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During the Three Weeks, Sefira, and perhaps even year-round, listening to music is forbidden. What constitutes music varies in its definition, but for the past century or so artists have been creating sound-based work with little or no melodic or even rhythmic content.

Would something like this be forbidden at any time?

yoel
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    I personally think it should be forbidden all the time. But that's a matter of taste. – Seth J Jul 10 '12 at 20:41
  • This is a question that will receive a very scattered myriad of sources. – Hacham Gabriel Jul 13 '12 at 02:30
  • I don't own this Sefer but I once found tons of info from it. It's called piske teshuvot. Look on siman 570 I believe. – Hacham Gabriel Jul 13 '12 at 02:32
  • @HachamGabriel It is 551:13 in the Piskei Tshuvos,and he references back to 493 for Mekoros. Will look it up when I have a chance. – sam Jul 13 '12 at 03:32
  • @SethJ Sefardim hold it's forbidden all the time; ashkenazim hold it's okay except for kings (as it says in Shulchan Aruch and Rama at the end of the laws of 9 Av) – b a Aug 12 '12 at 18:35
  • @Sam did you have a Chance? – ertert3terte Apr 09 '13 at 22:17
  • @shmuelbrin , Piskei Tshuvos 493:4. It is minhag Yisroel not to listen to music during sefirah even without dancing and it is assur to break this fence and listening to a tape is included and there are those who hold singing with the mouth by itself is assur. Mekors include,Aruch Hasulchan seif 2,Igros Moshe 1:166 and 3:87,Minchas Yitzchak 1:111,Shu"t Kinyan Torah2:99,Yachave Daas 3:30,Oz Nidabru 8:58,Tzitz Eliezer 16:33:2. The Minchas Yitzchak explains that a minhag tov is like a neder and it is like an issur D'oraisa. See inside for more sources. – sam Apr 10 '13 at 02:54
  • See R' Eliyahu Schlesinger's אלא הם מועדי for a lenient position. – Ephraim Nov 06 '13 at 07:31
  • Some poskim may be lenient depending on why you're listening to music. There does seem to be a difference between listening to music for therapeutic (to relax, alleviate depression) and listening for more celebratory reasons. – Ephraim Nov 06 '13 at 07:38
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    Listening to music all the time is forbidden?! – Scimonster Apr 05 '14 at 17:35
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    Halichos Shlomo quotes R. S.Z. Auerbach (by the laws of sefirah) as saying that only music that would bring one to dancing is prohibited. I assume 3 weeks has the same rule – הנער הזה Jul 04 '14 at 07:04
  • As a side point once you have attached a link and all of this 'artist' material shows up, one may ask does the issur of shirei agavim, love songs/perverse songs apply to instrumental music? This performer is obviously a deviant with song names that convey his thought process behind his 'music', so does it get cclassified as agavim? – user6591 Sep 02 '14 at 16:59
  • @Scimonster Not literally, but....13 days of yom tovim, 52 shabbatim, the "thirty-days", equals about one out of four days out of the secular year that you can't listen to music. Even factoring in Shabbat and Yom Tov overlap at times, the percentage of time observant Jews cannot listen to music is quite significant. – JJLL Nov 02 '14 at 01:58
  • Considering that they specifically allowed for drums to be used in Jerusalem for wedding processions (presumably with traditional vocal accompaniment) and may have had percussion instruments in funeral processions (to announce it's passing), it would seem (though I have no absolute proof of this) that a strong bass beat may not constitute "music" by itself without the addition of other instruments. – Isaac Kotlicky Mar 02 '16 at 13:28
  • This is how I feel after listening to that example you gave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HoCKlNsolc – Yehoshua Mar 31 '16 at 19:34
  • Who says it's ossur to listen to music during Sefira? The prohibition brought in the Shulchan Aruch is against dancing...Why can't I listen to music without dancing? – Yehoshua Mar 31 '16 at 19:36
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    @Scimonster With few execptions, yes. See SA OC 560:3 and Taz s.k. 5 (http://beta.hebrewbooks.org/tursa.aspx?a=oc_x2923) –  Apr 28 '17 at 17:50
  • @SethJ I received a psak that, for me at least, dubstep is permitted during Bein HaMetzarim, since I think it’s absolutely horrendous. – DonielF Jan 27 '19 at 18:42

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