LET THE BAND PLAY!

Listening to music is another form of meditation that serves as training in letting things go, paying attention to things as they are without trying to control them.

Often, when I listen to music, I'm too controlling.  I don't just open my ears to what is being played.  I try to make the music fit my IDEAS about the music.

One sign of when I'm trying to control the music is when I'm dying to know who the musician is.  I refuse to listen until I know who's playing.  Similarly, if I see a painting in an art museum, I often look at the label next the picture to identify the artist BEFORE I let myself study the painting.

Why do I feel compelled to identify the musician or artist before I listen or before I look?  I think it's because I want to bring to mind my opinions about that musician and then listen for those parts of the music that justify my prejudices. If I think, "Miles Davis has that laid back, muted sound on his trumpet", then I focus my listening on those trumpet sounds that reinforce my opinion. I miss SO MUCH of what is going on in the sound.  I'm too focused on proving to myself that my opinions about the music are right.

JUST LET THE BAND PLAY!  Listen to the whole sound, as it is.  Don't force the sound to squeeze through the filter of my IDEAS about the sound.  Very little of the music can pass through that filter.

When I meditate properly on music, I don't try to control it.  I listen closely without checking to see who's playing the song.  I don't analyze the music.  I just hear it all.  And when I can do this, I strengthen my ability to choose:  "At this moment, I don't need to control anything.  At this moment, I just want to see and hear whatever is happening in front of me."