Вечером мне хочется тишины, а не громкой музыки.

In the evening I feel like silence, not loud music.

Breakdown of Вечером мне хочется тишины, а не громкой музыки.

• музыка: the music
• мне: me
• вечером: in the evening
• тишина: the silence
• громкий: loud
• а не: rather than
• хотеться: to feel like / to want (impersonal)

Questions & Answers about Вечером мне хочется тишины, а не громкой музыки.

Why is вечером used instead of в вечер?

Вечером is the instrumental case of вечер used adverbially to mean in the evening / in the evenings (as a time of day).
В вечер normally needs extra specification (e.g., в этот вечер = that evening, в тот вечер), and it sounds like you mean a particular evening event/time, not just the general time period.

What is the role of мне here?

Мне is dative and marks the person who experiences the feeling/desire. With хочется, Russian often uses an impersonal construction: to me it feels like / I feel like.
So мне хочется ... is literally to me it is wanted ... → natural English: I feel like / I want ....

Why is хочется impersonal (3rd person singular) and not я хочу?

Я хочу = a direct, deliberate want (I want), more “agentive.”
Мне хочется = a more spontaneous, mood-based desire (I feel like, I’m in the mood for). It’s very common when talking about cravings, atmosphere, comfort, etc.—like wanting quiet.

What does the -ся in хочется mean?

In хочется, -ся is part of the verb form used for this impersonal “desire” construction. You typically use it as:

• Present: мне хочется
• Past: мне хотелось
• Future: мне будет хотеться
  It doesn’t mean “oneself” here in the literal reflexive sense; it’s just the standard way Russian expresses this kind of feeling.

Why are тишины and музыки in the genitive case?

After хочется, the thing desired is most commonly in the genitive: хочется чего?
So:

• хочется тишины (gen. sg.)
• (а не) громкой музыки (gen. sg.)
  This is a very typical pattern; learners often expect an accusative “direct object,” but хочется usually doesn’t work that way.

Why is it громкой музыки and not громкую музыку?

Because it’s coordinated with тишины, which is already in the genitive after хочется. In contrasts like X, а не Y, the Y part usually matches the same case as X.
So since it’s (хочется) тишины, it stays (хочется) не громкой музыки, not accusative.

What exactly does а не mean here, and why is there a comma?

а не is a contrast: silence, not loud music / rather than loud music.
The comma is standard before а when it links contrasting parts like this: ..., а не ....

Can I change the word order?

Yes, with slightly different emphasis:

• Вечером мне хочется тишины... (evening is the setup/topic)
• Мне вечером хочется тишины... (more focus on “to me”)
• Вечером хочется тишины... (more general/impersonal; “in the evening one feels like silence”)
  The given order is very natural.

Does вечером mean “this evening” or “in the evenings (generally)”?

By itself, вечером often sounds like a general statement about evenings, but context can make it specific. If you want to be unambiguously:

• Specific: сегодня вечером = this evening
• Habitual: по вечерам = in the evenings (regularly)

How do I pronounce/stress the key words?

Common stresses:

• ве́чером
• мне
• хо́чется
• тишины́
• гро́мкой
• му́зыки