What is Active Listening in Music?

Some of my favorite listening experiences came as I pilfered my brothers' CDs as a child. While they were at work or school I would scout out their room, choose a disc that looked interesting, then run around our basement to all the upbeat tracks. I loved listening to music so much as a kid, but that love waned a little as I grew up. Luckily, those early feelings for music came right back when I learned to actively listen. 

What is active listening?

Active listening means seeking something specific through listening. It’s giving your full attention and focus into the art of taking in and receiving sound. It takes some effort, but it is absolutely a skill that can be learned and that can eventually come very naturally, whether you're a musician or not.

Active listening has an opposite: passive listening. Passive listening is easy, but that approach leaves you vulnerable as a listener and can lead you to miss out on incredible musical experiences. When you choose to passively listen you’re either waiting for an experience like lighting to strike, grabbing your attention or spontaneously bringing you to life--or you’re waiting for someone or something to affect you in a way that you are used to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does leave you open to what you know while closing you off to what you haven’t yet explored. And it often results in tepid, not transformational, listening experiences. 

How to learn to actively listen

Those who can actively listen can shape their experience as they choose to engage with sound. Here at Approaches to Listening, we teach the four filters of listening, or four ways people can engage with music. Each filter has distinct benefits, and as listeners learn to use each of them, they are able to make the most of their musical experiences.

As people learn to actively listen, there is a common pitfall that I have observed in many listeners: once someone learns to really effectively use one filter of active listening, they tend to rely too much on just that one approach. (A common example is a trained musician who cannot hear a performance without critiquing it.) All at once, active listening becomes restrictive, as you only engage with music through one type of listening, often blocking out the potential and opportunities that the music offers. That’s why it’s so important to know that active listening offers more than one specific way of listening. Only after you know all your listening options can you truly optimize your listening. 

Active listening is as useful as it is varied. If you only listen for one thing, or only listen for everything one way, then your listening will dry up. The listener who can use all four filters of listening can find both renewal and greater potential in their listening as they learn to shape their musical experiences.