We've Heard About Your Buying - What About Your Listening?

[Dan Gould]

Now that we've heard about your collecting/buying habit, let's hear about how much time you spend with your music collection.

I have to say my listening took a nose dive when I left my last office job. Before my last music sale, I'd have said that the listening I do is in the car, and its probably close to that again.

[papsrus]

Usually put something on within an hour of waking in the morning. As I work a 4-12 shift, if I've no errands to run and I'm just hanging around the house before work, I'll have music playing for much of the day before heading in, and will unwind after work in the wee hours with at least a couple of discs. So that's a good 6-8 hours total right there.

On days off, if I'm feeling lazy and staying around the house, I'll have music on for much of the day and evening.

My attentiveness fluctuates between treating it as background music to more intent listening -- which usually is more of a late-night thing.

Hardly ever use headphones anymore. That used to be my primary way of listening.

[clifford_thornton]

Ironically, I have the most difficulty listening closely while at home. Housemate, pets, tasks - unless I can put the stoney-phones on and lock the door (which is how reviews get done). At work I have the iPod but find headphones and fluorescent bulbs taxing.

[jazzbo]

I voted:

around 5 hours a day - up to 35 hours a week (1 votes [20.00%])

most of the time I'm multi-tasking

I've been retired for two years (though I'm planning on looking for work soon). Thus, lots of time for listening. Life is good.

[A Lark Ascending]

"I'd say the majority of my listening is while multi-tasking but I do try and usually succeed in getting some close listening in." Describes me.

Probably about 4-5 hours on a work day (including 90 mins on the work run). Most of the evening listening is whilst preparing lessons, marking books etc.

At weekends/holidays I can have music going from 6.00 a.m through too about 10 pm if I'm not going anywhere else - ennui is offset by changing genre.

[jeffcrom]

I hardly watch any TV, so while my wife is televiewing in the evening, I usually have my headphones on. (Headphones are not my preferred way to hear recorded music, however.) I do my most intense listening the last two hours before I go to bed.

[Jazzmoose]

You're not going to ask how much of the music we listen to is jazz these days, are you?

By the way, I assumed the time listening to music meant music we wanted to listen to, not the endless tape loop at work. That would up me another eight hours a day and make it more of a multitasking item, the other task usually being screaming at the speaker "not that f*****g one again!!"

Edited May 19, 2010 by Jazzmoose

[mjzee]

I listen in the car (CDs, but soon to be iPod, as I'm having a head unit installed that has an iPod input), in the morning while getting ready for work (iPod through speakers), at work sometimes if I need to concentrate and there's lots of chatter in the office (iPod through headphones), and in the evening while on the computer (iPod through speakers). All iPod listening is via shuffle.

I'm having trouble with the second part of the questionnaire, as I'm not sure what it means to listen. When I hear a track, I can focus on so many different things: the tone of the soloist, the way the soloist interacts with the tune or with the supporting musicians, the sound as a whole, the sound quality, the rhythm, reflecting on the rhythm in historical contrast, the length, the way the tune is constructed... And none of this is a conscious approach. Sometimes I can hear a tune and hear nothing, because I've heard it all before, like some chewing gum that has no more flavor. Is that intense listening? Rumination? Background listening? In-and-out listening? I dunno.

[paul secor]

I would say I average 3-4 hours of listening a day.

I try to listen closely all the time, but the reality is that close listening only happens with about half of my listening. I imagine I'd burn out if I listened closely all the time.

Reading Jeff's post, I realized that I'm lucky to be able to listen to music played through speakers almost exclusively. If I had to use headphones I would, but I wouldn't enjoy listening nearly as much.

[.:.impossible]

If I have a new album, I almost immediately sit down and listen to it with undivided attention. Other than that, I am usually doing other things while listening. Music is on more often than not at our house.

[Van Basten II]

As long as I'm at home, and it's a reasonnable hour between 9 am and 9 PM and am not doing anything that requires me listening , like watching a movie or something along those lines, there is music on the background, I priorise my listening first by CDs I bought at used stored then stuff I bought new and when everything has been listened at least once, then it's miscellaneous stuff depending on my fancy.

I don't use headphones and unfortunately at work I have to endure the crappy music radio repeating the same boring shit every day.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Van Basten II

[medjuck]

I listen constantly at work (if I'm in the office, not on a set) and constantly in the car. I drive between Santa Barbara and LA a couple of times a week and choosing what cds to take is part of my routine. This weeks it's Alan Lowe's Really the Blues? and Jack Teagarden's Mosaic Roulette Set. Last week is was Miles Davis and Sun Ra.

Edited May 20, 2010 by medjuck

[kh1958]

During the week, it's mostly the ipod in the car.

I do more listening on the weekend--LPs and CDs on the big stereo, CDs on home computer, and ipod in the car.

[John L]

My job calls for a lot of travel and long airplane rides. I have a pair of noise cancelling ear buds and listen to music constantly on planes. I don't prefer listening to music that way, and the noise cancelation "pressure" does not wear well after a while. But planes are often where I really take the time to listen to music carefully.

[Dave James]

Before I retired, I listened to music at work all the time. Same in the car to and from. With everything going on around you in those situations, that type of listening is way less than serious, more along the lines of background music or just white noise. Now that I'm retired and I'm home by myself during the day, I can listen however and whenever I please. Unfortunately, what I'm finding is that it's a struggle to listen as seriously as I would like. Apparently I'm way too easily distracted by whatever is going on around me. It's starting to make me wonder if I'm really capable of serious listening or to question what serious listening is. I don't know. Is there such a thing as MADD (music attention deficit disorder)?

[catesta]

These days I very rarely if ever can listen during a weekday. I pretty much only listen to Howard Stern while driving but will switch to music once I've heard the entire show.

For the most past I listen to music in the evenings or on weekends and usually while cooking.

[A Lark Ascending]

It's starting to make me wonder if I'm really capable of serious listening or to question what serious listening is.

I think 'serious' listening is way overrated.

I can see its application to musicians learning about music, musicologists analysing music, engineers or other technical bods needing to understand their craft.

But I'm not sure I'm ever 'serious' about listening. The difference I'd draw is between when it's on and it is going in and out of focus; and when I delberately set out to listen with full attention (i.e. if I'm trying to work out the structure of a symphonic movement or the way a track or album is built up). When I'm being 'attentive' I don't find myself being any more serious than when the music is hitting me subliminally (and I've had some very powerful reactions from music when only half attending).

When I was younger I used to find wandering round a darkened room kept me well focused! I'd fall over things now!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Damn! Lost my post when the connection vanished!

Oh well.

MG

[kenny weir]

Something I've found out recently ...

Much of my most receptive listening - which isn't the same as serious listening, as Bev points out - is done while playing a simple game of solitaire on my laptop. This seems to leave my noggin in a far greater receptive state than, say, reading, cooking, whatever.

[A Lark Ascending]

Something I've found out recently ...

Much of my most receptive listening...is done while playing a simple game of solitaire on my laptop. This seems to leave my noggin in a far greater receptive state than, say, reading, cooking, whatever.

When reading (or writing!) I don't think you can pretend to be listening attentively - I find that my mind flips between following the text and suddenly remembering I have music on to listening to the music and realising I've run my eyes over two paragraphs and taken nothing in.

But that does not prevent the ambient pleasure that I still get from it. I find it a very useful way to aclimatise to music I'm unfamiliar with. At some point (not necessarily on initial plays) it starts to demand I pay it attention.

I can't watch TV (with the sound on!) and listen to music!

When giving full attention to music I always have the issue of what to do with my hands (no coarse comments, thank you!). Solitaire seems to solve that problem (again, no coarse comments!).

Edited May 26, 2010 by Bev Stapleton

[Shawn]

I picked about 4 hours per day. Usually that's about an hour in the morning before I go into work, and another 3 during the course of the evening when I get home. On days off it still ends up being about the same once I add errands and stuff into the mix.

As for "serious listening", I'm ALWAYS multi-tasking when playing music, I'm too antsy by nature to just SIT STILL and do nothing but listen, but I'm used to that so it doesn't distract me.

[AndrewHill]

Recently, I've been enjoying the peace and quiet time I get in my car, rather than listening to music, which is where I usually listen to music the most. My house is way too chaotic with two young kids around to set any serious listening time aside. By the time the house settles down, I'm too tired to listening to anything.

[kenny weir]

I can't watch TV (with the sound on!) and listen to music!

Bliss: Sofa, football of some kind on TV, "muted" TV, book (currently John Broven's amazing tome on the indie record men), music.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

John Broven's amazing tome on the indie record men

Nice, ain't it?

I don't listen to music when I'm hoovering.

Or showering.

Or gardening. Or even just sitting out in it - my neighbours cured me of that by blasting out heavy metal when I had a bunch of 1926 sermons by Rev Gates on once - OUCH!

Or in a record shop

MG

[paul secor]

John Broven's amazing tome on the indie record men

Nice, ain't it?

I don't listen to music when I'm hoovering.

Or showering.

Or gardening. Or even just sitting out in it - my neighbours cured me of that by blasting out heavy metal when I had a bunch of 1926 sermons by Rev Gates on once - OUCH!

Or in a record shop

MG

Amazing how sometimes music sounds better in a record store than it does when you play it at home.