C.W. Post Department of Music

Introduction to Musical Concepts

MUS 1P, Fall 2004

Intelligent Listening

In class we will discuss this topic soon and identify these three levels of listening:

Passive Listening

This type of listening occurs when you are close enough to the source of the sound to hear it, but you are not consciously hearing it. An example: you are driving in the car with the stereo on, but you are not aware of what is playing.

Emotional or Connotative Listening

Emotional or Connotative listening occurs when music, or any sound, triggers a memory or an emotion in you. Instead of concentrating on what you are hearing, you focus on what you are feeling. An example: a song reminds you of a specific moment of a date in high school.

Intelligent Listening

With Intelligent Listening you are very aware of what you are hearing. Some examples: you try to identify some strange sound you hear at night; or you try to figure out the lyrics of a song.

Of the three levels, the last, Intelligent Listening, is the level needed when studying or analyzing music. In order to achieve the Intelligent Listening level, we make observations about the music by answering a series or checklist of questions related to the characteristics of the music. The act of concentrating on the music, and not the emotions or memories the music makes us feel or remember, places us on the Intelligent Listening level.

Here's the current Intelligent Listening Checklist to date. If you're curious, here's the full Checklist we'll be using by the end of the semester. (The full list requires Acrobat Reader which you can get here)

Online Practice Version of the Checkist (try it for extra credit)

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