Listening to Music Actively & Passively

Series Summary

Music is one of the primary forms of communication on Earth. Whether the use of tones and melodies developed before, after, or in conjunction with spoken language is unknown; yet music is unique in that it helps us to talk to each other in ways that language cannot achieve.

Music creates a connection between people that is not limited by time, distance, or relationship; a song can speak to anyone, anywhere. That’s why music continually changes and grows, is still loved and still proliferates. Music is a living language.

In this free video series, watch as professional musician and teacher Duane Carter teaches how to appreciate music. Learn all about antiphony, motif, contrast, form, and repetition in music. Start refining your senses and begin to appreciate music in a new and deeper way today!

Video Transcript

"Hello! My name is Duane Carter and on behalf of Expert Village, I am going to be talking today about learning how to listen to and appreciate music. Listening to music is an important skill that you will be able to utilize your entire life. There are basically two ways to listen to music; passively and actively. Passive listening is basically what you do when you turn the radio on at home, going about your business using the music as your background. This is often the case when you drive in your car as well with your radio or CD player playing. Active listening on the other hand requires the listener to dive in more deeply into the music to try to get a better understanding of what the artist is trying to convey. Active listening not only allows the listener to get a grasp on the technical aspects of the music but it also allows the listener to capture the creative spirit of music. An active listener becomes a participant in the music. We are going to be looking at some of the techniques that you can use to become an active listener in the following segments. "