# Can you change the sort of listener you are? And do you want to?



## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I like classical music now much more than I did. But I wonder if in essence I am still the same sort of listener as I always was. I liked three-minute pop songs or instrumentals, or listening to folk music, or dance music - and now I like baroque music that has spirited flurries, or short medieval dances or songs, or choral pieces, or opera arias, or ballet music...

The bottom line is - I still get bored listening to symphonies, unless I'm using them as background to some other activity. 

I am still hung up on rhythm and melody, so, although I do like the occasional modern piece that is less marked for those qualities, such as Robert Moran: Requiem: Chant du Cygne (1990), I don't really search out composers who organise their pieces using other considerations. 

I could try harder to change the sort of listener I am - but the main motivation would be so that I could pat myself on the back for being a truly cultured person, and it's not a strong enough motive. 

If I had a job that involved teaching or passing on ideas about music - or belonged to a local listeners' group - that would be different. 

Also, if I was young(er) and looking ahead, wanted to open new sources of enjoyment for myself, I'd make the effort to become a more patient, serious and omnivorous listener. But who knows how long I shall live - I get tired already making room for my fiddle practice, listening to music I like, and dancing, apart from the business of living. 

And yet....


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

And yet - I have read posts by TC members which indicate that they made an effort to change listening habits, and succeeded. 

I am interested to know more about those who've experienced this - how they went about it - whether it was a difficult or painful process - and what they feel that they gained. 

I am also interested in those who tried but failed, and those who decided that life is too short and they're happy to listen to what they like already. 

I am really just interested in the stories other people have to tell. Thank you in advance for any replies. :tiphat:


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I'm one of those who have successfully changed their habit of listening. I was very good in listening to the here and now of the music; I sensed the "taste" and "smell" of music so to speak, I was sensitive to the tone and small expressive details. That was before classical music. But with CM, I started to hear the larger structures. I had to sort of widen my short-term memory of music. It felt like the world of music opened up for me; sounds now had meaning beyond the immediate present. It wasn't about the fragrance of the meal, it was about building castles and cathedrals. I'm not exaggerating if I compare this change in me to the difference of a thought like "I exist" to thoughts like "reason exists" or even "God exists". But I'd better stop here before I go too personal here, suffice it to say that this change in listening also set in motion some deep psychological changes in me, all for the better.

I've since back-checked and yes, I can still be sensitive to the immediate sound like I was before, and it's all good... it's juicy and really gives the music some spice. But it's just a fragment in the whole picture.


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## Joe B (Aug 10, 2017)

*Can you change the sort of listener you are?*

Definitely! I was first exposed to symphonies when I was young and started my classical journey there. With age and experience came new perspectives and tastes. This helped instill in me a desire to broaden myself. Friendships with others into music turned me on to genres I never listened to before. My friend Louie turned me on to jazz; my older brother on to fusion. Once I realized that variety is the spice of life, I got into exploring classical genres on my own. Moving into chamber works was first. Sonatas next. Choral works and art song took a little longer, but now they make up about 1/3 of all of my listening. I'm now committed to virtually every genre of classical music. The last frontier for me will be opera. I believe I've avoided it primarily because of the language barrier. So my answer is YES, you can change the sort of listener you are. I believe everyone changes with time.

*And do you want to?*

Oh yes, definitely! I am far from the final goal in most aspects of my life. Like Socrates, I am extremely intelligent.....I know I don't know. I know my tastes and perspectives are limited. I know that I need to evolve as a human being, musically, emotionally, spiritually. I love music. I want my experience of it and my desire for it to grow and broaden. Life is a journey......let's see, what next to play?


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