Listening to unfamiliar music: an inquiry module  (Page 5/6)

After you have done some research, you will want to listen to your chosen music again, to see whether the new orientation helps you hear and understand what is happening in the music. If so, you may develop new questions, leading to a new cycle of research and listening. If you do not feel that your research is helping you listen more knowledgeably, you may want to try taking a different direction; look over the research suggestions again, or get different suggestions from someone familiar with the genre. Or you may prefer to put away your journal for a time and simply listen to the piece so many times that it becomes very familiar and predictable. Then get your journal out again, and describe what you hear now, and how you keep track of the way the music develops, and see if this leads to some interesting insights or questions to research. In either case, at some point, you will be ready to pick a new piece to study.

Continuing your study with new pieces

• You will progress more quickly if you choose a related piece, for example something in the same style, same genre, same composer or performer. If you have become interested in a particular aspect of the music, you may even want to choose something, for example, in the same raga, same meter, or same form.
• If you feel you have made a lot of progress, you might want to choose a more challenging piece. If you're not sure whether you are making progress, try choosing something related but a little less challenging. If you find yourself becoming frustrated, remember that the learning curve is steepest at the beginning.
• Always keep your goal in mind when choosing music. What is it you would like to get out of this music, and why? Search for pieces that sound like they are, or that your research suggests are, good examples of what you want to hear and understand.
• Continue making notes about your observations, questions, and interests in your journal. As well as following a similar procedure to the first piece, compare each new piece directly with the pieces you have already studied. In what ways does it sound the same or different?

Sharing and reflecting on your inquiry

If you are pursuing this inquiry on your own, you will find it very useful to bring in others for the "share" step. Taking care not to be a nuisance, seek out teachers, friends, and relatives who like this music and would enjoy listening to and/or discussing it with you. Share with them one or two of the things that have caught your ear as you listened to the music, and listen carefully to what they say in response. Attend live concerts of the music, looking for a chance to hear what others say about the performance and compare it to what you are hearing. If the chance presents itself, ask the performers or other audience members one or two well-thought-out questions that might help you gain insights that are eluding you in your solitary listening.

When you feel you have gotten what you can from this inquiry, here are a few useful suggestion for reflection: