Hi everyone,
I am curious about whether audiophile listening is a great way to improve brain function.
I assume that most audiophiles listen to music attentively rather than consuming it passively. They probably track for very subtle changes in instrumental detail, the relationship between different frequencies within a song, the spatial placing of instruments, the pitch, timber and emotion of vocals etc (apologies for any incorrect terminology here, i am not a musician). They seem to acquire very detailed memory representations of sound signatures of specific songs in various hardware configurations. They also look for differences in the sound signature of different recordings of the same piece (let alone remembering where at home the corresponding record can be foundā¦)
It seems to me that the demand on cognitive processes such as memory and attention are quite substantial. There are not many hobbies I can think of that come with so much cognitive challenge and are as addictive and fun at the same time (may be bird watching ). In addition, being able to detect subtle sound differences (emotionally positive prediction errors) can be highly rewarding and probably leads to a surge in dopamine.
Recently, it dawned on me that audiophile listening may actually be good brain training for attention and memory. But, I also realized that it may actually be quite āstressfulā and distracting for some of us.
While I am professionally (medically) interested in this, I thought that this topic may be relevant for many of us, so I am posting this here for free floating feedback. Below are a few questions related to this topic that I find interesting, but please tap on any aspect that you find interesting for yourself.
Do you make a difference between audiophile and āpassiveā listening? If so what is different?
How do you āfeelā (worried? rewarded? neutral?) when you detect a change in sound signature between recordings/hardware setups?
How long have you been listening to music in an audiophile fashion? Do you believe that over time you have become more accurate in detecting subtle differences in sound signatures?
Did this have any notable effect on your wellbeing? May be even a negative effect because you feel stressed about sound signatures and/or are distracted from other things that you actually find relevant?
Did your cognition (memory or attention) change? For instance, do you feel that you have improved focus? Did your concentration, spatial orientation, memory for persons/names/events change? Do you feel that your memories for recent events have changed in detail/emotion, sense of reliving?
Hope these questions are not too personal.
If you are an expert in music / auditory perception, please do chime in as well.
May be you find this question to be totally irrelevant or may be you believe that it does not belong here. That would be good feedback as well!
What I find interesting is that I can listen to a piece of music over and over again and each time I find new rhythms, instrument textures, pauses and meaning. If I watch a movie I watch it once and if I see it again, even in the next ten years, itās too often. Very strange.
I feel very similar. Visual repetition can become āboringā very quickly. There is a ātemporal compressionā with repetition of movies. With music, the opposite for me.
Some might. Others just enjoy the music without paying attention to any of its construction consciously, though maybe sometimes following different musical themes within a composition, and certainly getting caught up in the emotion, not just of voice but of the music.
As for whether its good for the brain physiologically I have no idea, but it is certainly good for mental health and wellbeing.
As I donāt consider myself to be an audiophile, I probably donāt do audiophile listening.
However, what I do is listen to music casually or mindfully. Casual listening with the music on and certain songs pulling me in. Mindful listening is when I am focusing fully on the music, I am not listening to the hi-fi aspects but engrossed in the music I like. Finally, there is critical listening, my least favourite kind but important when you are auditioning some new kit or setting it up, working out ideal speaker positioning. It is similar to mindful listening but with a focus on how the music is being reproduced rather than on the enjoyment of the music. If the system is musical then critical listening can morph into what I call mindful listening and I forget to listen to the system, which can be good because the system is doing what it meant to be doing, allowing me to get the most enjoyment from my music.
Whilst Iāve never quite grasped the idea that a system can be musical, as opposed to the music being musical when played by musicians with feeling, I certainly have that problem when auditioning something new, and as a consequence I find auditioning yo be tedious and difficult, constantly forgetting Iām supposed to bd remembering and comparing!
1 This is gear dependent. When I listen to my HiFi system, I listen more carefully, than when letās say I am in my car with the radio on.
2 With my speakers, I am where I want to be, so no worries anymore. Headphones are a different matter. No headphone is the same, or near to perfect. They all have quirks and defects. How they are tuned makes some recordings sound good or lacking, even on the same album. The difference between headphones is easy to hear. It does not worry me. My Sennheiser HD800S are the least worse, so I just listen to music and enjoy. I pick the Beyerdynamic T1 if I have a bass heavy record.
3 I have had HiFi since 1972. My system has improved immensely since the crappy system I bought with the money from my Saturday job. My sensitivity has remained the same.
4 No Music is for my down time relaxing. I get the urge every now and then to buy something better. Certain things I find lacking in a piece of kit cause mild annoyance.
5 The pace of life and the flood of information we all are subject to on the Internet, makes listening to music attentively, more difficult.
In broad terms I have always found listening to whatever system Iāve had over the years (more than 50 years) both relaxing and stressful. Relaxing because I love music of many types and I like how it makes me feel. Stressful because I canāt switch off the audiophile in me. I wish I could - but itās impossible. Part of me is always listening for how things could be improved, no matter how good they are.
I donāt even actively think about this, The thoughts just wash over me in a passive way. So Iām listening and it occurs to me - āthe bass could be a trifle tighter thereā or āthe treble is a little bit sharp hereā. Things like that. But these things are exceptionally minor and Iām being hyper-critical. I would be crazy to even think about spending money to address them. Especially since I donāt think itās my sytem at fault at all - itās just on specific recordings.
Now in retirement Iāve reached the end of what I honestly consider it sensible to spend on hi-fi. I have what is to me a fabulously enjoyable system and Iām trying more and more to switch off the audiophile in me and just enjoy.
Overall I would have to say that itās had a positive effect on my wellbeing. If it had not then I surely would have abandoned the hobby many years ago.
Itās more a music thing than being an audiophile thing -perhaps
I canāt read music but certainly when young I could pick up an instrument. And, after some dexterity could listen to a tune and then have a good go at replicating it.
Even whistling in the shower.
Having good pitch differentiation is definitely a brain to body coordination thing.
Saying that i have always had ear worms and you donāt need to play an instrument for that only a good memory.
Memory is arguably the key factor here. We all like to think we can remember the smallest detail of any random thing encounteredā¦ā¦.
Iām beginning to suspect after all these years that we all essentially hear in black and white. With subtle differences in greys.
Using other cognitive and sensory input we manage to add colour. This further helps to differentiate form and space.
Audiophile listening is most definitely a creative process and activity that should reward more the more interest and time invested.
fifty shades of greyā¦
very interesting perspective.
The notion of a ācreativeā process is very interesting. Particularly with well-known pieces, we may āconstruct or createā some of the quality of our sensory experience by making predictions
Maybe I would better be expressing it, as the system is better able to transmit or articulate feelings being expressed by the musicians. Which I think has always been a strength of Naimās kit.
Interestingly, I think audiophile listening (as I understand it) is very similar to the listening I have to do when performing music, which I do at least twice a week outside holidays.
The difference, I suppose, is that when performing there has to be a near-instantaneous feedback between what Iām hearing and what Iām actively doing with my body - am I blending well, is the tuning shifting etc. which is obviously missing with audiophile listening. So, I suppose audiophile listening is, therefore, less stressful.
Iāve been doing (or attempting to do!) both types of listening since my early teens, so couldnāt say much else about this comparison, except that they do inform and help each other: listening for inaccuracies in a performance or an instrument is similar to listening for the same in a system. IME, of course.
Both MT (Music Therapy) and PT (Physical Therapy) have the potential to improve overall well-being and health-related quality of life in physically active patients with MS, and MT can provide added emotional support for those who are less able to engage in physical activity.
Great!
There is an interesting phenomenon called āSuperagingā. So-called Superagers are persons who at the age over 80 have the memory capacity of a typical 50 year old. Many of them say that they played an instrument during mid life.
Superager research does not ask about audiophile listening but given your feedback, this may carry some of the benefit of engaging with music
). In addition, being able to detect subtle sound differences (emotionally positive prediction errors) can be highly rewarding and probably leads to a surge in dopamine.