Escuchar la música or escuchar música?

[Manuel]

My reference materials are not conclusive about this. How do you say "I listen to music" in Spanish when you mean to say it in a general way, like "I listen to music a lot at home"?

Do you need to use the article? And what about when you want to mention it more specifically, like "I listen to latin music a lot"?

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by Manuel

My reference materials are not conclusive about this. How do you say "I listen to music" in Spanish when you mean to say it in a general way, like "I listen to music a lot at home"?

I listen to music a lot at home = Escucho (mucha música/música mucho) <cuando estoy> en casa

I listen to music = escucho música

Stop talking and listen to the music = Deja de hablar y escucha la música

I don't like the lyrics but I love the music = No me gusta la letra pero me encanta la música

¿Dónde está la música? = Where's the score?

when you are speaking of music as a whole, in general or there's no need to be specific, use "música"

when you are speaking of a particular piece or about an unspecified piece that is a part to a whole, use "la música".

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Alec.

I'll just add that if you say "escucho mucha música", "mucha" modifies music, so it means you listen to a lot of music. But if you say "escucho música mucho" or "escucho mucho música", "mucho" is an adverb that modifies "escucho", so you say that you listen a lot to music. That said, you can choose between "mucha música latina" or "escucho mucho música latina".

As for your last question: No you don't need the article unless it's music that your conversation partner already knows about (like in Alec's examples) or all the music.


As a side note, in Mexico, where the difference between "escuchar" and "oír" is that the latter is more colloquial, you can also say "oír música". Of course, the dictionary meaning doesn't match, but it's regional usage.

[Manuel]

Thanks both for the extensive reply! Very helpful.