Active and engaged listening.

Have you ever read a paragraph or a page from book, and once you reach the end, realize you didn’t actually read it? Sure, your eyes might have followed the words down the page, but you didn’t internalize what was written and had to go back to the beginning with a renewed focus, and re-read. Or have you had a conversation with someone, only to realize that you have no idea what was said? These things have happened to all of us, and the very same is true with music! To get to the essence of the music, we must be listening in an active and engaged way.

Active and engaged listening can be extremely difficult, even for professional musicians. Much like meditation, it can be frustrating when we can’t find our focus and our mind wonders from the music. The good news is, just like everything else, we can practice! Below are some ways to get started!

1. Set time aside to listen. Listening on the way to work, when you’re cooking dinner etc. is great, but active and engaged listening is easiest when you have specifically set time aside to ONLY listen. All it takes is 10-15 minutes!

2. Listen in a space/at a time when you don’t have to worry about being disturbed, or sending that email or text message. Right NOW, at this moment, in this space, it’s all about the music.

3. When listening through a piece, try to focus intensely on one thing at a time, and maintain that focus as much as possible. It’s OK to jump around! Let your ear go to what grabs its attention.

TRY THIS: Watch the video to the right (Short Ride in a Fast Machine, by John Adams). The first instrument that plays is a woodblock. As an exercise, try to intensely focus on the woodblock for as long as you can! Notice when the sound changes, when the beat changes, and when it stops playing. Afterward, listen again at how the other instruments in the orchestra “fit in” with the woodblock. What are the roles of the different instruments? What individual purpose are they serving and how do they work together, or against each other?

The BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop, performs John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine.

Recorded in Gothenburg november 2010 as an encore after Stravinsky's Firebird. Brahms' Hungarian dance no. 1 with Music Director Gustavo Dudamel and the Gothenburg Symphony in Gothenburg Concert Hall, Sweden.

4. One great exercise is to stop the music after 10-15 seconds and sing (on an “ah” sound) or hum the melody (either aloud or in your head) as much as you can remember. You can gradually increase the time between stops so eventually you are singing the whole piece by heart!

TRY THIS with the piece to the left! Johannes Brahms, Hungarian Dance No. 1.

Ultimately, the goal is to make sure that we are recognizing all the important musical details and nuances in the music in order to extract the most meaning from the piece - to dedicate our time to the music. To focus throughout the entire piece, and allow it to take us on the unique musical journey that unfolds. It’s not always possible to listen in this way with our busy lives, and listening in the car on the way to work is fantastic too, but the more we are able to practice active and engaged listening, the more it will become the norm for us.