Do you look forward to getting home at the end of each day and unwinding by listening to some of your favorite music? Maybe you are a professional musician and make a regular habit out of listening to and transcribing some of your favorite solos? Perhaps you are just someone who loves listening to music and wants to make sure that you have the best possible setup to listen to your favorite records? This article will seek to help inform you of a few basic ways to improve your music listening experience. Do yourself a favor and improve your music listening setup as soon as possible.
Table of Contents
Theory
One of the most rewarding things you can do to impact both your life and your music listening experience is to actually study music theory or learn how to play an instrument. This will allow you to have some insight into the finer details of how writing and performing music works and give you a higher level of appreciation for the amount of time and skill that it takes to make a great song. You do not have to spend a huge amount of time in order to master music theory, and you can get quite far by only dedicating an hour or less each day.
History
A great way to get a more thorough understanding of the context surrounding your favorite songs, albums, or artists is to research the history of these iconic figures. You will have a much higher level of respect for many artists when you see the history they have had paying their dues and practicing in order to get where they are. A great example of this is researching the history of Charlie Parker, also known as ‘Bird,’ who was a famous jazz saxophonist.
After initially hearing this musician play some of the fastest phrases ever recorded on the instrument, many people would assume that he was some kind of savant. But after researching the history, you would discover that he actually was known to spend in excess of ten hours a day practicing in order to build his proficiency up to the level he achieved.
Professional Help
Many people in Australia have recently begun to become more interested in improving their home music listening setup since there has been a drastic reduction in live performance events recently. Unfortunately, many of these people are also not audio professionals and do not have the required knowledge and skillset to properly set up a professional-quality sound system. Audiophiles at Living Entertainment North Coast recommend using things like video tutorials to help you make sure that you are correctly assembling and using your sound system. By using detailed instruction videos and reviews, then you will be able to ensure that you are getting the best sound quality out of the gear you have.
Hardware
Another extremely important part of making your music listening experience the best it can be is to ensure that you have the appropriate hardware in order to give you the best quality sound and listening experience possible. Things like a stereo, good surround sound speakers, studio monitors, and audio interfaces can all have a positive effect on the overall quality of sound you get as a listener. Since these types of devices can have a huge range in prices, it is important to properly budget to make sure that you do not over or underspend for your budget and needs.
Source Files/ Analog
If you want to have a noticeably better music listening experience, then an important step to take is to have a second look at the way you actually listen to music. Many people now listen to more digital audio files than analog mediums, which has resulted in a drastic degradation in overall sound quality standards.
Things like Mp3 files are incredibly compressed, meaning that they do not give you the full spectrum of audio that was originally recorded in the studio. Even if you spend a billion dollars recording your album with the best equipment, you will not be able to notice the difference if you are listening to it through Mp3 format. Digital audio file types such as WAV and FLAC files offer a much less compressed audio file, and consequently, a better listening experience.
Hopefully, after checking out a few of the aforementioned tips and tricks, you have come away with a better sense of a few easy ways that you can improve your music listening experience. Listening to music is a huge part of many people’s lives, so taking steps to make it a more enjoyable experience can have a huge positive effect.