Music has always been an important part of my life. From when I was a kid, sneaking my parents’ CDs up to my room so I could listen to them on my small boombox, to now, in which my music consumption consists of multiple avenues such as streaming and media, I have always had a deep appreciation for audial art. However, it wasn’t until I began writing and creating music in my later years that my understanding of it would be completely altered. How strange it is that my early love for music led me to make music myself, only for that process to redefine my love for the art.

Despite the fact that I have always been an active listener, my obsession with making music led me to examine everything I listened to on a different level. Namely, anytime I listen to a song, I always try and pick out each and every element amidst its construction. This would include different pieces of instrumentation, additional sounds or effects, and even mixing techniques. Naturally, I then ask myself how each element would have been discovered and added to the track. I even sometimes think of how I would recreate elements within the song on my own. I would like to say that this has helped in me in my journey of making music, as I have strengthened my understanding of several production and writing techniques. However, I would say that it may come as a detriment to my ability to listen to and enjoy music. I do this almost on a subconscious level at this point, making it almost impossible for me to enjoy a song in its totality, unless I have listened to it enough times in which I am able to comprehend all of its elements.

Despite this, I believe my heightened sense of layering and compositional elements has allowed me to actually appreciate music more. Firstly, the technical skill that I know is required to write and perform more complex elements within a song is a standout feature that I often think about when listening to it. This is also relative to my contemplation on how I would see the writer or performer develop their ideas, and also how I would do the same within my own creative processes. At the same time, however, I believe that simplicity is another factor that has become a respectable element within my processing of music. Simplicity is often something that is preached by more experienced individuals within the song-writing community and, while I could understand its importance in popular music, never realized that there is tremendous skill in writing a song that is simplistic and catchy. Now when I hear a song that reflects this, I tend to question myself as to why myself, or someone else, did not think of the idea sooner. This is generally because of the skill it takes to do so, as I previously mentioned. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I get jealous that I am not able to create simplistic ideas that are of the same level!

I would be curious to know the logistics behind these ideas if there are any. I would like to believe that I am not the only one who has had similar experiences in both listening to and making music. If there are others who share these views, I would also like to know if they felt that their changed views were beneficial or disadvantageous to their relationship with music in any way. If it’s the latter, I would want to know if anyone had any advice or coping methods to help mend said relationship. I feel I am still relatively early in this experience, and I am excited to see how my engagement with music differs in the future.