How to Listen to Music

Want to take music to a whole new level? With a little bit of knowledge and these ten tips 
you can gain a new appreciation for the music you listen to and love.

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.   
                            —Duke Ellington

10 Tips To Enhance Musical Enjoyment

Listening to music—what does it involve for you? Most often, music is played in the background while we do tasks such as housework or have conversations with others. In fact, our busy world can be so over-stimulating that we make a habit of “tuning out” or dulling what we hear. Rarely do we actively, consciously listen to music.

Music is communication. We take for granted that hearing music has enjoyable aspects, but it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of musical intent. Learn how to actively listen to music. It can greatly enhance your appreciation of music, composers, or songwriters. 

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Sharpen Listening Skills

1. Develop Sensitivity: Listen to All Sounds
Listening is a skill that can be developed. But for sanity in our modern world, we have all trained ourselves to tune out the excess noise that happens around us. So every once in a while, tune in to the variety of sounds that are going on around you. Refrigerators hum, cars “buzz” as the speed around curves, the wind makes dried branches sing. Let your hearing zoom in on sounds to train your focus. You may find that many sounds you usually block out are actually quite beautiful.

2. Recognize Repetition
Repetition is one of the main technical ideas that composers rely on in musical passages. What it means, simply, is that certain passages in a piece get repeated. Short passages are like thoughts or ideas or phrases. Play a piece of music and focus on phrases or passages that you hear repeated more than once. These familiar strains help listeners to understand and enjoy a work of music.

3. Listen for Variation 
Listen to the same piece as you did to find repetition. This time listen not just for repeated passages, but for how those passages vary, in small or in large ways.

• How does it sound the same?
• In what ways is it different?
• Is the variation interesting, exciting, calming?

Listen closely to how the variation is made. Also, sometimes there are short, new melodies that are introduced. And note that very often there is something new very near the end of the piece.

4. Rhythms
What gets your toes tapping? Try to clap in time with the music to capture the rhythms or tap your finger on the edge of a table.

• Does the piece have a steady rhythm throughout or does the rhythm vary?
• What effect does the new rhythm add to the piece—a sense of excitement, or lively pickup, or a slow melancholy effect?
• Does the rhythm seem to be in the foreground of the music or in the background?

Listen to the melody—the ups and downs—and how the rhythms interact with the tonal flow.

Analyze Composition

5. Listen With a Sense of Time
Musical pieces are created within a time frame. For instance, composers or songwriters may fill long spaces with certain patterns or gestures and brief passages with other patterns. It may seem as if time is passing differently or passages have different durations. Sometimes a listener must adjust their concentration to these varying durations. 

6. Create a Mental Map
Above all, most musical pieces are about organization: of patterns, time, energy, characters. As you listen, try to map out the music in your mind, noticing how the various elements combine.

• Remember the familiar patterns.
• Notice how they fall within the time frame or duration.
• Relate new “events” to past ones.

This is how you begin to develop a musical memory. It is a bit like building up a strong muscle—it takes time to grow and strengthen.

7. Choose a Single Focus Each Time 
Repeat listening to a new piece several times. This allows you to become familiar with it. Each time, choose a particular focus, such as the bass sounds, or the rhythm patterns and changes.

• Do you have a favorite moment?
• What is happening during that moment?
• What happens immediately before or immediately after that moment?

Pay attention to details that help round out what the music is all about. 

Boost the Enjoyment Factor

8. Develop a Sense of Imagery
As you listen, think about what brings the music to life for you. Pay attention to details, small things that give the musical piece texture. Close your eyes and ask yourself:

• What colors come to mind?
• What is the strongest image that I have? 
• Can I picture a person, a character, or an event?
• Is there any message or story that is communicated?

Try imagining the piece from the composer’s point of view. As an exercise, listen to Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons without looking at the titles. Try using your sense of imagery to guess each season. Let the music alone form pictures in your head without the use of any words.

9. Listen Emotionally
Music can have a powerful effect on our emotional responses. Often, composers or songwriters try to express themselves through the emotional aspect of music. As you listen, deliberately let your mood or feelings change and flow. Tune into an emotional interpretation of the piece. Does this help you to “get” what the composer tried to express?

10. Research the Composer or Songwriter
Find out more about the composer or songwriter. Do a little research to broaden your knowledge. Find out the history of the piece, such as previous performances, reviews or critiques. Learn the social context, such as the location where the music was written, historical events of the time, or personal information about the composer or songwriter. All these facts can broaden your awareness and understanding of the piece itself.

Keep music fresh for yourself. Listen to genres that are new to you, intrigue you, or that you just want to understand better. Piano solos, light opera, show tunes, orchestra arrangements...there is so much variety that the list is endless. Most music is based on the three main technical ideas of repetition, variation, and new melodies. Even if the music is a type you don’t enjoy, you can simply try to see how those technical ideas are applied. When you listen to learn, don’t allow distractions and try not to think of anything else. Use your music listening as a time to enjoy and relax.

Continue exploring how to make music part of your balance. Try this article about bringing Joyful Music into your busy life.

Did you enjoy this Simple10s list? Read more articles like this at Creative Arts.

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