypes are engrained into our society, to where it is at the point they are present in our minds even if we are not aware. 

https://www.storybench.org/analyzing-gender-differences-in-music-themes-and-lyrics/

Music and Rituals

One ritual I often took a part in during high school was football games. Being in the marching band, I was required to attend every home football game, and we always followed a certain order and had specific music we played at football games. In addition to this, we had certain uniforms we had to wear to the games. At the beginning of the season we wore “summer uniforms,” often our show shirt and shorts or jeans, and then as it got colder we would switch into the full marching band uniform. 

Summer Uniform

Full Uniform

Each game would start with the pregame show where the marching band would march onto the field and play the national anthem. 

My band playing the National Anthem for the pregame show.

After that, we would change formation into two rows across the field and once the football team was ready, they would do a chant and then run through a tunnel at the end of the field and then through the rows we made as we played the fight song. We would also play the fight song in the stands during the game whenever our team made a touchdown (which was not very often because our team was not good).

I couldn’t find any videos of us playing the fight song during the pregame show but here is one of us playing it in the stands. Normally we were a little closer together but this was right after COVID so we had to try to have social distance in the stands.

During the game we would play different stands tunes, many of which had different little dances to go with them. This was always my favorite part of football games because I got to goof around with my friends. 

Towards the end of the second quarter we would leave the stands and go warm up for the half time show. Once it was halftime, we would perform our show that we were working on that season. After halftime, we would return to the stands and continue to play stands tunes for the rest of the game. 

At the end of the game, the band would alway play the school’s Alma Mater. The cheerleaders, football players, and sometimes students from the stands would all go on to the field and sing the Alma Mater while swaying together. The colorguard often did the same thing in the stands. Once again I could not find a video from the game, but here is a video from a pep rally that shows pretty much what would happen at a game.

Until writing this blog, I never thought of this little routine as a ritual, but it was so cool to reflect on that experience through a different lens. The music we played definitely added to the environment at the football game, making it more fun for viewers. 

Music And Me

 Hi! I’m Clara Stein, and I’m a sophomore music education major. I have always loved listening to and making music, and I find that most of my biggest memories have some kind of music attached to them. I play flute and guitar and love to sing. I have played in multiple ensembles throughout my school career; currently I am playing in flute choir and the wind ensemble  here at Converse and I really enjoy being a part of those groups. 

^Me and my cat Cheese, who thinks she is a parrot. 

Here is a little bit about the Music I know and like!

1. Something I like right now:

One of my favorite artists for a while now is Lizzy Mcalpine. I found her music accidentally while I was making a playlist for someone and one of her songs was recommended to me by Spotify and I loved it. I started to listen to more of her music and since then she has been one of my favorites. 

Most of her music is mellow and uses a lot of fingerpicked acoustic guitar which

I always  the sound of. Even though a lot of her songs are fairly sad, I often find them to be calming. 

This is the first song of hers that I heard. 

I got to see her in concert last May and it was such a great experience. She had so much emotion in her voice and she played piano and guitar during her concert, both very beautifully.

This song is one of my favorites and I loved getting to see it performed live. While this video isn’t from a concert, it shows how she performs live.

2. An example of music that’s deeply important to me:

One of my most vivid memories growing up is when my dad would be home and would pull out his guitar. He was in the Navy when I was young and was often deployed, but when he came home he would always play his guitar and my siblings and I would come out and sing with him. I think that is when I first realized how much I loved music and part of what encouraged me to pursue music as I got older. 

This was one of my favorites that he would play and I’d always ask him to play it for us. It was also the first song I learned on guitar. I remember pulling my little pink guitar out of my closet and being so determined to learn how to play it. I sat down for a few hours and managed to learn the chords for this song and was so proud. 

(The little pink guitar I learned on)

I rarely listen to this song, but it holds a lot of value because of those connections to it. 

3.  An example of music I don’t really connect with:

I do not connect with lofi music. I have friends and family members who enjoy listening to it to help them focus or just to have on for calm vibes. While I understand that the purpose of this music is to be calm, it is often so calm that I completely block it out and so it does not help me focus or anything. 

My older brother would make me listen to it anytime he was driving me somewhere and I do not understand how he could listen to it while driving without falling asleep or getting completely distracted. I tend to need music that has words or is familiar to me to use as background music to help me focus.

This example is objectively good, I like what I hear, however I would not be able to listen to this for any long period of time.