How to Listen to Music

Over the passed couple of days, I've been thinking a lot about how I listen to the music I love. Music is kind of a broad name for the subject as it is very hard to pin down how to explain it as one singular topic. I think that this topic blends into almost everything else that we do in this world. Whether it be Electrical Engineering and Social Psychology, music can be applied to anything. So, let's dive right into listening to music in a way that gives you the full experience...

When I listen to music, I try to take in all the factors that make a specific song awesome. Things like tonal variety and the poetic significance of the lyrics are things I try to think about when listening to music. Another thing I like to take into consideration is the emotion that is going through the songwriter's head when singing and or writing the words. For example, when listening to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," you might consider the craftsmanship of the music itself (tonal variety), the stunningly beautiful words (poetic significance), and finally, the context, meaning, and voice (emotion) that Robert Plant was trying to communicate through this 1971 masterpiece.

When I say "masterpiece," I don't mean to bring down other songs as "noise" or not poetic. I'm trying to say that music has this magical ability to affect different types of people in different ways. It's like when I listen to "Stairway to Heaven," I cry when I hear that song because of the emotions being communicated through the song. That brings us to our last point... music's ability to live with people forever.

How do you describe a timeless song? A song that can live in your heart forever? My answer is, well, I don't really have an answer for that. It is a very complicated part of music that, in my opinion, cannot be explained by human standards. A song just happens to resonate with people, and no one can control that mystical aspect of music.

You know what, that's what makes music incredible. Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" doesn't resonate with everyone and it doesn't have to. In today's world there is a genre of music for every person on the planet earth. It can be any type of music, but the methods of listening I stated above still apply. It could be Hardcore Punk, Hip Hop, or even Black Metal and you can still listen and think about what the songwriter is trying to communicate.

One artist I truly admire is Eminem and I don't really listen to rap music. He has such a poetic element to his rap songs that really make me think. He came from nothing, but with the hardest work that he poured into his music, he made something for himself and his family. His music shows that it came from the desperation and pain that he felt so deeply and that is something I can relate to. That's why he made such an impact on people, because people understood what he was going through. To me, Eminem is one of the most talented musicians of all time.

If you take the methods I stated above and use them, I assure you that you will discover something you might never have heard in any of your favorite songs. That's really what music is about, thinking about processing emotions in the healthiest way possible.

As always, thanks for reading!

Your Blogger,

AJ

I've also included some of my favorite songs for you guys to think about. Enjoy!

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