What is the difference exactly between active listening and passive listening? Is there a difference? Is that just something we invented as musicians to make ourselves feel better? Are we ever able to really switch off between one or the other? Does the music itself dictate which one we are doing? Is it a certain kind of situation perhaps, deeper listening versus light listening. Like say, if we are listening to one kind of music that is our preferred music for playing in headphones or the background while reading or studying (something I can't do, maybe it's a generational thing or a Clay thing, can't read/study while listening). Or certain music for cleaning, folding clothes, other household chores. You know what I am talking about. The background jams, the lift me up music, the passive stuff, or at least the stuff we treat passively....?
Maybe there is other music which we reserve for more serious listening endeavors or events. The stuff that really lights us up and drives us. The "real" music of our lives. So my question for us today is....
What makes it "real"?
I am going to take a stab at answering it and say that reality makes it real. You're welcome. Good thing blogs are free.
The reality of our world, the people, the things that happen, the things that happen to people, events, geography, politics, wars, pandemics, natural disasters, death, birth, sorrow and healing and so much more, the gamut of human experience. Sometimes, some people, turn that experience into music, either by writing it, or performing it, or listening to it, or sharing it, or all of the above. When we know more about what that experience was, or maybe what it currently is in the living moment, we listen differently. We listen, as they say in the Benedictine traditional of Lectio Divina, "... with the ear of our heart."
For much of my life I have known and loved the hymn, it is well with my soul. This hymn text was written by Horatio Spafford and set to music by Phillip Bliss. Only in adulthood did I learn the story of how the hymn came to be, the tragic events of Spafford's life and the immense loss of his family he suffered. I now hear that hymn, that music, differently.
Nearer my god to thee is another one, legend has it is was played on the Titanic as it was sinking, the last song. There are varying accounts but the point is still made, so many people hear that piece and think about that tragic event and their listening experience is deepened. I learned while reading for this entry that ALL the musicians on board the Titanic went down with the ship because they played till the end to help calm everyone down. Now I am definitely going to hear this hymn differently.
And it's not just sorrow that connects us in a deeper way to music, our celebrations as well. Enigma variations was written by Elgar to celebrate his close friends and family. Nimrod, from those variations is perhaps one of the most gigantic orchestral works of all time, a celebration of his close friend Augustus J. Jaeger. Once I knew that I could never hear the piece the same again. How deep and personal that friendship must have been to create such an incredible, beautiful and moving work. It just makes it that much better to listen to.
The list could go on and on and on, and it's having exponential growth as we speak. There are so many amazing things happening with music right now. I hope that you are able to find some comfort in that if you need to, to even celebrate it and enjoy it if possible. And remember, when this is behind us, you don't have to wait for a tragedy, or a pandemic, or even a celebration to go and find out a little more about the music you are listening to, and become connected to it, listen to it in a deeper more active way. It may not equal now, I don't know if anything in my lifetime ever will. So embrace it now, remember what this feels like, enjoy it if you are able, soak in this amazing musical listening moment in our world's history.
Happy Listening
Clay
On a Hymnsong of Phillip Bliss arranged by David Holsinger from TRN Music
Nimrod - Daniel Barenboim Chicago Symphony
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