A quick anecdote about active vs. passive listening: Several years ago, before I switched back to pursuing a full-time music career, I had a gig as a marketing consultant for a small software development firm in Park Slope. It was a great, laid-back environment: all the programmers & developers were encouraged to get comfy and happy at their desks — which included plugging in their headphones and listening to their favorite music as they worked — all day, every day.

The owner of the firm — my client — noticed that I was the only one not listening to music. This surprised him, knowing that I was also the only musician, as he supposed that I would be the most eager one to plug in of the entire office. At length, he brought it up to me directly, expressing his confusion about my apparent lack of interest, and encouraging me to take advantage of the opportunity to get into the groove of my choice.

I had to explain to him that, as a musician, my mind is trained to listen to music in an analytical way. Consequently, I find it difficult to listen to ANYTHING passively — and for music that I especially like, it’s just about impossible. Because it’s impossible to devote full attention to two things at once, if I were to plug in the headphones and listen to music all day, I would never get any work done!