THE LIVELY ARTS
GUIDE TO LISTENING TO MUSIC

1. Start with your imagination. Ask yourself what adjective describes the music.

• Is it silly?
• angry?
• militaristic?
• simple?
• busy or even chaotic?

Have you heard this music or music like it before?

• Where were you?
• Do you have any personal associations with this music or this kind of music?
• In what social situation might you find yourself when you hear this music?
  
  the grocery store?
  church?
  your own living room?
  a dance club?
  a theater?
  a jazz club?
  a bat mitzvah?
  a wedding?

Let your mind create several suggestions and then choose three or so that sum up your impression.

2. Now ask yourself what in the music made it sound as you have described it. Consider:

• What is the size of the group (is it a group)? What instruments are playing? The type of instrument can have an influence on the sound which brought your adjectives to mind. You might say the music is sweet because you hear one lone instrument like an oboe or a violin. You might say the music is natural because the flute sounds like a bird. You might say the music is ceremonial because you hear lots of trumpets blaring loudly. Where would you have to go to hear this music? If it is a large group, such as a symphony orchestra or a big band, you would have to go to a concert hall or an outdoor amphitheater. How do the surroundings or the idea of possible surroundings influence your experience?

• Is the melody one of the first things you notice? Is it a tune that you could find yourself humming or whistling? Do the notes that make up the melody flow from one to another easily? Is there a lot of jumping from high notes to low notes without connecting in between? Is it a solo melody or a shared conversation (either between two different instruments or between a group of instruments and a solo instrument)? For instance, you might have said the music was angry if the melody has lots of jumping, wide leaps; the same wide leaps could sound playful, too.

• Does the music have the kind of rhythm that makes you tap your foot or want to get up and dance? Does it change or is it the same rhythm repeated over and over again? If the tempo is the beat to which you tap your foot, rhythm is the way the beat is organized. Are lots of notes being played within the beat or only a few? Does this amount change? Ask yourself if the rhythm contributed to your choice of adjectives. Did the tempo?

• How does the volume of the music, called the dynamics, contribute to your choice of adjectives? Is the volume one of the things you notice first? Does the dynamic level change drastically during the piece?

If you can, listen to the piece again. Do you want to change the adjectives you have chosen? What new things can you hear to support your choices further? There isn't one set of responses to a piece of music. The important thing is to listen first and think later. Your memory will serve you better than you think if you let yourself really focus on the sounds. You will grow stronger in hearing things in the music and in your thoughts about music. Just do it and enjoy!

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