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Diversify Your Listening: Explore a wide range of genres, artists, and musical styles. This can help break the pattern of focusing solely on sonic qualities and allow you to appreciate the diversity of musical expression.
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Live Performances: Attend live performances or listen to live recordings. The immediacy and authenticity of a live experience can often bring back the emotional connection to the music.
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Purposeful Listening: Set aside dedicated time for critical listening where your primary focus is on the musical content rather than the audio quality. Choose recordings that are known for their artistic merit rather than just their sonic qualities.
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Balanced Approach: Strike a balance between enjoying high-quality audio reproduction and appreciating the intrinsic value of the music. It's possible to have both a great sound system and a deep appreciation for the artistic message of the music.
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Mindfulness: Be mindful of your listening habits. If you catch yourself solely focusing on the audio nuances, consciously redirect your attention to the musical elements and emotional content.
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Getting into the music
I’ve found, to my dismay, that it’s very difficult for me to listen to music for the music itself these days. Since I got into this audiophile game many years ago, little by little my musical appreciation has eroded to the point that I find it very hard to comprehend the music itself if it doesn’t sound good. Too often I’m listening for sonic delights rather than the message the composer is trying to convey. I find myself going from composition to composition looking for audio niceties. When something sounds good I can then begin to get into what the composer is saying.
As a former musician, this would have been unthinkable years ago. Music was everything to me.