How to Listen to Music, Not Just Hear it
To learn to listen to music, not just hear itYou need the right room, the right
equipment, the perfect volume, the perfect spot, and (of course), the embracing of the
music. After you have all the proper tools, you can sit and enjoy the music.
The first consideration is to listen to music in a comfortable chair. I would highly
recommend a good quality Lazy Boy recliner. Now, you need to find the best room to put
that chair in, so you can listen to you music. The room can be any normal room with four
walls but, the room can't be wide open. For example, it can't be an unfinished basement
with concrete walls and a cement floor. The sound will not be able to bounce off the
walls and give the effect as if the sound is coming from behind you, as well as in front
of you (the surround effect). A good room to listen in, is a typical family room with
sheet rock walls and four ninety degree corners.
The second consideration is placement of speakers. The corners of a room are the
perfect spot for your speakers. You shouldn't position them flush against the wall, but
put the back of the speaker into the corner, so each side of the speaker is against each
wall. For this reason, the bass is extended (louder), and the tweeters, mid-range, and
woofers give you their undivided attention.
Where to sit is simple, but it takes some easy calculations to find the perfect spot.
There is a common rule for a person to experience the full effect of the music. In order
to do this, measure the distance between the two speaker cabinets. If the speaker's
cabinets are placed twelve feet apart from each other, divide twelve feet in half, which
gives us six feet. That's the middle, so mark that location. From that mark, measure
twelve feet back, and mark that spot on the floor. You have found the perfect spot for
you to achieve the best sound from your music.
Next, you need a receiver. The receiver is a power source and a switchboard for your
additional stereo components. Any receiver will do, as long as it has one-hundred watts
per speaker out-put. Then, you need a compact disc player, a single or a five disc is
fine. Some speaker wire is a must.
Speakers on the other hand, are a tough choice because there are so many of them. You
want to spend at least four-hundred dollars when buying speakers. Anything lower than
four-hundred dollars is usually low quality, which can increase the risk of destroying
your speakers.
When you decide on three sets of speakers (one set equals two speakers) at you local
speaker shop, have a salesman play some of your cd's that you brought with you. Make
sure you listen to the same song per set of speakers. Also, bring different types;
classical, jazz, blues, rap, and 80's; whatever. Forget what the salesman says. Just
remember, your ears won't deceive you. Figure out what sounds the best to you, then
slap your credit card down and lets' go home and listen to some music.
After you've placed your speakers, hooked up your receiver, connected your compact disc
player, and put your couch or music chair in the ?full effect? spot in your family room,
now you can turn on the receiver and compact disc player, and put in one of your favorite
compact disc's. One problem; do not hit the play button yet. Sorry! You first need to
make sure the volume is at its lowest point. Make sure the CD button on the receiver has
been pushed.
Now here's a little advice from a male. We males are supposed to know our remote
controls, according to woman. So, if you're a woman who is reading this, you need to get
to know your remote control(s). You need to memorize where the mute button is, and where
the CD skip, advance, and play are located. The two most important buttons on a remote
control are volume. The remote control has to be an extension of your hand. You need to
love the remote control, and the remote control needs to love you. Play with it until
you can move your thumb and index finger over it with grace and precision.
Here comes the part when you need to test your babies (speakers). You've been
anticipating this moment from the time you got bit by the quality sound bug. Press play
on the compact disc player and sit back and listen to your favorite song. Turn the
volume up; don't be afraid. Now, turn it up to the ten o'clock position. If there's no
distortion, only clean sound, then turn it up a little more. Try the twelve o'clock
position. If there's some or no distortion, you've found the maximum sound out-put. I
would recommend that you don't go over the twelve o'clock position, because you could
damage your speakers. Now fiddle with the volume until you can hear and feel every
instrument clearly. Also, it's best if you can close your eyes and visualize the music.
Picture all the sound surrounding you, working it's way into your ears. The music will
start to sound like its coming from behind you as well as in front of you.
Listening to music takes a little practice. All you have to do is listen to the notes
of the music. You will feel the beat of the music in your chest. I know it can be
intimidating, but if you give it time, the music will flow through you.
When the music is flowing through you, I hope you have a big smile on your face. That
happiness may turn into tear in the eye. It did for me the first time I listened to
music. I hope you successfully understood how to listen to music, not just hear it.
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