Do you listen to your music with your eyes open or closed or a combination of both?

If I'm driving my car,then open....lol...but at home it depends ,working around the house open...Just relaxing in my easy chair ,then closed...

@mylogic  "Big mouths...".  "Tongue-in-cheek..." HAHAHA!!! 

@tomcarr 

Do you listen with mouth open response.

Interesting supposition…… “asking the ageing mouth breathers”

It would logically be OK to listen with mouth open as long as you have taken this into account. It would of course have to have passed the test as part of your room treatments portfolio.
Big mouths can dramatically increase the size of your available listening space. Tongue-in-cheek could possibly tweak the results however.

Sorry l couldn’t resist this…… It is purely for humour and light sarcasm for what can for some be a very serious subject. @tomcarr (like myself) l would think does not fall into the seriously minded category.
 

Did l just say that this is “a very serious subject?”

Open or closed eyes debate

For me there is only one logical answer to this question.

If you can’t decide, one eye open and one eye closed. Close both and you will be more likely to fall asleep. Do whatever comes natural without thinking is your chosen preference.

Do you close your eyes when you kiss? That may be your “natural” choice already made for you, and maybe open up to nature and listen in the nude. Keep an open mind is best in all ways to remove all barriers with music.

As you may note, l’m not taking this post seriously and just trying to inject some humour.

Oh an afterthought…., does anyone here want to admit they do occasionally listen to music in the nuddy? If you are thinking of this and maybe a little shy, you can always try starting with your speaker covers on first.

LOL.

eyes open, but only after donning raincoat

Depends on how much weed I’ve smoked. 

mostly with them open. ill close them if im really trying to hear a song, ill take my glasses off as well.

Interesting. 

Both, each one a different experience. 

Eyes open, "they" are here, performing in my space (not MySpace ;-) 

Eyes closed, I am there, at their venue, in their space.

With eyes closed, it is sometimes shocking, almost disorienting, to open eyes and feel the disconnect between the sonic soundscape / environment - where I was - vs the visual environment - where I am now.

Both are fun. 

I guess it depends on what I'm doing if I'm working then eyes open...lol.If I'm relaxing in my recliner then closed.

@malatu LOL!

For enjoyment I listen with both eyes open.

If I am being analytical to compare two components, I might close my eyes to concentrate.

+1 @mashif 

+1 @billpete 

How 'bout asking the aging mouth-breathers here "Do you listen to your music with your mouth open?"

 Usually wide open, unless I'm driving.

Closed, nearly always and lights off or way down. I do leave my glasses on but I am not distracted by them. Always at night for a serious listen.

Someone said they keep them open as if at a concert. You are not at a concert, you are trying to recreate one. Watching your speakers or the lights on your components is not at all like watching a live performance where the whole visual aspect is a good part of the show. Hard to imagine yourself at a show with your eyes open..........at least it is for me. Not like you can literally "trick yourself" but you can sort of imagine a bit better with eyes closed. at least I can. I don't tolerate talking either. Shut up or leave. :) 

Open. Staring at the hanging bulb over the turntable. Because LEDs sound bad, it’s a 60w incandescent, and I know that one day, it’s going to burn through the plastic and fall on the cartridge.

Maybe I am the odd man out.  I find it best with my eyes open.  I feel as though I am watching the musicians on the sound stage.  Location and depth of instrument placement, the main/front singer and the backup singers' locations.  It just all seems to come together better when I am watching the music unfold directly in front of me.  And of course, I sometimes drift off a bit, my eyes close, and I definitely enjoy that too.  Watching the music, along with listening to it, is part of the total experience.

Who needs glasses when the mind has perfect vision....;)

@asvjerry , . . . he’s outside looking in . . .

Closed.

Improves all aspects of sound quality.

I listen with eyes open. At live shows, I have eyes open because part of the experience is watching the musicians interact with the audience and each other. I wear glasses and have tried with/without. There is a perceived positive difference without but not enough to require going full-time without. YMMV

Well, both, but if I keep my eyes closed for too long I fall asleep !

LOL!

I love the eyes open cuz you hang out with interesting people.i did my surgical training in inner city new york.it was a mash setting.great place to train and yes had to keep eyes open all the time.enjoy the music

Usually opened, in a slightly darkened room. 

For me, nothing really changes as far as imaging and soundstage, whether my eyes are opened or not. 

Also, my ability to become fully engaged in the music does not change.

Mostly closed with dim lights. I like to be in the acoustic space the music offers and looking at my room distracts from that. But every few minutes I'll open them to make sure the boogie man didn't sneak in. 

An enhanced experience with glasses off, eyes closed and dark room. But then I wake up to the sound of the needle skipping against the center label. 

Late night into early morning is best.

I hang out with a questionable bunch of characters. 

Eyes always open.

When listening to my good system it sounds best at night, dimly lit room (candle or recessed light at most). Also project a " party" light projector behind stereo rack on front wall.

Not crazy disco light, but enough to give "life" to the front wall. Takes the eyes focus off speakers and helps my ears focus on the music. For me, soundstage and instrument placement improves.

+1 on immathewj's response about lights off, eyes closed, although I take off my glasses only sometimes.  When I cannot see the physical objects in the room, it tricks my combined senses into "seeing" a wider and deeper soundstage, as I am depending solely on my hearing unaugmented by sight.  I've been doing this since I was in college.  It also brings back memories of the mostly classical concerts I have attended.  I have a performance of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony (the Pastorale) that can almost convince me that I am back in the Berlin Philharmonic's concert hall of the late 1970's hearing Karl Böhm conduct.  It enhances my listening experience.  YMMV.

Eyes closed, hand partially down front of pants.... Bundy Style!

Eyes closed lights dimmed. 
 

you must close your eyes to see the music. 

As I age, if I close my eyes while listening to, sleep beckons.

both depending on the buzz

I listen in a dimly lit room.  Sometimes I close my eyes.  If I’m listening at night and I close my eyes I wake up later and the music has stopped.  

Eyes open when I'm just playing music. Eyes closed and glasses off when I’m listening critically. As per others, I think I can listen better without the visual distraction. My room has lots of windows, so lights on or off doesn’t really matter.

One eye open, the other closed. 

@immatthewj ....*s* Who needs glasses when the mind has perfect vision....;)

Only when I fall asleep.enjoy the music eyes wide open or closed.stevie wounder due to his loss of sight developed astute hearing due to his disability. Just a thought

I do. In fact, the more I’m drawn onto the music, the greater the likelihood I’ll end up closing my eyes.

...And I've never striven to reproduce the sound of a concert at home. Sitting at home, listening to music is just fine with me. I don't demand that it be anything other than that. 

Always open, like at a concert. Isn't it what most audiophiles strive for, reproducing the sound of a live concert in their homes. Who closes their eyes at a concert? I don't.

both

@sfgak 

Hopefully not!  Makes me wonder -- did Picasso actually paint that from life? It's hard to imagine anyone could sustain such a posture for very long.

I just bought one of these :

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/OH29--oasis-oh-29-guitar-support-small?mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=&mrkgbflag=&mrkgcat=&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=92700080454169299&lid=92700080454169299&ds_s_kwgid=58700008743176685&ds_s_inventory_feed_id=97700000007215323&dsproductgroupid=2311735101264&pro

It's angled so that you can angle the guitar back somewhat while still maintaining decent posture. My wife's gonna make a strap that will wrap around my leg and secure with velcro so it doesn't slip. Unlike the guy in the painting, I play steel string, not Classical/Flamenco. 

@winoguy17  +1

Lights off, eyes closed. I find that my sense of hearing is enhanced when my sense of sight is removed from the equation. The background is blacker, the "tweak" is free and the speakers actually disappear.

Looking at the fingerboard is definitely not good for my neck so I'm currently experimenting with postural changes to see if I can lessen the negative impacts. 

@stuartk Just don't end up like this:

@sfgak 

I am an amateur musician, and when I play guitar, it is often with my eyes closed. I find that I can “visualize“ the fretboard better with my fingers than with my eyes.

I wish I'd gotten into that playing habit, but after 50 years, that's a big ask. Looking at the fingerboard is definitely not good for my neck so I'm currently experimenting with postural changes to see if I can lessen the negative impacts. 

I find when listening to live music, I often close my eyes. Not so much, when listening at home.  I can only conclude there are typically more distractions in a live venue.  

Both - it often depends on the music.... 

Well, both, but if I keep my eyes closed for too long I fall asleep !

I listen exclusively at night, blacked out room, I do combo, mostly closed however. I want no distractions during my listening sessions, no visual stimulation for me.

Both, but I prefer to keep them open while the room is as dark as I can get it. I also always remove my glasses @immatthewj I think I read about this little tweak in Listener years ago and it definitely makes a difference, at least for me. It certainly stands to reason - you are basically removing a highly reflective surface from a spot inches in front of your ears.