Listening

Pliable has done another great post delving into the nature of music, in this case the art of listening to music. He's covering a lot of ground here, so it's one of those posts I'll be coming back to after trying to think through the issues he's raised. 

His mention of an anechoic chamber reminded me of going into one after hours in the psych building when I was in college. Very, very strange feeling and mostly unpleasant. It made me realize just how important sound is in our establishing our relationship to world.

Pliable says, "Music appreciation is all about retuning the human ear." I largely agree, but find myself wondering if there isn't a better word than "retuning". And while he doesn't say so, he seems to be implying a limitless degree to the readjustment of what we can accept as meaningful. While we can certainly expand our musical sensibilities over time, some of the brain's wiring appears to set a kind of limit.