Why Do You Love Music?

This may seem to be a silly question, not unlike why do you like Chinese food, but there are many possible answers.  Music can be enjoyed on so many levels, that Associate Producer for NPR Music Anastasia Tsioulcas decided to give a sort of listeners guide to music.  It applies to any kind of music...not just Classical. When someone asks me a question about music, it is often prefaced with, "I really don't know much about music, but..."  You know more about music than you think.  Most importantly, you know what YOU like, which is where we all began. Most of us enjoy having music going during various daily activities - cooking, working around the house, reading, or while at our desks.  Passive listening is probably the most common kind of listening.  It adds to the ambience in a restaurant or office and helps the mile click away faster on a drive. Then we go to a concert, where we can focus more completely on what we're hearing.  Not just the sound, but the texture of that sound and the visual aspect of the performance. Anastasia Tsioulcas has four key aspects to appreciating music on many different levels.  The nice thing is, they don't have to be done all at once...you can pick one or two, something you most likely are doing anyway, just not consciously.  Not only will her tips add to your enjoyment of things you already like, it might also help enhance the experience of hearing  an unfamiliar piece of music, enabling you to figure out what the composer was trying to communicate. I'd be interested in knowing your thoughts on what you like listening to, and why.  Feel free to write me at boyce@wosu.org, or just drop a comment below. Read 4 Ways to Hear More in Music (NPR) Watch A flash mob assemble by NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas to celebrate Philip Glass' 75th birthday with a World Premiere in Times Square below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7dYBWyL71Y