On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 10:31 AM, Udhay Shankar N <ud...@pobox.com> wrote:
> On 08-Oct-10 9:46 AM, Sruthi Krishnan wrote: > > > But serious listening is different -- it becomes a task in itself (of > > course, a very pleasurable one). > > Indeed. I'd also claim that single-task listening to music and > background or multitask listening to the very same piece of music are > qualitatively different experiences. > > Case in point: I was attempting to see if I could perceive the > difference between a (high quality) MP3 file and the original CD through > (high-quality) earphones. So I was listening very hard to the same songs > twice over, working my way through an album. The actual differences > merit a thread of their own, but what struck me forcefully is just how > much detail and depth one perceives when listening with all of one's > concentration. Very well said, Udhay. One of the forms of meditation that I was taught was to listen carefully and follow one single instrument throughout a musical piece. It is a fascinating form of meditation and it taught me how even relatively minor instruments that may be used just once or twice in a composition, enhance the whole melody. Venky
