Types of Listening

The Sensuous Listener

• The sensuous listener enjoys music in the background during other activities, and likes to have music filling the environment with nice sounds to elevate a mood.

• The music makes the listener “feel” an emotion.

Say Hey (I Love You)Artists: Michael Franti

& SpearheadComposer: Michael

Franti

The Sensuous Listener• As you listen…

– How does the music make you feel? Happy, like I want to dance.

– As you listen, what thoughts come to mind? Beaches, summer, California, surfing…

– What might you be doing while this music is being played? I could imagine myself chilling at a beach during summer time with this song in the background.

– Describe a situation where you might have this music playing. Where are you? I at a senior campfire at Camp Stella Maris, and my friends and I are dancing in the dark around a bonfire.

– What kind of meal would you be eating with this music? I most likely would be dancing with this music, not eating.

– If this music were playing anywhere in the world, where would it be? This music would most likely be playing in California, maybe at a surf shop in Hawaii.

The Associative Listener

• Listens to music more deliberately than the sensuous listener

• Allows music to remind them of a memory

• Allows music to bring to mind a certain picture or dramatic situation

Rainbow VeinsArtist: Owl City

Composer: Owl City

The Associative Listener• What situations from your past come to mind? My

childhood dreams come to mind most when I hear this song.

• If this music were in a movie, what would the movie be about? If this song were in a movie, the movie would most likely be about a young love.

• What might be happening in the movie when this song plays? Most likely a series of present actions, like flying, playing on a beach, sitting under the stars…

• If this music depicted a picture of something, what would the picture look like, and what colors and textures would you see? If this song painted a picture, I would most likely see a sky scene, with an array of different colors in a sunset. Fluffy, white clouds would be in the sky.

The Critical Listener• Is concerned

with the quality of the performance, monitors musical interpretation, seeks the best performance, and asks questions regarding the performance.

Forget YouArtist(s): Glee Cast (feat.

Gwyneth Paltrow)Composer: Cee Lo

The Critical Listener• What did you dislike about it? Rate the performance. I’d

give this song an 9.5/10 because Gwyn gets a little pitchy at one point in the song.

• Did the work sound authentic, was the style captured? The remix sounded authentic, and overall, the swing-ish nature of the song was captured.

• Did you like the sound of the voice? I love Gwyn’s voice. It’s not overly nasal-y , unlike a few of the actors and actresses on Glee.

• Did you like the sound of the instruments? I did, they helped to capture the essence of the song.

• If you were in charge, what would you change about this song? I, truthfully, wouldn’t change anything. It’s fine the way it is.

The Attentive Listener• Has the attributes of a

sensuous, associative and critical listener

• Enjoys sound and is often surrounded by music

• Tries to make connections between the feeling conveyed in the music and react that way

• Doesn’t close mind and ears to any musical experience and reserves judgment until it can be made after a period of reflection.

DiscombobulateArtist: Hanz Zimmer

Composer: Hanz Zimmer

Attentive Listening Elemental Analysis

Title: Discombobulate

Artist: Hanz Zimmer

Composer: Hanz Zimmer

Summary of Musical Genre (1-2 Paragraphs) Summary of the piece (1-2 Paragraphs)

Classical music can be

traced back to the

“baroque” era. The most

common elements of

classical music are the

strings and piano, which

are used in almost every

classical song ever

performed. Beethoven was

really the first person to

truly define classical

music.

Discombobulate is a piece

from the soundtrack for

Sherlock Holmes that is

entirely instrumental. It

serves as the main melody

that every song in this

movie carries through

every song in its album, no

matter how discrete. It also

serves as the prelude,

introducing the actors and

producers.

MelodyMelodic Contour What is the overall shape of the melody? Draw a contour map of the melody. 

Melodic Progression Is the melody conjunct (stepwise)? Is the melody disjunct (leaps)? Is the melody a combination of both? The melody is disjunct. It has an unpredictable melody. BeatQuality Is there a beat? If so, is it emphasized? Un-emphasized? No beat? There is a beat, and yes it is emphasized. Meter Accented beat is meter. Is the beat accented? If so, what is the pattern? Is it duple, triple, or quadruple? Is it mixed? Asymmetric? Polymetric? What would two possible time signatures be?The beat is duple, accented on every first beat. It is polymetric, and two possible time signatures would be 2/2 and 3/4.  Tempo What musical term best describes the tempo? Does the tempo remain constant or does it change? Are there deviations in the tempo? If so, in what ways? The tempo is best described as allegro and then andagio, it doesn’t remain constant, and there are many deviations in the tempo.Rhythm How would you describe the rhythm? Is it fluid or strict? Jagged or smooth? Regular or shifting? Does the rhythm remind you of people marching, people dancing, or people sleeping? What other activities does the rhythm bring to mind? I can describe the rhythm as jagged and unpredictable, strict, and shifting. The music reminds me of a chase for a criminal, much like what Sherlock Holmes does. 

TimbreClassification of sounds Is the music produced by chordophones? Idiophones? Membranophones? Electrophones? Aerophones? Corpophones? The music is produced by chordophones (violins and piano) and aerophones (trumpet). Instrument-specific classification Identify the instruments that you hear. Besides identifying the family of instruments (brass, strings, woodwinds, percussion, keyboard, voice) be as specific as you can. The more precise your identification of the instruments, the more credit you will receive.I can hear a timpani drum, a broken piano, a group of violins that have been amplified, and trumpets.  TextureAnalysis Is the music predominantly monophonic? Homophonic? Polyphonic? Heterophonic? Does the texture change? The piece is predominantly polyphonic, because it has many different instruments playing at the same time. The texture of this song changes at the beginning and at the end because there is a broken piano that transfers into an orchestra at the beginning and the same at the end.

Two aspects I liked about both versions are:• Both have the same melody, and both have a fast,

exciting, jagged pace to them.• Both have a catchy melody.

Two aspects I disliked about both versions are:• Couldn’t figure out all of the instruments that were

playing.• The tempo didn’t match up in certain parts.

Two aspects I liked about version 1 are:• The sound is authentic, kind of creepy.• Has a broken piano at the beginning.

Two aspects I liked about version 2 are:• The composer did a good job of trying to capture the

essence of the original.• The most recognizable instruments were included.

Two aspects I disliked about version 1 are:• Tempo is very fast, can’t catch all of the instruments in it.• It seems like the strings are all over the place when

playing.Two aspects I disliked about version 2 are:• Tempo is off from the original.• Doesn’t have a broken piano playing in the beginning.

2nd example of “Discombobulate”

FIN