A Prelude to Active Listening

Everyone who listens to any kind of music at all has some reaction to it, which can range from intense enjoyment to absolute rejection or even boredom, but to explain our response can be difficult. On the other hand, explanation can be unnecessary, as long as we limit our statements to expressions of personal preference. Aside from music, there is no need to explain why we like roast beef rare, or why blue is our favorite color, or why tennis is our preferred sport. Similarly, we need no defense at all when our reaction to a piece of music is "I really get into that," or "I can't stand that," or "That doesn't do a thing for me." But, there are other kinds of verbalization, just as common, that are not as defensible. Some of them seem only silly or trite or thought¬less, but they reveal a kind of thinking that can have dangerous implications. Such a statement might be "I hate Mozart and all that long-hair junk!" Because we are going to be discussing Mozart along with numerous other composers and various types of music, it might be profitable to examine that statement and some of its inferences. The kind of thinking behind the remark is a result of the way we organize our world. One thing this involves is what we call categorization or classification, which can serve many good purposes. In order to keep things and ideas arranged in some sort of order, we put them into classes or categories, within each of which there is presumably a common denominator. Thus a chair may take many forms, but the thing that all chairs have in common is that they provide a place to sit, other than the floor. A table is something to put things on. A table has this in common with all other tables, or it couldn't be called a table to begin with. And this is all very helpful. If we were not aware of the difference between tables and chairs, we might easily do some rather hilarious things at a dinner party.