How do you get better at listening?

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to listen lately and keep coming across inspiration pointing me toward the development of a more intentional listening practice.

In Audiostream recently, there was an interview with Zach Cowie where he references “slow music” and “deep listening” and says some interesting stuff about reducing screen time in order to listen more actively.

Also, I recently came across the Dutch concept of Niksen (loosely translated: doing nothing and learning to revel in it) and loved that listening to music “without purpose” was pointed to as an embodiment of the concept.

So I’ve been thinking about my own listening practice and the idea that how you listen is more important than the equipment you listen with.

Truth is, a lot of times I listen and look at my phone. A lot of times I look at my phone and read about hifi (am I the only one who scans Daily Audiophile daily?). And, Of course, a lot of times I listen and read this forum and others. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy distraction sometimes and think there’s a place for it, but I also think there’s a place a purer sort of listening.

Curious what those out there might think about this and how you have developed or refined a practice of deeply enjoying and appreciating your music.

 

Many hours sitting in front of a stereo, listening to music. There was no "screen time" back in the day.

jeff

 

You answered your own question. No screens, no looking at the jacket, turn the lights off, close your eyes, and pay attention.

 

Thinking gets in the way. I'm not sure I can explain it in terms of the left brain-right brain thing (you might want to look at an old classic, Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Mariner, 1976). To me, there are different 'kinds' of listening-- for example, the analytical kind of listening where you are consciously focused on what the system is doing, or analyzing the music or performance. Though such 'focus' would seem to give you more insight into what is happening, it's almost like a mental filter that doesn't allow you to take in the music on an emotional level because your brain is running scripts.
There was this old saw about how listening at night was better because the power grid was quieter. But, I think part of that also had to do with dropping some of your conscious awareness-- like you let your guard down and in the process, more gets taken in-- I know that's kind of zen, but listening is almost the art of purposelessness-- not focusing, not 'trying' mentally and just absorbing. For example, I read a lot. I'll warm up the system while I'm reading and don't do any 'critical' listening during the warm up phase, but every once in a while something will grab my attention (even though I'm not paying attention).
Turning off your mind, and all the programs it is running, isn't easy. Some people like to use substances to do that. (I'm substance free at this point in my life, but I understand that). I'm also not a yoga-zen kinda guy (in fact, precisely the opposite). It takes me a while to get to that place of inner tranquility. Then, I'm not listening the system (which is a common thing with audiophiles-- whether it's focusing on the good stuff or looking for the bad stuff).
You know that place where you are just 'in the zone'-? It could be through athletics, meditation or whatever (I used to get there driving or riding a motorcycle where I was not longer conscious of the machinery, it was just me).
How do you do that? I dunno. I think it is different for every person.

 

Thank you for your thoughtful response. This makes sense and is exactly what I’m interested in: how others get into the zone for peak listening experiences through rituals, mindset shifts, environment design, “rules,” or other techniques. Feel like it would be both interesting and inspiring to learn this.

 

just enjoy the music and don't worry about how to...there's no instructions...it comes natural...sometimes short bursts other times marathons...music is always playing...

 

Just to be clear, this is more so about improving your listening immersion rather than becoming better as a listener?

 

I think you might be right. I equate immersion with better but it occurs to me that might not be universal.

 

When I say better, I mean in the sense that your ability to differentiate worse from better sounds, pick out small imperfections and so on.
Being better at immersing yourself would just be to avoid distractions and get into a mindset more easily.

For that I just turn off the lights and other devices around me.

 

There are no "rules". Obviously, the fewer distractions the better. Some people close their eyes, others don't. It's whatever works for you.

jeff

 

Definitely interested in the latter more than the former.

 

The point is not to listen better. It's to enjoy more. Listening to better music helps.

 

Which begs the question, when it's on all the time...how does one remind oneself, "it's time to listen, and not just go on with whatever you were doing"?

When I was in middle school, I would take the time to set everything aside, and just focus. Now, it's like just assuming when you sit down to TV, you have coffee, sweets, a meal, or something alongside. Or in my wife's case, the constant monitoring of FaceBook (as if that was needed) is always part of the viewing experience. We are so lucky to be in an age when you can have whatever you want playing at ready, no matter what your task or leisure activity is. When music becomes "the icing on the cake", does it make it that much harder, to just "enjoy the icing"?

And, with the peers, mentors, role models and distractions vying for our attention span...who is going to teach us, and remind us, that listening by itself is its' own reward, not just the accompaniment to the rest of our daily activity?

 

I’m a big fan of evening/late night listening in low light using candles and/or color holiday lights — like a dim grotto vibe.

 

No...there are times for dedicated listening and times for background music...I do not have to be taught how to listen...I've been doing fine in the many years of my music appreciation...I'm always listening.

 

You asked, so here goes....

I don't overthink it. At least I try not to. Learned a long time ago that it's the first step to actually destroying my enjoyment of music.

I attempt to channel my OCD and general overthinking to other matters, like my day job. And I definitely have both of those personality traits.

 

I’ve been thinking about this a lot too. Like I do not enjoy watching movies at home nearly as much as I do in the theatre where social norms and the design of the environment help me focus and concentrate. This is especially true, I find, with more “out” and experimental films.

I’m really interested in the Kissa culture in Japan and have noted with interest that similar bars/ cafes are showing up here in America too. Maybe a place to go and listen to music (with others) is one solution. Wish we had such a place where I live—a little different flavor than going to shows (which I also do a lot).

 

There are a lot of different kinds of listening and ways of listening and things to listen to and reasons to listen. When I worked in the radio news business and did audio editing, I would be called upon to listen a certain way and for a certain purpose. When I've worked as musician I've been called upon to maybe do another kind of listening. When I sit down and listen to music that's another kind of listening. But there's also all this kind of multi-tasking listening you're talking about -- I listen to the news on the radio in the morning when I'm making coffee and eating breakfast and getting ready for work and I'm able to take in the information, though undoubtedly the degree of my focus on any one of the multiple simultaneous things I'm listening to is continually in flux.

Much of the time when I listen to music, I do it when I'm not doing anything else. No screens, no chores, no moving around, no other people with me. Just sitting and listening. But even then there are different kinds of listening -- we're audiophiles so sometimes we're listening to or for audio qualities; other times we're just inside the moment and the music, but even their we're aware of things we know about the music, or, if its familiar music, that we remember about or associate with the music. Freeing your mind, entering the music, and being in the moment isn't always easy, that's one reason I always feel like I need to hear new music, it's much easier to free yourself sometimes with new music; but of course with familiar music it's sometimes amazing how we can hear new things in it, or it can snap into focus in a way that maybe it never had during previous listening.

It's a complex, dynamic experience, listening. But I do like listening to music best when I'm not doing anything else, and I'm not crazy about having background music on all the time when I'm doing something. I like being in the moment of those things I'm doing. I have friends and family who always have music on, or plug into headphones and listen to music when they're doing almost anything. That's not my preference.

 

Practice turning off thoughts for a while and just get on a pure perception level. There are 3 things: words (which are not reality; only symbols), mental images or pictures, and perception. Listen to music like you just came from another planet and never heard music before. When you hear an instrument, Don't think that's a guitar, or that's a piano, or even picture it. You have just taken yourself off the pure perception level. Your words and mental pictures are not the sound. Your thoughts and mental pictures are "inside" your head, the music is "outside" your head and exists independently.

 

That's really all there is to it.

 

Well, you could perhaps do certain meditations to get in a better mindset. Likewise with sleeping, its recommended that you stay away from intense activities an hour before bed and you will fall asleep faster instead of lying awake being distracted by the still active mind.

 

My 2 cents.
I teach art (‘esthetics’) in high school to 17-18 year olds. In order to obtain the right focus for getting acquainted with some woks of art, I often start the lesson with a short piece of music. It can be anything : I prefer jazz or classical music, but there’s also Pink Floyd or Ry Cooder to start with. The students can bring in their own choices too.
In order to intensify their listening experience, I project one or a few pictures alongside the music and ask the to find parallels between what they see and what they hear. I noticed that just offering them music was not enough : they lost concentration quickly.
My experience is that a good match between music and picture can really open up the musical awareness of the students : it may be (not always !) an extra means of contemplation that leads them into appreciating this mostly new music better. So I think that some visual stimuli can deepen your musical horizon.
A few examples :
* Bach’s prelude of the first cello suite with an aboriginal sand drawing
* Sonny Rollins with early abstract Kandinsky
* ‘One of these days’ by Pink Floyd with Roy Lichtenstein (‘Whaam’)
After the listening session opinions are being shared. Did you like the music, did you find any association with the pictures shown ....
When asked later my students always remember these lesson starters with sympathy. The fact that they don’t have to know these sessions for the test is partly responsible for that success I guess.

 

Interesting thread.

I'm improving my capability to listen bit by bit. One big factor for me has been being fussy over quality.

This has seen me taking advice here and enabling my immersion with a decent personal player with lossless music and *comfortable* decent earphones, and improving my home setup enough to feel it"s helping me to get the best out of my music, whatever the format. Note I have not yet found over the ear cans that I'm totally happy with.

I have also widened my tastes to take on board other artists I previously have not known. More hit than miss I'm pleased to say.

It's a journey.... and an enjoyable, joyful one.

 

Learn what albums are mastered to high quality.. example Supertramp Breakfast in America and others. Listen on your jams and know this is the top of its performance at this time and this room.
Recognize crappy mastering and don’t blame the system for it but reward it for pointing it out. Then go on a lifelong quest for beautifully mastered music all the while enjoying songs and music for what it is.

 

Use your system as a Geiger Counter for sniffing out awesome masterings.
Ha!! Geiger counter.. cool