Forum Sem2 Week 1

The 'art' of listening. Is the listener the artist? Does the listener become the canvas, the final masterpiece, and musicians are merely the paintbrush? So who then is really creating the art?

Is the listener, based on their own life experiences, translating what they hear into something completely different than the artist intended? Is this form of subconscious reconstruction of elements similar if not the same as an artist making a piece of work from various sources to create something new? Is this then not art?

Musical genres that come across as ‘loud’ seem to suggest the musician does not want the song to be misinterpreted or retranslated, not only leaving the ear fatigued from volume bombardment, but leaves no room for the listeners mind to wander thus preventing memories gained from other senses to impair the musicians message. It would then appear that more ‘softer’ music allows, perhaps even invites, the listener to utilise other memories collected from the other senses. The listeners mind can then add the final pieces of the work to create the final masterpiece.

If the listener is the art, why then would so many musicians ignore this final element?

Whittington, Steven. 2008. “Forum: Listening” Seminar presented at the University of Adelaide, 31st August.

“Types of Listening” AIR University. Accessed 1st August 2008. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/kline-listen/b10ch4.htm

“Attentitive and Critical Listening: Description.” 1999, Strategic Communication. Accessed 1st August 2008. http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/ccstm/SCMH/morelisten.html