[wallijonn]

Are you aware of your thoughts and the emotions elicted when listening to music?

How do you listen to music when you relax?; when you "want to get pumped up"?, etc.

http://www.alanwatts.net/forum/index.cgi?read=3249 says: "the greatest obstacle to the enjoyment of music is that most listeners hinder the expirience by such habits as attaching the style or timbre to associations in the mind with other concepts, thinking about who the players are and how skillfull they are, listening only to lyrics, not listening at all on account of a predisposition against the style, etc."

any one read this book?: http://www.innerself.com/Behavior_Mo.../listening.htm

I really do not want this thread to degrade into the pros and cons of meditation, just a general discussion of how you relax with music.

 

[usc goose]

hey, you know i love that zen crap as much as the next guy. but when it comes to music, i just feel the beat, hit the groove and relax. maybe sing along and play some air drums or something. but i don't think it's that complicatated.

on the subject of listening though, that was a pretty interesting article. especially since i am going to be a doctor. and also because listening is such an important part of acting. i remember one of my acting teachers saying something that has stayed with me. "listening is something you do to somebody." i don't know, it seemed profound at the time.

 

[wallijonn]

Brian,

what then about music that you have heard more than once?

hey, I like playing "air guitar" as much as the next guy, but do you find that you are trying to recreate a visceral memory?

my "thing" was disco dancing, so I have a lot of memories tied up with my music. give me a mp3 disc with 70 disco tunes on it, a long road and a nice car and I can spend what seem like minutes driving hundreds of miles.

Most couples probably have "their song" (which is usually chosen for them to dance the first dance to), and I know that a lot of people associate a song with a person, place or thing (a lot of women do not like dancing slow to a song that they had a deep attachment to). I'm asking (as espoused in the "what songs do you play to make love" thread) if you find yourself gravitating to certain types of music when you are seducing a woman, and making love to her?

Another great thread was the "what music do you listen to when you are stuck in traffic?"

I guess the broader question would be, "why do you listen to music and what do you get out of it"?

 

[MusicLover]

When I listen to music, I don't really think about anything. I don't pay attention to certain details, or how good it sounds. It's hard to explain, but when I listen to something I like, it feels good. Every sound, every voice, feels good. Music is like emotion to me. And when my favorite parts of the song are on, it's like... well, you know

. When I am listening, I am the music.

I don't think anyone feels like I do when I listen. I like music much more than anyone I know, and probably more than most people.

 

[fewtch]

A 'Zen' way of listening would be just to listen to whatever you happen to choose, and allow whatever thoughts/emotions to arise, to arise unimpeded. Well, perhaps that's a bit more Tao, but similar stuff.

When you become one with the music and there's no longer a separate 'you' there listening to the music (just the music), we're getting into Zen territory.

As far as how I listen to music... I don't have a clue. It certainly is never the same between any two listening sessions.

 

[usc goose]

my "thing" was raving. so but that techno or trance beat in me and that's all i need to catch a good roll. so yeah, music does have a lot to do with my memories, good and bad. when getting down with a girl, it's not so much music i gravitate to, but playing music that i know puts her in the mood. but then of course, those songs imprint on me in the same way. and then when things go sour, those songs go sour for me in the same way.

anyways, that's all pretty much meaningless rambling like i'm known to do.

Quote:

"why do you listen to music and what do you get out of it"?

that's a really good question. if i have time maybe i'll post something more thought out later on. but for now i'll have to say that sometimes i listen to remember, sometimes i listen to relate, but mostly i just listen to center myself.

 

[averydonovan]

I don't know anything about this "zen" stuff. I listen to music to allow me to concentrate better often, for relaxation, or excitement. And often the same music works for all three, it's just what I feel like when I listen it it.

 

[fractus2]

My latest way of relaxing and really enjoying music is in the back yard on the lounge chair with a cigar. Let the dog run around the yard and enjoy the stogie. I know I won't be bothered for at least an hour or so. The best time is late in the day right after sunset.

Thoughts and emotions are a large part of my enjoyment. Especially since most of my music is not considered new. Most songs bring back a memory or a feeling from the time it was first heard, or when you were playing the hell out of it on your friends turntable/cassette player/8 track/reel to reel, or a concert, and sometimes is related to whatever you were doing or into at the time.

To get pumped up that's when speakers come into the equation. To relax and kick back, that's what etys are great for. You can most everything out.

Quote:

Likewise, the greatest obstacle to the enjoyment of music is that most listeners hinder the experience by such habits as attaching the style or timbre to associations in the mind with other concepts, thinking about who the players are and how skillfull they are, listening only to lyrics, not listening at all on account of a predisposition against the style, etc.

Add to that the more than likely diatribe going on in the head about how the headphone is working and if your source needs an upgrade or if a cable upgrade would be worth the expense, etc., etc.

 

[chadbang]

My music experience is almost completely non-verbal.

Sure, I hear and chant along to James Brown's "Get up!" or croon to "Love, love me do" but I basically tune out lyrics and let rhythm and melody rule my emotions. Even by artists where the lyrics are so important' like stuff by Dylan, Leonard Cohen, etc. I catch an occasion phrase or two, but I seldom think about the words I'm hearing. Music is a highly emotional, non-verbal experience and that's what I like about it.

I sorta feel guilty about it sometimes. Sorry, Bob!

 

[wallijonn]

let's say that you pick up 5 CDs sound unheard. are you likely to just enjoy them for what they are worth? or are you likely to bring biases into your listening?

 

[royboy2k]

Quote:

Originally posted by wallijonn let's say that you pick up 5 CDs sound unheard. are you likely to just enjoy them for what they are worth? or are you likely to bring biases into your listening?

I think everyone has biases while listening to music unless they've NEVER listened to anything else before.

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch A 'Zen' way of listening would be just to listen to whatever you happen to choose, and allow whatever thoughts/emotions to arise, to arise unimpeded.

The problem is not the witnessing of the thoughts which arise, but rather the attachment of the emotion which it elicts that I have a problem with. Music stirs our soul; is it right to not let it sweep over you and take you away from all your problems?

My problem while listening to music is the same as when I watch a movie. Since I try to always be aware of my thoughts, whenever I find an association, and knowing the end result of that train of thought, I seek to change it's course. If I cannot change it's course I then start back tracking until I find the source of the thought.

Take "Rhapsody in Blue" for example. I have always associated it with United Airlines and even when watching the Gershwin movie my mind invariably goes back to my vacation pleasure cruises.

And I still get choked up when listening to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"... I only saw the TV movie of "Judy" once - but supposedly she was crying and thinking sad thoughts when it was originally recorded for the film (over dub).

And of course there are certain pieces that I must close my eyes while listening to, it evoking such a strong response that I fear that many could see into my soul.

So next time you spot someone listening to tunes on a bus, just zone out and take in the bigger view.

My brother could not go to sleep without music playing in the background. Is there anyone like this on this board? Me, I like total silence. My other brother cannot go to sleep with crickets in the background, he prefers the wail of sirens and car traffic. Someone here probably cannot go to sleep without railroad horns blaring every now and then.

 

[mojoman]

If you don't bring a bias to the music you're listening to then you probably have arrived at some Zen state. The cool thing about listening is that we can all listen to the exact same song, yet come away with as many interpretations as there are people listening. Because of this the song takes on a life that is unique to itself and we can attach ourselves to it and go places where we have perhaps never been before (kind of like Star Trek

).

Now how I listen to music varies according to my mood, why I'm listening, who I'm listening with, etc. I've many times stood in front of my music collection and just can't find anything I want to listen to (which my wife finds hard to believe) and other times it just flows from one song to the next with everything fitting together to form some kind of musical tapestry. Those are the times I like best, when the listening is effortless.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by wallijonn The problem is not the witnessing of the thoughts which arise, but rather the attachment of the emotion which it elicts that I have a problem with. Music stirs our soul; is it right to not let it sweep over you and take you away from all your problems?

IMO, emotion is not 'binding' unless it's a master/slave relationship, with you the slave. Instead of separating oneself from emotion, just 'be the emotion' and let come what comes, let go what goes. Listening without attachment, in other words -- not detachment, but unattachment.

Invariably in attaching to the emotion the music evokes, you forget the music and the 'flow' is interrupted. If/when this happens to me, likely I'll just turn the music off at that point, having lost interest in it and probably involved in some fanciful reminiscing. Discursive intellect (left brain, if you will) has little or no value when listening to music. One reason why I tend to listen to more music without lyrics, as it engages 'intellect' far less often.

Sure, it's 'right' to let music sweep over you... let it carry you away completely, so you forget yourself as well as your problems. What's wrong with that? "Myself" is just an idea or a sort of contraction anyway, and a burden to maintain.

My Zen-ish 2 cents...

Quote:

My brother could not go to sleep without music playing in the background. Is there anyone like this on this board? Me, I like total silence.

Ditto, I wear earplugs when I go to bed. Music would keep me awake half the night.