I have considered posting a thread on this same topic.
I have noticed that what I think about changes according to the type of music I listen to. When I listen to jazz or blues vocalists, for example, I usually imagine the singer in front of me. If the recording has enough ambient cues, I also imagine being in the venue. On the other hand, when I listen to classical, I do NOT usually imagine the performers or the venue. I let my mind wander to the "other worlds" that the music evokes.
The better the music, the less I have verbal thoughts and the more I have purely imagistic thoughts and feelings. Personally, I think the absence of verbal thoughts, and the presence of imagistic thoughts and feelings, is part of why listening to music is so restorative and habit forming.
Bryon
I have noticed that what I think about changes according to the type of music I listen to. When I listen to jazz or blues vocalists, for example, I usually imagine the singer in front of me. If the recording has enough ambient cues, I also imagine being in the venue. On the other hand, when I listen to classical, I do NOT usually imagine the performers or the venue. I let my mind wander to the "other worlds" that the music evokes.
The better the music, the less I have verbal thoughts and the more I have purely imagistic thoughts and feelings. Personally, I think the absence of verbal thoughts, and the presence of imagistic thoughts and feelings, is part of why listening to music is so restorative and habit forming.
Bryon