[The Actual]

ha, who has the grado hot tub photos on hand?

 

[Spareribs]

I've heard that when your in love, love songs can be more emotional but i don't know if thats true since I have very little experience with women.

 

[Thermionic Dude]

Lots of good suggestions here thus far.

In my experience, "state" of mind has a significant influence on the listening session. Basically, the goal is to banish distracting thoughts and thoughts which cause distress (worries of the day, etc.) while focusing attention as much as possible on the music.

Listening while fatigued can accomplish this because the brain is essentially "too tired" to process all the extraneous distractions and is focusing its "resources" on the task at hand, which is listening (concentrated/critical music listening uses a LOT of brain resources, and is actually very good for its health).

Another way to focus the brain is to reduce the number and intensity of extraneous stimuli. Listening in a dim/dark room, taking steps to reduce external sounds, and asking others for a little "private time" can all accomplish this as well.

Meditation is also a great idea and has numerous significant benefits beyond helping with listening sessions. In fact I know of several friends who used to "require" biologically-active listening "tweaks" who swear that basic meditation principles have ended up working MUCH more effectively (and of course without the associated legal and health liabilities that come with drug use).

In my experience though, if I'm listening to truly GREAT music none of this becomes a problem in the first place. Truly great music (such as a Romantic period symphony or any number of 50s-60s Jazz albums

) is genuinely transcendant and can transport the listener to that alternate reality of musical bliss all by itself. When I listen to something like Bruckner's 4th symphony or Neilssen's "Symphony of Life Inextinguishable" I'm instantly transported to that "place" effortlessly.

I visited Perth about 6 years ago and had a great experience. Beautiful city (and surrounding countryside) with very friendly people, and I'm quite excited to be visiting Oz again next year.

 

[intoart]

I just put on headphones, relax, and let the music do the rest. I suppose that that counts as a kind of meditation? I have had "out of body" sensations that way on several occasions. (No doubt, having a truly outstandind pair of headphones such as my AD900s or M40s contributes a lot to the experience.)

 

[salannelson]

1. Make your room completely dark
2. Lie Down
3. Throw on the phones
4. Press play

Try this while listening to Frances the Mute by The Mars Volta (My avatar ^^)

 

[baabaa]

I've really thought about enhancing my music by taking time to lay down in a dark room and relax because I always feel that I need to do something. Like the Thermionic Dude classical music usually can put me in a very tranquil and elevated state by itself. I do like hearing the other various ways of enhancing music and I will try that out tonight because it sounds amazing.

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDBacklash /img/forum/go_quote.gif you listen to headphones in the bath?

No-LOL.

I meant as a first suggestion, maybe the OP should buy some new cans.
As a second suggestion, hopping in the tub with some wine might enhance his/her's listening experience regardless of the source.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif IMHO, if your music needs to be "enhanced", it sucks and you shouldn't be listening to it .

Yay! (My motto used to be, "if you find your gear is boring, try listening to more interesting music".)

No, but seriously, sometimes we do enjoy our music more than at other times -- I have found that when I stayed up until 3 a.m. in college (which was anomalous), I enjoyed music more at those hours.

Walking/driving/biking in good weather also makes rock'n'roll better, for some reason.

 

[salannelson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dusty Chalk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have found that when I stayed up until 3 a.m. in college (which was anomalous), I enjoyed music more at those hours.

x2. I love listening after 1am

 

[Teal]

I find that when I'm alert, my acoustic reflex kicks in on peaks and dampens them. This occurs most readily when I've already heard the song before (letting a while go by before listening to the same song again makes it sound better).

Being tired or intoxicated reduces the reflex and songs sound better. Lying in complete darkness also helps songs sound better. In fact I usually don't notice songs at all when I'm busy reading or watching something.

Some of the best moments I've had is when I'm about to fall asleep and the last song finishes playing. On many albums, there follows a long period of silence (at which point I drift off to sleep), and then a bonus tracks starts playing (immediately waking me) and sounds amazing (especially if it's a live album).

 

[ok computer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by goosemeister /img/forum/go_quote.gif if you consider white noise to be music, here you go: 1. choose room with decent light and no extraneous noise 2. employ white noise (white noise machine or cd; radio static; etc.) 3. cut ping pong ball in half 4. tape the halved ping pong balls onto eyes 5. wait for mind to fill in the spaces (mind needs to sense, so it invents sensations when there are none)

Or you could get an isolation tank. I'd imagine taping ping pong balls to your eyes would provide a lot of discomfort and defeat the purpose.

 

[Jasper994]

Best way to enhance your music:

Send it to LFF!

 

[KingStyles]

Stare at the tvscreen displaying a non channel (snow). That will numb the brain.

 

[thornygravy]

I find that when I drink energy drinks and listen to music I enjoy it more. I don't know if it's the caffeine, or the blend of vitamins, but if I listen some good music on energy drinks, I usually crack a smile, get chills.. etc.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Go on a long walk or bike ride without an I-pod. Come home, eat and have a shower or bath. Sit in a comfy chair.


This gets your mind open and not tired for music. Dim the lights and whatever you put on, leave it on. At some point you will understand your music choice for the hour.