• 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.

I’m a big NASCAR fan. I remember someone commenting that racing was boring because it was just a bunch of cars going around in circles.  If that was what it was about, it would be boring.

What I understood that he didn’t is that NASCAR has a system in place and it is a beautiful one. It is a team sport with drivers, pit crew, mechanics, owners, sponsors and more.  There is strategy that goes on with each team during the race. To win, the right decisions have to be made at the right time. 

The same is true with music. It is also a team sport. (Even soloists usually have some kind of accompaniment.) They may be playing one piece, but there are multiple things going on during that piece. Just slow down a minute to listen to one part that is being played or sung in an ensemble. Once you hear one instrument or voice, it’s easier to hear the others.

My family was listening to Dvorak on a recent trip and I got lost in hearing all of the parts. It could see each part dancing in my head. Part of that is Dvorak’s great writing, and part of it is the listening skills I developed over the years. I can enjoy the whole and the parts.

It’s also because I understand the elements of music. Some people think learning these things makes you more critical, but I have found just the opposite. It has opened up the world to me.

I was listening to Susan Schaeffer MacCauley, daughter of Christian teacher Francis Schaeffer, discuss ways to open a child’s understanding of music. She said to choose one composer and listen to only their works for 30 days.  Don’t necessarily make a lesson plan out of it, just ask the children things about how the music makes them feel and what kinds of things do they hear. 

What this does is help a child create a relationship with the composer and their music. The deeper learning about the composer’s life, the structure of the music and the history of the work will grow from there because children are naturally curious. It works great for adults, too. Although, it may take a little longer if life has had a quenching effect on that natural curiosity.

A friend of mine often talks about building a relationship with an album. She was talking about Country music, but these truths transcend style. If you want to have a deeper experience with music, you’ve got to spend time with it.

It helps to expand outside your comfort zone sometimes. It builds musical maturity. Otherwise you can stay in the “it has a good beat and you can dance to it” mode of musical understanding. Which is alright if that’s what you want, but it could be something more.

Being bored either musically or in general is a common problem today.  One of my seminary professors, Dr. Richard Winter, has written an interesting book titled Still Bored in a Culture of Entertainment. It doesn’t come from having nothing to do, it comes, in part, from the crazy sensory overload in our culture.

We have sounds and images attacking our senses constantly.  That’s why it’s all the more important to learn how to slow down and take time to listen and experience life. I know I don’t do it enough.  Dr. Winter offers some advice on how to move away from boredom…

1. Remember the big picture
2. Delight in the simple and ordinary
3. Cultivate wonder
4. Develop strong interests
5. Actively engage instead of passively expecting others to initiate

All of these can be applied to how we approach music and find our enjoyment in it.  The jack rabbit lives we lead are wearing us down. Slowing down and connecting with some good music is good therapy for the soul and can lead to other riches of a slower, more thoughtful life.

Deborah