Sensory blending: key ingredients of active listening to piano music

This essay explores a method of actively listening to piano music. There is always potential for someone to lose interest while listening to any kind of music, but piano music, live or recorded, holds extra potential for this due to a variety of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, the instrument being of a singular timbre, which means it can sound monotonous, and the typical length of the repertoire. Additionally, there are innumerable factors that might affect an individual’s interest and enjoyment while listening. In this document, I present a listening activity – Attend, Notice, Blend (ANB) – I created with the purpose of developing a tool for those who would like to improve focus, comprehension, emotional connection, and enjoyment while listening to piano music. The listening activity is designed to be flexible and applicable in both performance and pedagogical settings. The activity does not have prescribed steps but rather comprises three primary components: Attend, Notice and Blend. ANB is intended to facilitate the processing and interpretation of music and involves honing awareness to the present moment, apprehending musical sounds, and the blending of senses – literally or conceptually. The Blend component is the cornerstone of this project. It is normalized to blend with the senses as one learns and plays music; musicians commonly use vocabulary that relates to senses other than hearing to interpret and describe musical sounds – i.e., sweet, dry, warm. ANB facilitates creativity and imagination on the part of the listeners as well as performer.

In this document, I review research findings from a study I conducted at the University of Iowa in March 2023. The study involved participants testing ANB at a live performance and featured both literal blending, using sensory stimuli such as fabrics, candies, and fragrances, and imagined blending where participants thought of tastes, smells, textures, and colors. The findings point to significant overall improvement with the application of ANB.