How do you get better at listening?

Breakfast in America has a lot of recording problems, its probably one of the worst album you could choose when it comes to Supertramp. Good music though. Also, not quite what the thread is about.

 

There are times when the music is the main event, there are times when it isn't...

 

I don't know what the rules are here regarding this so I'll try and skirt the line. There is something legal in a few US states that makes you relax and completely immersed in listening but not just listening, experiencing.

 

We call it "weed" here, and it's legal.

jeff

 

Well you know what I mean! Good sounding albums.
For crying out loud

 

When I’m with my music listening group - we get together once every two weeks; we take turns hosting - part of the afternoon or evening is conversation over music that’s basically playing in the background. The music is loud enough to be heard clearly (and commented on) but the conversation is often about politics or the latest news as well as gear and audio topics. The most important part of the get together is the listening-only part however.

The listening-only part happens when the albums that the host selected and announced prior to the gathering (usually two albums, occasionally three) are played. The featured albums are variously on LP, CD, digital files streamed from a local server, or a TIDAL HiFi stream. Nobody breaks the rule of silence (no chatter) while listening to the featured albums because that’s part of the point of the get together. No phones are ringing or pinging, the listening room is as silent as possible, and the goal is to listen to the featured albums with an open mind so that we can all contribute to the conversation that follows.

From time to time, usually when a particularly interesting new recording is released, one or another of the members of our group who has a larger listening room opens the door to spouses, partners and friends and the afternoon or evening becomes a recorded concert presentation. The ‘outsiders’ who attend those sessions behave the same way as they would at a jazz or classical concert or opera performance for which they’d purchased tickets. Again afterward, everybody has a performance to discuss over some vino or scotch or water or whatever they prefer.

The group self-reinforces the unwritten rules and enjoyment is greater for all of that. Of course some really terrific solos or particularly emotional bits during an album elicit a “wow” and appreciative smiles and glances, but for the most part most of the listeners have their eyes closed and are just drinking in the music and the group vibe.

Part of the trick for me personally when sitting down to listen to something on my own at home is to make the time, officially, for music. I mean that literally. If someone doesn’t schedule time for music - if a person is always just trying to fit in an album here and there during the week - then they’re not really starting off with the idea of music listening exclusive of everything else in their lives. To me personally then, the best music sessions are the ones I plan using time set aside specifically for it. When I’ve set aside the time, I’m not randomly taking it away from anything else. The phone is turned off, the iPad is in another room, and I’ve made the time to fully immerse myself in whatever LPs or streams or CDs I’ve chosen for the session.

Meditation, music listening, reading, exercise, painting, writing, practicing an instrument - they all demand regular time set aside for the purpose in order for us to practice and enjoy them most effectively and satisfyingly. Regularly scheduled music listening is important. When my kids were growing up, Saturday morning was jazz exclusively. It was the background to everything going on in the house. Sunday mornings were classical exclusively, again the background to everything going on. As the kids got older and started expressing their own tastes in music, I helped them to set aside time for music listening in the same way that they set aside time for the hours and hours of reading they did every week of their lives. Focus and attention and deep appreciation come from deliberately setting aside time to devote to a pursuit.

Then there’s the idea of sharing a music night with just one friend or a partner. As with my music listening group, sometimes the music planned for the evening takes the form of a TIDAL HiFi playlist that someone has spent hours putting together in order to express their mood or share the work of a musician or a band or orchestra or soloist they really like. It gives the person putting together the playlist a chance to do a really deep dive with a particular artist or theme. It can be a fascinating evening.

I think that in all the examples of what works for me personally, success and enjoyment begins with setting aside time to be devoted specifically to music and then planning what will be played. Whether I’m doing it on my own or as part of my music listening group or with just one other person, the scheduling and subsequent planning help set me up for a dedicated music session that is never less than enjoyable.

 

I’m drinking beer and workin in the yard AND checking in on my Hoffman brothers and sisters AND ... not reading that wall of wisdom right now BUT I’m hitting the ‘like’ button for pure effort in conveying the .. well .. anyway cool man
P.S. I’m reading in full earlier

 

The best way I enjoy listening to music is by putting a good cd or record on, turning off the lights
and finding a pathway into the music where I just find myself totally immersed. I need to feel the
music as much as listen. Another point to remember is you don't need to sit down to enjoy the
experience. I always listen to my music standing, moving from side to side in time with the
music played, regardless of genre. I listen to all types from classical, folk , rock , pop to Soul and
Motown and have always listened the same way. Some may find it a little strange but it works
for me.

 

So much in here to think about: from the very intentional design of the group sessions to the idea of setting up thoughtful listening sessions with a friend/ partner to the idea of thinking of listening as a practice akin to reading, writing, meditation, exercise, etc. As someone who has young children, I also love the idea of rituals like Saturday jazz and Sunday classical that help carve out time in busy schedules. Focus and appreciation are exactly what I’d like get more intentional about cultivating. Great inspiration here. Thank you.

 

Think you raise some interesting points on film. Took quite a few film theory courses in college and I had one prof who taught a class on experimental and avant-garde cinema, and she was adamant that a proper viewing experience could only be replicated in a shared dark environment. So to her, an in class screening with the lights off was more "authentic" than watching a film at home alone. Not sure I fully agreed with her, but I think she raised some interesting points about the concept of a shared experience being integral to "cinema" vs home video. Personally when watching proper films I always shut off all lights and devices. I have a screen size that's proper for my viewing distance, a good TV, and try to watch in the best quality transfer and format possible. I still enjoy the theater more and concentrate there more but I have been able to "close the gap".

That said is there really any "pure" experience for recorded studio music? I would think if you care about artistic intention, not all artists really do intend for their albums to consume 100% of your attention. I think there are obviously strategies to maximize enjoyment with your system or listening strategy, but there's no real point of reference to compare to. Of course one more thing I learned in school was that after Roland Barthes, most critics don't put too much stock into what the artist's intention was!

 

Who knows. I do think I’ve got my own point of reference for deep listening based on peak experiences over my lifetime. What’s been really helpful about this thread is learning how people differentiate kinds of listening and how to approach them. So for me it’s far less about purity or the artist’s intention than my own experience. And when music is, to use the excellent phrase of @avanti1960 “the main event,” I want to make sure I’m at least open for business.

 

'Pay attention'.

Paying attention can be nice when you pick up on little details not noticed before but my best listening experiences are when I don't pay attention. The music just wafts over and through me and I let it take me wherever it will.

To allow this means being comfortable in every way - seating, lighting etc..

 

Some people are too restless to just sit still and concentrate on the music, and feel the urge to multi-task. Nothing wrong with that; every person is different and as long as you think those distractions don't detract from your musical enjoyment, it's all good. I'm the opposite, and have been mercilessly criticised by this (mother, girlfriends, now the wife; ¨can't you help me clean or do the dishes while listening, like I do ?¨)

 

Everyone is different. When I say "pay attention", I don't mean in a scholarly way. Just focus on the music and not reading the jacket, looking at a phone, etc.

 

Well said. I have also found that scheduling time is among the most important factors in creating a satisfying listening session. My listening has become an after dinner routine. It's like what I imagine successful meditation to be like. Often I am a little keyed up when I sit down, and I find that a song or two must pass before I have washed away the detritus of my mind. Then the good part happens.

I listen at other times too, but it is the scheduled session-- the one that I am psyched for-- that is invariably the most enjoyable.

 

One of my favorite words.
Here's an issue I struggle with sometimes- (I know, I'll be accused of 'first world' problems but) the 'big system' requires a while to warm up, cleaning the tonearm rail (linear tracker), checking bias and a few other things before I can really listen. The "second" system, though all tube, is just less work, and as a result, I'm more inclined to fire it up on a whim than the bigger system. Which is, in some ways, crazy. But, I don't listen casually, or for background music-- both systems are in their own rooms.

 

I believe critical 'audiophile'-level music appreciation is an acquired 'skill'. This may be a reason why so many people simply 'don't get it' when it comes to audio, they don't hear it! I assume most of us got into the hobby simply and primarily because we love music. But one's listening skills can't help but improve over the passage of time. Imagine if you indulged in wine as much as you have audio. Over time, your palette becomes more refined and you can easily taste differences in quality. The same applies to audio. If you have any time invested in this hobby, the way you listen NOW, differs from the way you listened when you started. It's akin to 'training' your ears, the great thing is, whether we realize it or not, we 'train' every time we turn on our rigs!

 

In my case it was nothing but experience. I was lucky that I ended up making listening to music my career.

That said, it's also a curse at times. At times I go to listen to the main rig and something is amiss. It may be the system or it may be me, but when you're as tuned in as I am that type of thing can be a total turn off. Many times when I experience that, I just stop listening and find something else to do.

Another big thing for me was that I worked in the studios and with record production. That gave me a lot more insight to not only how records were made, but to what I was hearing. I got to the point where I could spot just about anything that happens, good or bad.

When I first started in the studios, something strange happened. We were listening to some playbacks and I noted a high frequency sound that didn't seem to belong. The funny thing is that I was the only one who heard it. I already had a rep for critical listening, so they paid attention to my comment. They slowly started turning things off and ultimately discovered a video monitor that showed the front door camera.

I was a green rookie, yet I was the only one to notice that. That type of thing was repeated over and over again throughout my career, and often it pissed people off. I wold notice all types of unwanted sounds that were on records and we always were able to get to the bottom of them. For example, I one time heard some distortion that was non musical, yet nobody else heard it. As they started soloing each track it was finally discovered on a guitar track. From that moment on, pretty much everybody heard it..

That brings up another point. Once somebody points something out to you, it's hard to unhear it.

Here is another example. Back in the mid 70s, I went over to a friend's house and he had a fairly nice new stereo. He was listening to the tuner and I asked him what that high frequency whine was. He heard nothing, but once I pointed it out to him, he sure enough heard it. If fact, he always heard it after I pointed it out to him. He would have preferred me to not point that out to him.

Even during mastering sessions, I'd often find small issues based on test pressings that I though merited a remaster. In almost every case other's finally heard what I discovered, but usually determined that nobody else would notice. Ugh! What was the point of test pressings?

It's always puzzled me how I could hear things that others could not. That's like people not knowing it's raining when they're standing in the rain and getting wet.

One more example. Back in the 80s I was visiting a friend who had a TV with two speakers, one on each side of the set. Every time I would listen I noted that the speakers were out of phase with each other. If I sat in the middle and moved my head a bit to either side, the image shifted to behind me. I tried my best to demonstrate to my friend what I was hearing, yet he could not hear it.

Finally he pointed to a button on his remote that expanded the stereo width. He pushed it and all of a sudden all was normal, though he said he heard no difference. The odd thing is that the 'expand' position was normal, and the normal position was the OOP sounding mode. I tried my best to explain and demo this to him, but it was totally pointless. Nothing I could say made him notice what was so darn obvious to me.

I firmly believe that the things I hear and others don't, are not because my hearing is better. It's because I'm so used to noting the way things sound and being able to easily pick out non musical or unnoticed distortions of various forms.

Another thing that really helped me was that when I started recording bands I knew pretty much every sound that was there. If I heard anything added during playback, it was obvious that it was some type of aberration. That made it easy to notice distortion on certain instruments and I was usually able to get to the bottom of them and correct them. With a store bought recording that is not so easy to notice because it can be hard to tell whether something is intentional or a happy accident.

Finally, I'm sure having the system's I've had played a big role in my development. Some got systems that sounded pleasing, some that played loud, and some that had so much bass that they could shake the house. I always went for systems that were neutral and accurate and there is no doubt that that helped me develop my listening skills. To this day I hear things that many audiophiles don't hear and I think a large part of it is because my system portrays things well that others don't.

I'm not sure if these antidotes actually answer the question posed by the OP, but I'm guessing that many here have similar experiences.

 

One thing that really opened my ears was when I started recording music and getting to hear individual instruments in and out of the full mix.

The Classic Albums TV show was truly great. Getting to watch the people who made the record sit down and play back solo instruments for the albums. There are some episodes free on YouTube.
Before I was working in recording studios, I would simply listen to the song or band as a whole, which is what this is all about really, but after I heard single instruments solo'd out of recordings which I knew very well, I found it easier to listen to a piece and focus on what the individuals are really doing one at a time.

Take this example, Bitch Vig showing what went into the intro of 'Drain You' from Nirvana's Nevermind:


If you're familiar with the song, its a great dissection of what you are actually hearing.

There are sources online where you can download multi track recordings of Beatles albums so you can listen to the instruments individually. Check some of those out and then listen to the final recordings and you might find that you listen in a totally new way.

 

I just play the music.

 

Some things that have helped me:

1. Dedicated listening - by far, this is biggest one. I listen and do nothing else. I sit in the sweet spot, listen at a good level, around 75 db or so. I go for a volume that is loud enough to bring up the full sound, but not too loud to be harsh. Sometimes I'll change volume a bit from track to track. I prefer to do this alone, but if I am with someone else, I try to not focus on them while listening. I try to give 100% of my attention to the music.

2. Headphone listening - this obviously isolates me from outside noise and distraction. It also gets me closer to the music. I much prefer speaker listening, though, so I don't do a lot of headphone listening these days.

3. Comparing mastering - I notice that I hear a lot of stuff when comparing two recordings that I don't pick up on by simply playing one recording.

4. Listening to complete works/CDs - I have always done this, but I think it helps to hear everything in context. Also, what sounds great for 2 minutes can sound harsh after 20 minutes.

5. Reading reviews, liner notes, magazines, going to concerts, reading this forum - I feel all of these deepen my appreciation on the music and thus my listening.

6. Youtube videos - Stuff like The Audiophiliac, PS Audio, audioholics, Rick Beato, etc, all add to my understanding about music and listening to music.

7. Lastly, it's always nice to listen to music with someone you care about, someone who also appreciates music. This can lead to some deep enjoyment of your music.

 

Well said ! And it's still ¨about the music¨, despite ¨music lovers¨ (which disegard gear) claim.

 

Wow. We are off into the zen of music immersion/meditation. Are you experienced? Dangerous territory. There's a lot that can be said on this topic. There is a lot that can be both taught and learned regarding this topic. But, not everyone is tolerant of the topic; so, I generally don't speak about such things before those who don't have the inclination. For those who do find that state of openness and learn to return to it at will, the treasures they experience are vast. Personally, I have never needed illicit stimuli to enter such a state nor have those who revealed the possibilities to me. I am deeply thankful, a debt I cannot repay, for their witness.

 

Great discussion here! I think my brain is naturally geared toward good listening. I am one of these people who has always struggled to be a good reader. When reading (especially novels) I find that my thoughts start to wander...daydream...ponder...etc. So I've stopped more books than I have finished over the years. I always felt guilty about it due to some sort of obligation to be well-read. I've reached the age where I admit that it's just not going to happen...and that is okay. These days I view music as my "literature" where albums are the novels and songs are the chapters. It's so easy to immerse myself in the music and let the thoughts/feelings come and go. This engagement often leads me to explore other related media including videos, podcasts, web articles, and yes sometimes a book (no problems finishing music-related ones).

When music is my "main event", I value the ritual of disc selection, queueing it up, and letting it play...ideally with no devices close by to temp distraction. I keep a little notebook to jot down anything that I want to follow-up on later...delayed gratification is key. I consider other forms of playback as "intermission music" until the next disc (iPhone, music server, streaming service, internet radio, headphones, etc.).

I recall many years ago a girlfriend making fun of a room in my house with "just a chair and a stereo". I told her there is nothing more beautiful than that...except her, of course

 

To nobody's surprise...there is a song about being better at listening:

"Step One: Stop thinking 'bout yourself.
Step Two: Focus on someone else.
Step Three: Ask them a question, like you care.
Step Four: Try to care."