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Hearing is Not the Same as Listening
By Deborah Lee | February 10, 2009
In the iPod world, we are bombarded with music talking to us rather than through us. I think it only fills us half full. Music throughout history has been participatory. There is so much to experience when you are physically involved in making music.
That being said, it is also important to understand the involvement we have in listening. Listening to music is a skill that can be developed and happens in many ways.
- We can passively listen to music while we do other things
- We can listen to music expressively by focusing on how it has an effect on our moods and emotions
- We can look at it intellectually by analyzing the components of the music and its form.
Developing our listening ability gives us ways to be more connected to our music. It’s like the difference between fast food and fine dining. Good listening lets you savor the music. You can do little things everyday to develop those listening skills. It doesn’t have to be difficult.
Open your mind to what’s around you. Have your brain start to check-in when you’re listening to the radio in the car or the background music at a place of business.
As you are listening start asking yourself questions, like what style is this, what instruments are used, what is the melody line. Try to get a feel for the beat of the song and see if you can hear how the melody line moves up and down.
Little activities can do a lot for helping you see music in a different way.
Get in touch with your emotions about music. Does it calm you or cause some stress? Do you have any feelings about what the music is communicating? If it is a familiar piece of music, have you had strong emotions about it in the past? Are they different now?
You see, it doesn’t take much to start moving in a musical direction. Start with awareness.
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
February 14th, 2009 at 1:50 am
We DO live in an ipod world. I am so glad you defined it this way. Lots of food for thought here!