Listening to music (Part 1)

16Jan09

Listening to music is something that many of us do from a very early age, possibly too early to discern what music actually is. At the point when the cacophony of sound called music first hits your ears. Do you know whether it’s music or is it the art of noise?

There really isn’t any way of knowing how we personally as babies reacted to the first song or piece of music we heard, but from the point of birth till death do us part, many of us may never really “listen” to music, instead merely observe, rarely investigating the soundtrack to our lives.  

I realise these are broad sweeping statements; you may well interogate the music you listen to whilst you listen to it, however my observation of contemporary popular music, my own listening habits,  the responses or lack thereof of those of around me when music is playing, makes me question the extent to which we really “listen” to music.

Aware of the passivity I displayed when hearing music I decided to take a step back and begin an exercise in listening to music. This was a simple task but an incredibily enjoyable and fulfilling one, which anyone can complete.

1. First of all select your favourite song at the moment. 

2. Play it once from beginning to the very end.

3. Play it again and see if you can pick out an instrument (the voice is an instrumentoo t) that forms part of the composition.

4. Once you have picked your instrument, listen to it over isolating that instrument throughout the song.

5. Continue doing this until you have identified and isolated as many instruments as possible and then play the song again.

Philosopher Paul Tillich once said ” the first duty of love is to listen”. Think about it.

Here are some things im listening to at the moment …check it out after the jump..Harmonic 313 - Word Problems

Freddie Hubbard – WindJammer

Fireworks Night – The Shiver in your bones

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