Listening

Doing chores around the house -- vacuuming, cooking, etc., I’ll put on music that elevates my mood and energizes me -- Rock, typically. For years, I’ve brought a boom-box into the bathrooms and played Led Zep when scrubbing toilets, sinks and tubs, (with the door shut, that is. My wife abhors the sound of Plant’s voice).

I’ve experimented with writing while music is playing. I’ve found that this can actually free up the creative flow by distracting/occupying the left brain. This works only for the initial, "down-loading" step of the writing process. I find it’s counterproductive to try to revise/edit to music. I’ll also journal or write letters with music playing.

I’ll watch youtube videos of performances unavailable on CD. Naturally, this is a visual as well as auditory experience.

Then, of course, there are the times when I sit in the listening chair with the express intention of focusing solely on the music. I especially enjoy it when my wife joins me in this activity. We either listen to Jazz or various types of acoustic music in the Newgrass, Country, Singer-Songwriter, Folk or Americana genres on such occasions.

And, when I play guitar, I’m listening as well.

I don't see how anyone could read and listen to music at the same time, though. 

Background music with Tunein Radio ( Soft Rock Radio )during the day : SS mode on my Vinnie Rossi Brama Integrated generation 1 .

Serious listening ( eyes closed ) with my Quobuz Playlists late in the evening : Tube mode on the Brama .

Incidently , ´´ Soft Rock Radio ´´ from Tunein ; MP3 format diffusion ( 44.1 kz / 16 bit/ 128 kbps ) , sound better than Many Quobuz FLAC files ....... on my LuminX1 .

I generally avoid background music. Perhaps a bit of radio when I'm driving, but fortunately don't drive much. I used to listen while working / studying, and can be very productive in doing so - but the downside is I don't fully enjoy the music, and quickly tire of whatever material I've been listening to this way. 

I used to drink a lot, and that plus music would release so much dopamine I could easily just sit and listen entranced, with nothing else. With other "substances" in the mix - even more so. Then it just got too much, and frequent blackouts and pass-outs - plus other problems - are simply not worth it. Quit booze and all for good. 

Listening "dry", the dopamine released from music alone is never going to be quite what it once was. And so it can be hard fighting the urge to scroll a phone/tablet while listening. I do a bit of that now. BUT a few years dry now, my natural dopamine has recovered a LOT and it's a pretty easily enjoyable thing again to just sit and listen, with some light occasional scrolling. Also noticed I'm a much more acute listener now, too. Makes it a lot easier to solidify impressions of new gear. 

Listening "dry", the dopamine released from music alone is never going to be quite what it once was

I can relate, @mulveling .  For a few years I used to enjoy sipping brandy or bourbon or rye or scotch or sour mash or drinking (not sipping) wine while I listened and as the night grew later and later the music sounded better and better.  Back a few years ago, '21 I think it was, the lab results from my annual VA physical came back showing liver enzymes slightly elevated. I took that as a message and modified until my LFTs  were  showing normal parameters, and I must say that besides the normal lab results, I was feeling better. I might drink a couple of bottles of extra light beer when I listen, but that stuff is seriously so light I don't even classify it as drinking. 

 BUT a few years dry now, my natural dopamine has recovered a LOT and it's a pretty easily enjoyable thing again to just sit and listen,

But I just cannot get to where you are with the brain chemicals yet.  At least not most of the time.  It can be good, but it's never been as much fun.

Truthfully, if I was in a better place, both mood wise and actual location, I'd take up THC products again as that used to truly make my listening experience magical.

@immatthewj
Very wise to peel back on that stern warning sign! Good on you. Some guys never get a warning through decades of abuse (including seemingly perfect liver/enzyme numbers), then wake up all yellow one day and it’s game over. We’re both lucky.

But I just cannot get to where you are with the brain chemicals yet. At least not most of the time. It can be good, but it’s never been as much fun.

Truthfully, if I was in a better place, both mood wise and actual location, I’d take up THC products again as that used to truly make my listening experience magical.

It was a slooow recovery process for sure, but every year the ice breaks a bit more and life gets better. But also yeah - expectation mangement - it’s never gonna be as WOW as when all the stars and substances aligned lol. Always fleeting on the latter, though. THC never did it for me, personally - usually leads to either anxiety or sleepiness and the few times it actually felt good lasted about 5 seconds lol. Edibles in particular were wildly unpredictable for me. Usually they did NOTHING but there was one time that lead to a 5 hour anxiety/panic attack after a 2 hour delay, haha never again.