Music From Matt-Broadening Your Ears

There are many types of music, most with some sort of form for the listener to follow. Also, music provides a comfort zone by creating sounds the listener is used to and comfortable with hearing. What happens when this form and comfort are taken away? You've been thrown into a swirling torrent of unfamiliar sounds and noises without any road map to follow. Would you be scared and stop listening, would you declare that what you're listening to "sucks" and turn it off, or would you continue listening and maybe learn something from the music. Experimental Music does this to a listener and it can be a hard thing to get used to. People have certain elements in the music they listen to to which they base everything else they listen to off of. This automatically judges if something is good or not within the first few seconds of a song. People become so used to a particular sound or style that anything outside of that style is considered wrong or unmusical. A good way to broaden your horizons and break away from these judgemental behaviors is to listen to something that challenges you as a listener. Some Experimental music that could aid in this process is The Nels Cline Singers, The Flaming Lips, or Sun Ra. However, one doesn't have to only listen to Experimental music to improve their ears. Like Rock? Listen to Jazz or vice versa. Like Classical? Listen to Punk or vice versa. Of course, it's always a good idea to listen to music from other cultures; Indian music, Chinese or Japanese music, Spanish Flamenco music, African music or anything else from around the world. The more you listen to what you're uncomfortable with, the more comfort you will gain with the genre you're listening to and then your musical horizons will broaden. Through this process you will learn about yourself, make more connections with other people and of course, have fun! =) If you have any questions, comments, or want suggestions for listening please comment below and I'll answer. -Keep on Groovin'