|
The Art of Listening
You have heard your favorite
sonata many times before. You know the melody and bass line of that great jazz
tune by heart. You remember every note the guitarist picked when he played that
folk song you love so much. So why do you listen to these compositions again
and again?
Often, it is the joy of discovery that we find so
powerful in the music we enjoy. Familiar melodies can soothe us, and strong
harmonies can seem to carry us away emotionally, but it is the musical nuances
that keep us coming back, again and again, to the music we love best. Our
enjoyment of a piece is greatly enhanced by our awareness of a hidden melody,
an understated bass line, or the subtle technique of a fine instrumentalist.
The “art of listening” is not necessarily an intellectual art.
It is not about the kind of music we prefer, or our posture while listening.
The true “art” of listening is considering—and, often,
reconsidering—how the
music that moves us really makes us feel. The art of listening to music, then,
is the art of listening to ourselves. Each time we listen to a certain piece of
music, we revisit the feelings that make it so special to us. Listening to
music in an ideal acoustic setting helps to bring out all of the subtle nuances
a performance has to offer us.
|
