Music Appreciation

[KeenObserver]

I generally do not listen to music when my wife is around.  I come from a family that was deeply involved in music.  When I listen to music I become involved in it and the rest of the world gets blocked out.  It seems that when I am most deeply into the music my wife will start talking to me and POP, the moment is gone.  It seems to me that music is only background to my wife.  Something to put on while she is doing something else.

Does this explain the popularity of low res music?  Noise to play in the background.  Do these people actually enjoy music?

[coot]

I can relate to that. I have music on only when I have time to actually sit down and listen. No background music- really listen. 95% classical, 100% engaged. Average 60-90 minutes a day. I was brought up in a home where my father had classical on almost constantly, even out in his shop working. I cannot do that, music requires my full attention. 

 

As for my dear wife, she is like yours - always doing something else, scanning email or playing word games on the laptop. Music to her is background as well. I play it a bit softer when she is in the room - even choosing less "bombastic" pieces. No Shostakovich 5. But when she leave the room...

[Nikhil]

 

There is Critical Listening and there is Casual Listening.  Both have their place.

 

Personally I don't get too "religious" about it as different people enjoy music in different ways.  If I am looking to share it with some of my buddies I know whom to invite for a particular style of music.  I don't listen to music with my wife.  She has different tastes and it's fine with me.  Casual music is the common ground we share while eating or doing anything together.  But we do enjoy live music together.  It's just that at home she has her own thing and I have mine.  

 

Regards 

 

 

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[KeenObserver]

I think there are people who never do critical listening.  Music is just noise.

[Ralf11]

Agreed.

 

Also, there are people who never do listening tests.  Music is just confirmation bias.

[KeenObserver]

1 minute ago, Ralf11 said:

Agreed.

 

Also, there are people who never do listening tests.  Music is just confirmation bias.

 

When I am changing out something in my system I will research it to an extreme level.  Once it is set up , unless there is something broken, that's it.  I just want to enjoy music.  I do not sit there trying to analyze every item in my system.  I just want to immerse myself in the music.

[KeenObserver]

As I said before,  there are people who listen to an outstanding performance, and go "Wow! that was an outstanding performance!".

And, there are people who listen to an outstanding performance and go "Wow! I need to change out the interconnects on my system.  I need new Benjamin D'Over cables".

[KeenObserver]

To some people who obsess with equipment, listening to music is like a gynecologist having sex.

[kumakuma]

23 minutes ago, KeenObserver said:

To some people who obsess with equipment, listening to music is like a gynecologist having sex.

 

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a46505/i-married-a-gynecologist-and-our-sex-life-is-amazing/

[semente]

4 hours ago, KeenObserver said:

I generally do not listen to music when my wife is around.  I come from a family that was deeply involved in music.  When I listen to music I become involved in it and the rest of the world gets blocked out.  It seems that when I am most deeply into the music my wife will start talking to me and POP, the moment is gone.  It seems to me that music is only background to my wife.  Something to put on while she is doing something else.

Does this explain the popularity of low res music?  Noise to play in the background.  Do these people actually enjoy music?

 

Music can (also) be entertainement, keep us company or in sync.

 

Try talking with your wife while she's immersed in a novel. Then explain to her that's how enthralled you become when listening to music. It won't help.

[fas42]

It has a lot to do with the quality of the playback ... very low quality is fine as background; very high quality can be both background, and listened to very acutely - it's the stuff in the middle, in the quality stakes, that's troublesome ... 😉.

 

To clarify, let's say you have a very fine grand piano in your home; and somehow you managed to wangle a top tier pianist to play all sorts of music on it.all day - from bump and grind, walking bass blues, to easy listening, to the most spectacular Chopin. You could happily have "this on" while talking to your wife in the next room about the day's shopping trip; or sit in on the instrument, and take it all in ... that's what top notch SQ delivers ...

[semente]

38 minutes ago, fas42 said:

It has a lot to do with the quality of the playback ...

Aren't you confusing playback with foreplay?

[fas42]

The common thread is "play" ... 😉

 

My comments are relevant, because my wife wants the music going ... full bore!! "Can you make it louder, please ... " sort of thing, 😉

 

If the playback has an irritating edge to it, then it can't be enjoyed as 'background' - it annoys, so you ask for it to be turned down, or leave the area. The music will be enjoyed if it doesn't call attention to itself, for the wrong reasons - that's why live music making has been so popular, for thousands of years.