Running has become a space of release, motivation and strength for me. Last week I was running in Riverside (my favorite place to run) and apparently set my iPod on repeat 1. Not a joke…..I listened to the same song for almost an hour and a half. This is something I’ve done before, but never this long! I found my musical mediation!
When working on my jazz degree at Wichita State University I learned how important it is to really take time to listen to an entire jazz album to get the full effect. I’d spend long periods of time listening to the same song and sometimes even just a few seconds of one specific song, trying to work a lick out.
I really feel like as listeners we’ve lost the art of really being in a song. There’s something completely different about being enveloped in a song and starting to hear parts of the music come to life that may have not even been noticed before.
For me the first exercise I did to really get into the moment of a song was picking out the different parts. Start with the obvious – the voice or lead instrument – then move on from there to the bass, then the drums, then anything else that the ear can find.
If there is one thing The Playlist could accomplish, besides maybe exposing people to new music, I hope it is to help create more mindful listeners.
Happy Listening!
