Making the Most of Music
The way we listen to music today is categorically different from the way our ancestors listened to music. For one thing, the internet and smartphones have made music ubiquitous and on-demand; everyone has access all the time. It seems like such a trivial thing for us to go on YouTube or Spotify and navigate to our favorite song—however, for all but the last blink of human history, such instant and easy access has never been possible. In the past, music could only be listened to in person, which naturally restricted how often and in what manner people were exposed to it. Then, in the modern era it quickly moved to radio to CDs and then to direct streaming from the cloud. This unprecedented ease of access has forced us to answer important questions like when, where, and how we should listen to music.
Unfortunately, so much of listening to music today has been relegated to a background activity—something to do while driving, studying, or exercising. So many people today have their headphones plugged in even while out in public running errands and even while working. This modern approach to music, characterized by excessiveness and inattentiveness, is something I’ve struggled with personally, and it is something I’ve come to reject. Here are my reasons why.
Reasons Not to Listen to Music Excessively and in the Background
The first reason is that it reliably diverts attention away from the primary thing you are doing. Granted, the primary thing may be dull—something you may be happy finishing as quickly as possible, like the dishes or mowing the lawn. Even so, we have to be honest with ourselves—our attention is a zero-sum resource. Distributing it among various activities violates the main tenet of mindfulness, apart from the fact our performance suffers. This is true especially in the case of involved activities which demand our focus, like studying. I don’t know the true amount, but I’d wager to guess that more than 1/3 of students listen to music while studying. A lot even claim that it helps them focus. To evaluate the validity of such a claim, all we need to do is ask ourselves a simple question—how can something help us focus when it itself demands focus?
The second reason is that listening to music in the background may habituate our mind to require constant stimulation. During my freshman year in college, I passed my RA’s door every time I went to my room, and she was always blaring music. She never had a moment of silence. Now, if our brains are constantly stimulated every second of the day, then moments without stimulation feel downright uncomfortable. This is precisely why you’ll rarely see people, especially of our younger generation, stand idly in line at the supermarket. We whip out our phones at the first hint of silence.
The third reason why listening to music excessively is harmful is because it removes us from our environment. It does this in two ways: firstly, we lose awareness of the situation around us, and secondly, others regard us as occupied and then ignore us. This all but eliminates the small, seemingly trivial interactions with strangers that were typical of the past. There is nothing trivial about these interactions, though. Talking to strangers is an excellent way to hone social skills, meet new people, and build a vibrant and cohesive community.
Apart from social concerns, there are practical implications of listening to music in public. Losing situational awareness forfeits our ability to react quickly in an emergency situation. Although emergency situations rarely occur in life, over a sufficient course of time it’s a certainty.
The last reason to avoid excessively listening to music is that it reduces music’s specialness, meaningfulness, and enjoyability. Everyone knows the feeling of losing interest in a great song after replaying it for hours. Our brain eventually tells us enough is enough. It tells us to move on to the next song. I believe this effect is not only isolated to losing interest in a single song, but to losing interest in music as a whole. The more we listen, the more our brain tells us that nothing about what we are doing is novel and rare, and therefore worthwhile. Let’s consider a thought experiment to demonstrate this effect. Imagine you are deprived of music for an entire decade. Then, you put on a quality pair of headphones, close your eyes, and play your all time favorite song. That experience may even invite religious awe. We can replicate this phenomenon by minimizing mindless music listening. That way, when we get the chance to focus only on music or when we jam out to a favorite song with friends, we can make the most of that experience.
Utilities of Music
All of these reasons may seem like I’m against listening to music. That is far from the case. Music is one of the most special parts of the human experience, one I have no intention of parting with. Instead, I recommend being intentional and deliberate in our engagement with it. But how can we do that? I will discuss the set and setting for an optimal and sustainable music experience, but before that, let’s talk about the utility of music. Because there lies our answer—what we believe music is useful and good for guides us on how we can best weave it into our lives.
The first utility is that music is used to create an atmosphere for a social event. Examples include music played at a party, wedding, graduation, or even church. Music helps set the vibe and provide a sense of social cohesion. Music played at a fraternity house paternity, as a result, ranges wildly from an elegant gala. It also synchronises people to a common rhythm, metaphorically and literally.
The next set of utilities of music is related to our isolated, personal experience. We listen for inspiration and motivation, such as when weight lifting at the gym or painting a canvas. We listen for nostalgia, such as listening to a song from our childhood, or something that reminds us of a late family member. We listen for the emotional roller coaster music takes us on. And lastly, we listen for pure sensory enjoyment.
There is so much music is good for, yet our modern relationship with music focuses entirely on the last utility: pure sensory enjoyment. This can be its only utility when it is played in the background.
Recommended Set and Setting
But it doesn’t have to be like that. I recommend two times and places to listen to music. The first is in social settings. If you are in a social environment, such as in your friend’s car or at a house party, you are not in control of the music, so you might as well enjoy it anyway. Also, music in a social environment can become a shared, meaningful experience with people.
The second is to set aside a portion of time and listen to music as the only activity. Close your eyes if you want to, relax on your bed, and just listen. Give it all of your attention. You might be surprised to hear a melody you never heard before, or notice the intricacies of a drum beat. From my experience, a five minute song listened to with full attention feels way better than that same song played for hours in the background.
At the end of the day, music is intensely personal and people and cultures have a variety of ways in which they enjoy it. I hope none of what I wrote appeared too prescriptive—these are just observations on what I found to be useful. And I’m still learning too—especially in regards to limiting my time listening to music in the background. Please let us know what works best for you, and I hope you can make the most of music!