Learning to Listen: Neurological Evidence

As a result of the record/playback process music suffers just as much distortion of one kind or another in the domain of rhythmic expression as it does in the domain of timbre/tonality. Only by attending live performances (preferably acoustic) can a listener fully learn to identify just how far our playback gear distorts the amazing rhythmic and dynamic immediacy and nuance of live music. This way we can identify why some gear sounds more rhythmically alive than others and why some sounds rhythmically dead. Phrasing has everything to do with rhythm and rhythm/timing is were most of the music of a performance is found. When we open our minds up to these possibilities we learn to be more discerning of both musical performance details and the performance of our gear.

Very important remarks....

My own experience about why some gear sounds with a rythmic expression which is sometimes dead is linked to the acoustic control (or the lack of) of the speakers/room... Among the 3 embeddings factors , acoustic is key....

These very subtle dynamics of expression IS music for a musician, and like say frogman , it is where the genius of an interpretation lives...

Like the humor of some musician and frogman put it: " Nobody ever gets fired for having a bad sound".... But music is more than good sound and audiophile experience is more than good gear sound ...

The "musical timbre phenomena" is the sums of tone harmonic body and envelope with this subtle dynamic gesture of the musician lost for the listener when acoustic of his speakers/ room is uncontrolled ....

Then before listening to gear we must know how to listen to music played by a musician, and non amplified one....To sensitize ourself with what is music essence....Music has begun with a body gesture million year ago from a mother to his child....The first musician is perhaps a mother moving his body and/or his tongue in synch with the child body....




«Music before being a sound, or a tone, is a gesture of the body»-Anonymus Smith

«Do you mean listening music and learning to listen is moving my body?»-Groucho Marx in a tango school 🤓

@frogman, thank you. I touched on attending live music in my first post, and I'm happy to see you eloquently expand upon that.

Your idea of enrolling in a music appreciation course is something I hadn't considered. I took a music appreciation course in college, and it was tremendous. Great suggestion.

Thank you also for the two book recommendations. I ordered the Copeland volume. My wife and I have been LA Phil subscribers for a decade, and it's never too late to enhance the experience.

…the pre concert lecture…..

…the pre concert lecture…....

We attend a majority of pre concert lectures. They’re interesting and add great context. I can’t say they have ever made me a better listener in a manner that would translate at home. 

@millercarbon

When we listen for a flute for example, this is more than a conscious decision to focus on the flute. This creates neural impulses that actively tune ear cells to better hear the flute.

I find that claim pretty unbelievable.
Do you have a link?
Does it work only with the ears, or can I imagine other body parts and make them also perform new feats?