Sometimes words just get in the way

When we're listening to music, most of us tend to focus on the singer. And why not? Singers spell it out for us. They give us a human voice, and the words, to understand the meaning of songs.

But we don't always need someone holding our hand and walking us through a song. Sometimes the lyrics are trite and the vocals are lame.

With instrumentals, you get to choose your own adventure. You can feel the music and define the meaning to suit yourself. Without all those words getting in the way, you can be absorbed into the sonic wonderland of a song and come up with feelings that you tailor for yourself.

This week your "How We Heard It" hosts explore the beauty of instrumental music and the freedom it gives its listeners, whether they just need background noise to clean house or they need to focus without distraction.

Instrumentals are more common in some genres - such as classical, jazz and bluegrass - but they exist in all forms, be it on soundtracks, in lounges or at nightclubs. And your hosts even drift into altered-state uses of instrumental music - like if you're trying to sink into a meditative sleep or even astral project.

So, buckle in and let them take you away.