Critical Listening Training Document

In my case, as in Alonski's (thanks for the great thread), being a musician has greatly aided my critical listening as an audiophile. Though currently not a pro, I started real young (in high school and college) by helping support myself by playing in bands up and down the colleges and clubs in Central NY. As a guitarist, I vividly remember the "dance" I did, along with the bass player and the drummer while we were playing; we would each lock into a part of that drum kit; I'd eyeball the snare, the bass player the kick drum, and we'd all be intertwined, each accenting different portions of the measure and different parts of the drum kit, but all gelling into one mean groove machine. It was hypnotic.

I also played percussion in orchestras, had classical training on piano, guitar, as well as my favorite style of electric guitar: fusion with an r and b twinge.

I strongly believe that having all of this experience really helps me pick apart a lot of the stuff that I hear. And reading that Peter Cuddy document confirmed that. Because pretty much most of those questions roll around my brain when I'm in critical listening mode.

Thanks for sharing that document, Alonski, and also for all your great replies.

Have a good one!

Alonski wrote:

"That hypnotic groove machine zone is an indescribable state of musical nirvana for musicians. How lucky are we to have experienced that in this life, huh?"

Yes, very lucky indeed. I miss those Nirvana moments. Sometimes during a guitar solo, I'd tip my head back, close my eyes, and literally hop into another universe. And I'm talking sober as a church mouse, just pure music magic.

Alonski, Regarding your well written description of your listening session when you described tympani blasting you and your wife off of the couch (I hope it was a soft landing), I had a similar experience when I was new to this hobby. A friend handed me a cd of Bela Fleck and the Flectones. On it there is a playful meandering track called "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo". Like you and your wife, I was half zoned out sitting on the couch reading a magazine. About three-quarters of the way through the song I heard this blasting that shook an old window, rattled the floors, and made me hop up quick and look to see if someone was trying to break down my door. Well, it was Victor Wooten's bass melody making its way through my sub-woofer and into the floors and beams of my house! I could not believe it. He was playing at least a full octave lower and it sounded as if he was right smack in front of me. It had the same transporting effect that the tympani and the orchestra had on you.

Moments like that are fun and magical and sure make this hobby worth all of the trouble we go through to finally "get there".