I've recently noticed that I might be making a mistake.
You see, when I listen to music, it's always with something. Doing the dishes? How bout some Bach? Homework? Hello Mozart. Laundry? Hey Brahms. Jogging? Yay for fun Pop! Etc.
In fact, I'm listening to Bach even as I type!
Here's the problem, when I actually go to a concert and try to devote my entire attention to listening, I constantly want to do something else. Eventually, I start dozing off (If it's been a hard day). But most of the time, I'm just fidgeting, like I'm waiting for something to happen. This is not good.
If you'll remember, back before we had portable music players or even radios, people went to concerts and just listened. Nothing else. (They still do). And it's unfortunate that we have relegated music to just an accessory rather than an experience in and of itself.
Music is a definite art form and should be treated as such. For example, you don't try to look at five pictures at once in an art gallery right? Same with music. (Unless it's a movie, but arguable a movie is one whole image). To really listen requires all you've got. Your whole being.
Key Takeaway: Stop multitasking when it comes to music. If you're going to listen, then truly listen.
This isn't to say that doing things along with music is completely bad, but I do believe that the full experience of music requires complete concentration.
Back to Bach...
8 comments:
the cardinal difficulty with this idea (and a good one it is...) is that I start following that line of thinking as I work on my term paper to the sounds of Chopin and Beethoven...and the term paper consequently never gets done :-)
*sigh* You're absolutely right Gabriel. Unfortunately this is a prime issue with me...I even have a blog post labeled Soundtrack to my Life...
Thank you for your fantastic insight :) (though Ignoratus has a point as well...if we stopped multitasking all together, some things would never get done)
Music is indeed a glorious art form. However, in so, it can be admired by itself as well as used to assist our lives, isn't that what makes art so necessary in this world? There is no right or wrong way to go about art, music included. It is life, so live it, breathe it, take the time to enjoy it, or take it on the go!
I wonder, then...
If you are right, Mr Choo, would this classify music videos as unnecessary, maybe harmful? Also, when you attend a concert, are the visuals of musicians and conductors a sort of necessary evil?
Rady: I don't mean to sound like a prig, and no offense, but I do think there is a right way and a wrong way to go about art. For example, you certainly cringe when you hear bad music badly played. Also, you have to pity the man who tries to listen to 7 symphonies at once and thinks he's being sophisticated... (although if you're an android...oy, if you got that star trek joke...;) ) While it's certainly true that we experience beauty subjectively, fundamentally, Beauty is objective.
Sir Claviger: There are special cases to what I said. It's like this, there are actually many genres of music that are made to be "soundtracks". For example, songs, songs have words and words have meaning. Now it's arguable which one have the dominance (i.e. you can have a song with the emphasis on the words or a song with the emphasis on the music) but essentially, the music is not meant to be by itself. Now with most classical music (Especially Baroque) the music tends to be non-representational. And when you have non-representational music, it's meant to be listened to by itself. It is meant to be experienced and enjoyed with your full attention. (There are also exceptions within Classical music, such as dance suites which are meant to be danced to).
Regarding visuals, I would say that they are also part of the experience. Music has to be incarnated - that is - someone has to make the music. As you've noticed, I'm actually pretty confused about all this. But for now, tentatively, live music I think is a more encompassing experience than recordings. Conductors and performers, their actions add to the experience rather than detract. However, they always remain subservient to their function, that is, the music.
With music videos, it all depends on the artist's intentions. Sometimes I watch a music video and it's like "What? wait, how did you get THAT from the music" and other times it's "Wow, that helped me understand the music so much more!". Cause music videos are almost all set to songs with words, and the words have a meaning that can be elucidated by images. I think we need to make distinctions between a whole host of things... =P
Haha true, and no offense taken. However, everyone's enjoyment and appreciation of art is at their own discretion. There are people out who are tone deaf, and they can enjoy totally out of tune music just as much. I do agree that there is a certain capacity that we as humans can take in as what is "beautiful," and by these constraints we formulate standards of Beauty which are objective. Still, I personally do not believe there is a wrong way to go about art. Art is an expression, and while there may be less desirable ways of going about it, there will always be an audience for any given interpretation and practice. When it comes to music in particular, I've had a teacher who finds sine tones utterly beautiful and fascinating and made us listen to it for five minutes straight while walking about the room so we could "feel" it. To most of the students in his lecture, they thought him crazy and unfit for teaching music and dropped the class. However extreme that is, he finds that music beautiful and could immerse himself in it for, at least at that moment, five minutes straight. In contrast, you spoke of multitasking and having music as an accessory to doing something else in daily life, how could either of those methods be wrong? One might say it's wrong to idle yourself away and listen to a dull and piercing sine tone for prolonged periods of time, and another might say it's wrong to take music for granted and give it no credit while doing other things, but to me, I really do not see a right and wrong here.
Unless we're talking about using art to brainwash people into committing horrible acts like mass extermination of humanity. ::coughHitlercough::
Ah, forgive my ramble and if I spoke too strongly. My opinions are my own.
Hm...
Most interesting, Mr Gabriel, I think I'd like to have a good jaw about this with you. :)
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