How much do visuals enhance your listening experience?

[BeBop]

I haven't watched television, a movie, a video or really any entertainment with a visual component since the 1970s. These days, it seems like DVDs, youtube and the like are all the rage. (I did visit youtube for the first time yesterday, for a non-music video; the experience was a bit mentally disturbing - a processing problem?)

I still don't have ay interest in television or movies - music is enough to fill my few "free" hours - but I am interested in how much and how it contributes to your listening experience.

My own experience at concerts is certainly enhanced by the visual portion, in part because I play, and it's always been a source of learning. But I think all the "hopping around" (camera angles and positions) that I can't control (like I can my own visual attention) would be confounding. But seeing Art Blakey in the 1960s, that'd be good.

Yes, I know the answer is just to go out and try some of this wealth of free material and see how I feel about it. But I'm also interested in how YOU feel about it. We did, for the most part, get by without the visuals for years. Do any of you find the visual element distracting/detracting?

[A Lark Ascending]

I find it hard to follow music on TV or a DVD. Rarely watch music that way, unless its a documentary with a narrative interspersed with music.

I do like the visuals of a live concert, especially classical where seeing the players can give you clues as to the structure of the music.

Maybe I just need to try harder with the TV thing...though I hate the thought of finding another format to buy music on!

[cih]

I don't watch music things on tv much - don't have any DVDs either and it would never occur to me to buy one, I'd much rather have a record or a cd. However, I do like Youtube very much - the visuals do help in a pretty substantial way for me I think. Seeing some of my musical heroes for the first time and having them readily at hand to watch is great. Sometimes I come away with a greater appreciation for them too, seeing the way they hold themselves and present their music - an example - the blues pianist Otis Spann.

[Larry Kart]

If the music's any good, I usually find myself closing my eyes while listening.

[Shawn]

I love concert videos, in fact I'd much prefer to "watch" a concert recording than just listen to it. I love watching the band play, seeing the crowd reactions, light show, etc. The visual component had a great deal of impact on my formative years, I remember seeing the 'Hendrix" documentary on Night Flight back in the 1980s and that film inspired me to delve deeper into his music. I don't think it would have had the same effect if I had just heard those tunes on the radio.

Jazz performances I also enjoy on video, but it's less important for my appreciation.

[A Lark Ascending]

If the music's any good, I usually find myself closing my eyes while listening.

Lights off, eyes shut. By far the best way to listen.

The trouble is, these days I'm likely to nod off, however good the music!

[BillF]

I don't watch music things on tv much - don't have any DVDs either and it would never occur to me to buy one, I'd much rather have a record or a cd. However, I do like Youtube very much - the visuals do help in a pretty substantial way for me I think. Seeing some of my musical heroes for the first time and having them readily at hand to watch is great. Sometimes I come away with a greater appreciation for them too, seeing the way they hold themselves and present their music - an example - the blues pianist Otis Spann.

Yes, I saw Monk live and I've seen him on film. Without these I think I'd have a more limited understanding/appreciation of his music.

[cih]

Monk totally - that footage of him doing Blue Monk with Basie watching is among my favourite film clips of anything anywhere - And Howlin Wolf doing Smokestack Lightnin. These films enhanced my listening whilst watching and afterwards.

An example where the reverse occurs - on Youtube there's some fabulous footage of Josephine Baker dancing from 1927 - a plantation type scene - where I have to ignore the totally inappropriate music that's been put on it!

Edited December 22, 2011 by cih

[Royal Oak]

There are a couple of videos on Youtube which I find mesmerising and so watch fairly often. One is Jimmy Smith doing "Walk On The Wild Side" from a jazz TV show, the other is a Horace Silver quintet playing "Senor Blues". I've heard these tunes dozens of times, obviously, but SEEING them definitely added something.

Edited December 22, 2011 by rdavenport

[BeBop]

In a sense, I feel like it's 1984-90 all over again. Stuff started coming out on CD that wasn't available on LP. I was a CD resister. (Still am, though I accept CDs grudgingly now) And today, there's all this material on DVD and youtube that won't ever find its way to CD or LP. Obviously licensing and commercial value play a role in that decision. So I can get it for free on youtube (and listen with my eyes closed, if it comes to that) or live without.

[alocispepraluger102]

music is an aural thing with me.

the visual is a distraction from the music.

occasionally, i may enjoy viewing intimate chamber music or an intimate jazz performance.

when it really grabs me, i pace.

[Neal Pomea]

If Lady Gaga is number 1, the cultural question seems to be "How much does music enhance your visual experience?"

I appreciate so many of the youtube videos people have been posting here.

[paul secor]

I'm with Larry. I often close my eyes when listening at home, and sometimes even at clubs or concerts.

That said, there have been times when the visual has added to the aural, whether live or on video. Cecil Taylor, Sonny Boy Williamson 2, and Chuck Berry come to mind immediately. I'm sure there are others.

[Neal Pomea]

Never saw Sun Ra in person but I am sure the visuals must have added to the experience. And a lab coat and hard hat for the Art Ensemble seems to have meant much to a lot of people.

[BeBop]

I agree with many of the in-concert observations (Art Ensemble), and would add one that was both essential AND distracting: Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

[cih]

This is one visual aid I would have benefitted from at school...

Cedell Davis in classroom

[jazzbo]

I consider viewing music on video and listening to music without visuals as two separate experiences.