Hearing And Not Just Listening

Most of us like or love music. But the involvement level is different for each. For some, music is just background noise, something that they have on while doing other things that have their full attention. For some, it’s something that they listen to while they read or write, where the attention is half and half. You know this because there are these occasional head bobs and body movements that let you know that they are hearing it as well. And then there are some who can’t do any tasks that require attention while they are listening to music.

 

I belong to the last category. I don’t know about others but I definitely can’t focus on reading or writing or talking to someone when I’m listening to music. My mind automatically starts following the tune and if I know the song then my head starts humming the lyrics. Often, I’ve found myself getting irritated when I’m trying to focus on something and there is music playing. Then I just want the music to stop. Wishing for something like that is almost like blasphemy but then music is something that I would want to pay complete attention to and pay attention not because it’s a task. It’s because it deserves that kind of attention. It’s as if you are not doing justice to it when you don’t hear it and just listen to it.

 

There is so much intricacy and detailing that goes into creating any piece of music. One has to look out for them or they just pass you by and you don’t even realize they exist. There are multiple layers that are added on as and when the production of a song progresses. Each layer is equally important and although the focus on each and the balance between all shifts in the end, they all add their own indispensable touch to the finished product. By layers I mean the vocals, the instruments, the chorus and so many others that one often doesn’t know about. Of course each genre of music has its own method of dubbing, re-recording and finishing. It’s what makes each of them so unique.

 

The next time you hear a song, try not to focus on particular instruments or the lyrics. The first time try hearing it as a whole. Pay attention to the rhythm, the tempo, the pitch, the harmony of different sounds. Then play it one more time and this time try and identify the different instruments. Pick one and try and follow only that, disregarding vocals and other instruments, from beginning to end. Next time pick another instrument. And when you are done with the instruments, follow the vocals. Pay attention to the range, the timbre and how they keep time with the instruments. Then focus on the finishing. What does it sound like? Does it sound like an old, vinyl record? Does it have a stereophonic effect, more echo and resonance? Or does it sound very techno or electronic, where a synthesizer has been used to create all the sounds that one would generally hear from varied instruments? Try and identify the loops – bits of music that are forever repeating – that function as a base layer. Then go online and read up on the song. When you do all this, then you will be doing justice to a song.

 

Music is classified into different genres because of stylistic preferences. Genres often develop because of slight variations, where one style of beat or tempo or recording or some other characteristic that defines a genre, is modified by giving it more attention or relegating it to the background. It is amazing how the sound or feel alters by such variations and it is fascinating to understand them all because then you understand the genres better and then the song itself makes more sense.