Listening to Music - How do you do it?, Because only 3 people visit the music board Options

[Green Dragon Mega Man]

In the world of music, there are endless possibilities for creativity in production. But when it comes to sitting down and listening to your favorite artists, what is the best way to do it? Most people don't think about it, but throughout the course of this article, you will obtain possible life-changing strategies to listen to your favorite music. There are 3 main methods for listening to music; perceptive listening, casual listening, and background listening. Each method will be outlined, and benefits will also be discussed. Now is the time to experiment with all of the ways you can listen to your music!

When in the state of perceptive listening, you are fully aware of your music; that is the lyrics, rhythm, all of the instruments and components of the track. This state may be difficult to achieve if you have never been a perceptive listener before. It is the most rewarding listening experience, clearing our mind of everything but the pure sound of music. We cannot achieve this state if there are other thoughts racing through our head; your mind must be completely blank, letting the music take you away. How do you know when you are in a perceptive listening state? You will become unaware of your environment (closing your eyes is strongly recommended), focusing on nothing in your life but the music going through your head. Your mood will be directed by the type of music you are listening to, and some will experience a state of Euphoria. When in perceptive listening mode, always aim to be in a Euphoric state, as it will make the music that much more enjoyable. This can lead to becoming more relaxed, having less stress, and an overall improvement in life. If you haven't given perceptive listening a try, do it right after you finish this article. What have you got to lose?

We spend a lot of time in the Casual listening mode, which is the line right between Perceptive and Background listening. You are fully aware of the lyrics/rhythm, and auditory elements are comprehended. We are usually performing some task that distracts us from the full perceptive state, so euphoria cannot be experienced. When listening casually, our mind only donates part of its attention to the music, so only part of us is affected while listening. Our mood does change along with the music, but it is generally a weaker feeling than perceptive listening. While we listen to music casually for a long period of time, our subconscious processes the information, and songs have a tendency to get stuck in our heads. Unfortunately, you cannot be fully immersed in the music, and that takes away a key element of enjoyment. Since we spend so much time casually listening to music, we think this is the most involving method of listening. Practice perceptive listening, and you will see the vast difference.

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A great read, I think people need to start talking about how they listen to music, rather than just the types of music they listen to. I value perspective pretty highly, but I completely appreciate how casual and background listening suit their own particular places and types of things to listen to.

For example, often I listen to atmospheric or generally moody music in perspective, whilst when it comes to something that's fast paced and catchy, background or casual is fine for me. This especially applies for many songs from videogames, although many are perfect for perspective listening too.


They all have their plus points, I don't know why anyone would doubt a difference between your focused states when listening. I mean, can you really appreciate a good book when you're skimming it and trying to talk to someone at the same time, or is it easier when you're just sitting down in a quiet place and just immersing yourself within it?

[Enzd]

I rarely listen perceptively, unless, for example, when I had tried numerous times to listen to GY!BE I decided one day to just focus on it and listen and found I really liked them. Usually it's casually, if I'm playing a game or something it's background.

[MeleMewChew]

I only enjoy perceptive and casual. And most of the time I'm listening casually. If casual drifts into background, I turn my music off when I notice because for me it's just useless sounds at that point.

And I want to move this to music. :(

[Christophen]

Usually I listen casually, but sometimes it's background and on rare occasions, late at night, I'll perceptively listen because that just seems like the best atmosphere for it.

[fensti]

I mostly listen casually. Although, when I go to bed, I almost always listen perspectively, especially when Pink Floyd is playing.

It's pretty strange, too. Like how I only seem to appreciate Anathema whenever I'm in bed. =(

[Sir Spiff]

I only seem to appreciate Anathema whenever I'm in bed.

Unf unf
Actually not strange at all, I just don't want to explain it on a public forum.

[Takeru-kun]

I tend to use my iPod whenever I'm bored. But when the iPod is out of power, I use iTunes. I only listen when no one is in the house. Then I can sing the lyrics.

[Keith Kurogane]

I listen casually most of the time, and it usually ends up leading to background. I can only really listen perceptively when I'm laying down/about to go to bed, since that's the only time I can relax and clear my mind.