#as merfolk tend to process and understand music quicker than we do

[rxttenfish]

merfolk tend to favor specifically complex sounds in their music, alongside sharp contrast between different sounds and fairly "extreme" versions of sounds. exceedingly high pitched as well as low pitched sounds are also both exciting to them. repeating patterns are also lovely, as well as repeating patterns with minor variations that their brains can track easier than ours, as well as overlaying rhythms.

because of this, a significant portion of merfolk music sounds like the most earwormingest versions of Textured Music possible. it all tends to sound either unearthly and like literally nothing else, or going hard as hell at full throttle with very few other options for gentler stuff to ease landfolk into.

merfolk music history progresses unusually fast and its a common hobby to "remix" or reshuffle other songs into their songs or otherwise twist and play with the music until it spawns countless new music, so they dont really have a "beethoven" or "orchestral music" like how we have to introduce someone entirely new to our music. you would have to go back so far to get relatively simple music that its just no longer relevant to them. and also maybe less in their stone age and more in their pre-society evolutionary history as well.

this also means that it is a blessing that miranda has yet to introduce liam to merfolk music yet because the sheer unfettered variety would mean that liam would never be the same again. its just TOO indie and TOO underground for his blood.

#all the care guide says is 'biomass' #monster prom #they also love using a lot of sounds that we cant hear or cant process #as merfolk tend to process and understand music quicker than we do #and thus its a whole Thing for them to conceptualize music in three dimensions and overlaid on top of itself #them being aquatic doesnt help either since theyre already thinking of everything as being three dimensional #its weird! extremely weird! the fish love their music! #as you might expect when it plays a much larger role in the act of communication itself #and hugely tied into their language #alongside the major social function it serves in maintaining their huge complex social groups #and its fun and just a fun thing for them to do and play with! #they got their big ol ears and their big ol vocal organs and the water can carry their voices for miles! #of course theyre gonna be singsongy bitches #you dont just dedicate that much neural space to something and then NOT do anything with it #miri has to forcibly restrain herself from singing so much #both as a royal thing (only singing for specific social functions to restrict socializing with other classes and social groups) #(and thus restricting influence) #but also because she knows the landfolk Dont Do That and can Get Annoyed and its maybe not good for her emotions #she cannot perform the social glue act with her social group. she is heartbroken.