Danny Tan wrote:

>Is it true that musicians will be able to enjoy the music even through
>listening to a symphony in a transitor radio (with no separation of
>different instruments whatsoever), and because he can "see through" the
>music, his enjoyment is the same whether it is from this transitor radio,
>or the high end stuff that Roger Hecht has?

Don't think for a minute that it is the "same" pleasure ... But it is true
that I can look at a score and "hear" it inside my head. I also "hear"
music that comes into my head unbidden. In fact, most of the time there is
some composition churning away.

I know my enjoyment of a symphony on a radio with a bad reception would
be less than it could be with a fine reproduction on good sound equipment,
or in a live performance.  If I knew the piece well, I'd have more mental
work to do to fill in the missing parts, but I also know from experience
that I'd rather hear a well loved symphonic work with bad radio reception
than no music at all.  Many times in the good old days before in-car
tapedecks and cd players, my husband and I would be listening to a favorite
composition (like, perhaps, Klemperer conducting the Mozart Symphonia
Concertante) and we'd have to pull over to the side of the road till it
was over, for fear of missing parts of it.  Did it have concert hall
fidelity? Of course not.  But it was the best game in town.

Perhaps this will help to explain:  I have the ability to "taste" flavors
that might eventually go together in cooking just from reading a cookbook
or shopping for vegetables, herbs and spices in a supermarket.  I know
artists who have told me they can "see" shapes and colors before they are
on their clean, white canvas.

Are these two abilities a substitute for eating real food or looking at
real artwork? Naaaaa.  But they certainly help with appreciation of
subtleties.

Sometimes when we listen to music through interference, we hear even more
of it than if we were listening under perfect conditions, because we strain
to hear it and concentrate on it more.  It's that way with conversation in
a crowded room, too.  It isn't better, but it is a different listening
experience.

Mimi Ezust