Do musicians listen to music in ways different from normal music lovers?

Question

How are musicians wired to listen to sound? Do they take in music, store it, break it down into parts, remember it, and later recall it? Is it all a conscious process or unconscious?

Answer 1

Interesting question.
I have never thought about this, but was having a discussion yesterday with a guy about the merits of various singers and bands.
As it turned out, a common factor for both of us was whether or not the singer/band featured "our" instruments. IOW he (bass player) loved bands that had music with great bass players or interesting bass, where I liked a lot of keyboard.
I don't know if it's "wiring" so much as it is being able to relate.
I also have tempo problems when playing with a band and appreciate & notice good percussion.
I think there are plenty of people, evenif they don't necessarily play , are "talented listeners" well able to do the things you noted: take it in, store it, break it down, digest it, hum a lick from a minor instrument or random harmony, etc.
We all know people who can talk or write about music powerfully, who don't play.
I would guess that like so many gifts, it's sort of an unconcious process.

Great Q ...I look forward to the answers.
Also, (after reading George G's above)...if you read musicians' bios, it is a lot of fun to see who their influences are. Then when you take another listen, you can sometimes hear the same music with a different set of ears.

Answer 2

Depends on the musician, but many cannot just casually listen to music. They are often analyzing what they hear, for possible inspiration for new songs. A hit song can come from parts of many songs.

Some artists may record certain guitar riffs, choruses, bass lines, etc & catalogue them for later when they are in the creative stage. Of course, songs heard it the past could be hiding in the unconscious & may pop out unexpectedly due to hearing certain notes, seeing something familar, etc.

There is no set way a musician listens, analyzes and stores the music they hear, but there are similarities.

Answer 3

Alot of the time when I'm listening to music, I'm always breaking it down, trying to listen to what each instrument is doing. I try to remember it for later so that I can try to reproduce it and play the song myself. Thats just me, I don't know about everyone else.

Answer 4

Yes, they do. One of my coworkers used to play the trombone, and he said that when he listened to music, he didn't listen to the lyrics. He was listening to the beats. He said that it wasn't until he was painting his house one weekend when his wife was playing some old school song, and he really listened to the words. He said it was like hearing it for the first time.

Answer 5

Songs take on a whole new effect with everything together. I try to listen to how that effect happened.

Answer 6

It is completely different. The difference is like watching TV in b&w then watching the same thing in HD.