texture
baseline playlist
Compared to others, racecar drivers have driven more cars and experimented with a wider variety of under-the-hood configurations. They’re also more daring than your average commuter. It’s not everyone who’s willing to hit triple-digit speedometer readings just for the thrill of it.
But you’ve also discovered a new way to enjoy something.
You’re still training your palate.
The more you listen, the faster you’ll get a feel for all of those terms and the euphonic sensations they represent.
Over time, you’ll learn what qualities you love in recorded music. You’ll also gain a sense of what types of equipment and audio formats exemplify those qualities best.
actively and consciously pay attention to the music you hear.
Different subjective terms often have the same meaning, and some have more than one meaning. [...] Subjective terminology can never be as precise as the language of physics. But imprecise or not, it's still a much more meaningful way of describing reproduced sound than just saying, "It sounds fine."
Experienced listeners likewise challenge their equipment simply for the joy of experiencing something different. For example, maybe you love the bright clang of Art Blakey’s crash cymbals when played through your high-performance system. But can the same equipment articulate the punchiness of a Charles Mingus bass solo? Can it handle low frequencies as well as high ones?
And since you’ve developed the vocabulary required to communicate about such things, you can bounce ideas off like-minded listeners, consult audiophile magazines or websites for insights, or just seek camaraderie from other audio enthusiasts. Basically, you can engage with a new community.
Like a racecar driver, you’re curious about how your equipment performs under different conditions. You’re also willing to force it to show you new sounds in an effort to hear what’s there. That’s true whether you’re hunting for buried textures or just trying to improve the clarity of the dominant voices and instruments.
It’s like becoming fluent in a foreign language and continuing to discover new vocabulary the more you speak it. When you’re good, you know it. But that doesn’t mean you know everything.
It’s not just an intense intellectual and emotional exercise. It’s also a chance to build community and enjoy new forms of art. Needless to say, it’s a lot of fun.
Hearing the subtleties (and articulating what they are)
choose one thing to focus on - rhythms, harmonies, instruments, lyrics, audio effects, latch onto something. focus on only the drums percussions, etc.
Listen to your favorite albums on vinyl.
Remember, a great musical ear isn’t something you’re born with. Listening is a skill you build up over time.
Even with a song you know well, there will be hidden aspects of the mix or arrangement which are still rich for active listening exploration
if you’ve heard the song before or it’s played at a low volume you might not even be aware that it’s playing.
adept at filtering out sounds,
A well-trained ear is essential for good musicianship
good musical ear is a learned skill like anything else.
need to optimize - that's who i live life. listening intentionally. it's a skill. paitning, racing, etc. i spend most of life building skills. with hands.
listen further into the music.
- how does it make you feel? sad? excited?
- which instruments do you hear?wind, strings, syntehsized
- fast or slow?
- which part is the melody? what you hum to.
- which instruments i palying hte melody? does it take turns?
- Engage your brain on a higher level and really listen.
- Active listening is about discovery.
- what is major and minor key? sad or happy
- how many instruments you hear?
- time signatures of a piece of music
how fast they speak and their tone of voice
essence in tone - emotional part of it. convincies me. no matter how many special effects it has, if the tone is wrong. i'm kinda outta there. i could be impressed, and mesmorized, but i won't ever be convinced or completely drawn in. tone is a feeling. the mood of the musician. brighter happier, in love, angry, depending on speed.
different genres = different awareness, techno = reiterative. blues and jazz = more emotional?
blending of tones in different waves and patterns.
billie eilish tonal shifts in a single hiss.
chorous of the sound with lyrics. summary.
trigger emotional
visceral
talking to many people. being a power connector - you get an essence of how people talk sing and breathe.
if you're a recluse or don't interact with people due to whatever reason - it's more difficult to understand essence.
notes and resonances
different genres - doesn't matter if i'ts acoustic recording or not, classical, go to live performances. if you can't stay awake after the third try, fuck it.
use AI - spotify curation.
dancing and visulizations?
4-beats
rhythm = percussion
- He suggests starting with Max Roach of Bud Powell’s group, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney, and Ziggy Modeliste of the Meters. He also recommends listening to music with three or more percussionists, like Cuban rumba or Brazillian samba.
- Balliro says to pay attention to what happens during the repetition. Organic drummers naturally vary the pattern, says Aaron Fast, a music teacher in Brooklyn, while electronic musicians tend to repeat the same information again and again. Composers of classical, Balliro says, seek out rhythmic patterns that surprise us. Pop gives us more of what we expect. Brooding, more emotional music has slower, more drawn-out rhythms, stretching notes to sustain the feeling.