Critical Music Listening

AsSiMiLaTeD

I was reading the Nickleback thread over in the Off Topic area and something Russ said got me to thinking...

How many of you listen to music critically?

While at UNT and for a while thereafter graduation I was what I call a critical music listener. I would be listening to music looking for mistakes and listening for things like key changes and chord progressions. My wife and I would be listening to something and I'd say something like 'wow that's a perfect fifth and it shouldn't go there' or 'that is supposed to be in key of C Dorian but they're playing C major chord progressions, what the hell is wrong with these people'...always talking about things like hemidemisemiquaver, circle of fifths, progressions, blah blah...

Plus there were people that I wouldn't listen to becuase they can't sing or play in tune or in key...like Celine Dieon...I know my wife got sick of it...

But then I started listening to music more for enjoyment than critique...

Life is much more enjoyable this way...

I still do some critical listening from time to time to keep my ears sharp, but it's more of an exercise than an everyday habit nowadays...

So what's the general Polk listener doing???

Demiurge

Well...


What happened to me is I decided to venture out of the realm of radio and start going to concernts on the weekends that were at local bars, or music establishments that had small national acts rolling through.

I've discovered a ton of bands this way. Bands that I actually enjoy and I feel have more substance than what the radio can offer. Does that mean everything that's mainstream sucks? Not at all. I still find certain Linkin Park songs catchy, ect....but I don't get into those bands or find any depth in the majority of their music. It's motivated by money and selling what people want to hear...rather than what's true to the heart of the artist.

I realize that it seems as if i'm paiting mainstream musicians with a broad brush, but that's not my intention. There is a lot of good stuff out there in the major markets. I just find that the majority of stuff I like is on the down low.

Some of these bands start to break through after awhile. That's awesome. I just respect it more from an artistic perspective. Bands that gain their popularity through touring and building a market base unto themselves rather than being pushed through the radio onto the masses repetitively until they catch on.

I know I sound a little Liberal in that regards, but this is music. It is supposed to be emotional and heartfelt. It should be an alternate reality. It helps me to relax and take my mind off the real world in a lot of ways.

So I guess maybe i'm critical of music because as a hobby I play guitar and such....but I don't force myself to dislike something because it has poor structure, ect.

All I know is that I used to be a big time mainstream rock radio person and I am so glad I ditched it. To me, personally, the majority of whats on the radio now sucks compared to what I listen to now. That's obviously a personal opinion....more power to those who like what they like.

I think what irks me the most is when I reccomend lesser known bands and nobody checks them out. I don't know if it's lazyness or what....You can't really say it's because it sucks because you wouldn't know unless you listened to it.


Grandaddy is one of those bands.

Buy 'Sum Day'. One of the best albums of the past year.

PolkWannabie

I think I like you used to listen more critically at an earlier age. One of the reasons was probably related to some instrument I was trying to master ( hmmm ... never got there ) or some riff I was trying to duplicate etc. Now it's more about music for non critical listening pleasure.

therockman

Actually I am not a musican, so listening "critically" to me has a different meaning. I do occasionally listen "critically" if I am testing out new hi-fi equipment or A/B'ing 2 different versions of the same album. I feel that I can analyze a piece of equipment compared to an absolute perfect ideal, thus I have to listen critically in order to sort out the nuances that separate different pieces of hi-fi gear. It is very difficult to analyze various aspects of hi-fi gear, so that when you do so you must suspend your personal tastes and enjoyment factors, and single out specific aspects of the gear under consideration.


The same holds true when I am auditoioning a new or different version of a very familiar album. Today I bought the 20 bit remaster of Miles Davis KIND OF BLUE that I had to compare head to head with the SACD version of the same title. I first listened to the 20 bit version all the way through, then I listened to the DSD version all the way through, then I had to play portions of each, changing back and forth to get the feel of the effects of each version. I do this quite a bit with different albums. For example, right now I have 5 different versions of Jimi Hendrix ARE YOU EXPERIENCED on CD, and all of them are different in very subtle ways. I have compared each one to an absolute standard of ARE YOU EXPERIENCED, and I have learned to distinguish each one on it's own terms.

But mostly I just listen to enjoy the music, I only turn on my analyzing state of mind when I have to.


Rocky

dorokusai

I do my critical listening with cans.

pjdami

I'm not a musician either. I can play some basic acoustic guitar but that is about it. I tend to follow what Rocky said about critical listening.. only when I'm comparing gear or evaluating changes like new wire, tubes, etc. For the most part I just sit back and enjoy knowing that I've done the homework already.

Today I bought the 20 bit remaster of Miles Davis KIND OF BLUE that I had to compare head to head with the SACD version of the same title.

Yeah Rocky, I picked up that 20 bit Miles Davis cd this past week as well for $9 at Walmart. So how did the 20 bit compare to SACD. Just curious.

therockman

That's funny, I bought my 20 bit KIND OF BLUE at Wal Mart also. But actually, the SACD has a 3 channel mix, it uses the front right/left and the center. I really think I like the 20 bit better because I don't think I like the 3 channel mix that much. And as for sonics, it really is an old tape anyway, so the difference in top end frequency response and smoothness is about the same. For my money I will stick with the 20 bit remaster.


Rocky

I-SIG

Critical listening to me is trying to find the details of the recording session, etc. like catching the vocalist trying to clear their throat as quietly as possible or strings from the bass guitar slapping the pick-ups, etc.

Wes

gregure

Interesting topic!
First of all, I have to say that this is the first time in my life I've had the money to invest in a decent sound system, so I am currently learning to reappreciate older recordings that I had previously only heard on mediocre speakers. Suddenly the detail and impact are so much more noticable, that I find myself listening critically for things I'd not noticed or heard before.
For instance, one of my favorite songs by The Who is "Baba-O'Reilly," and once I put in the album and played it on my new Polk speakers, I was able to distinguish the bass line in the song's climax all the more readily, which adds a lot to the song (the bouncing bass line underneath Daltry screaming "teenage wasteland...").
I'm also a classical nut, and I'm amazed at how warm and clear classical sounds on these speakers. It's really rewarding.
I suppose that's what critical listening is to me: appreciating new details in songs and recordings that I may not have listened to very closely in the past. As a classical fan, I'm very critical about certain aspects of different recordings of works, such as if detail is obscured, if the conductor does not elicit powerful playing in the climaxes, etc. Overall, though, I think I listen critically to appreciate, rather than to find fault.

My system:
Denon 1815 DVD/CD
Onkyo TX-SR701
Polk RTi 10 (Front)
Polk CSi 5 (Center)
Polk FXi 3 (Surround)
Polk RTi 4 (Back Surround)

therockman

I think that gregure has hit the nail on the head in his description of "critical listening."