The Difference Between Hearing and Listening to Music

The Difference Between “Hearing” and “Listening to” Music

Music evokes reactions from the people listening to the sounds. Moreover, from the sense of hearing, people listen to music. Reactions towards music depend on whether an audience is listening or hearing the sounds. Hearers to not pay attention to the details and factors considered in the structuring of a song, such as a chord progression, while listeners pay attention to the details and structure of a piece that creates the contents of that song (Martin & Jacobus, 2019). The factors that influence music are tone, consonance, dissonance, rhythm, tempo, melody, counterpoint, harmony, dynamics, and contrast, which is evident in Beethoven’s “Eroica.”

The first factor is the tone. Tone, in music, describes the sound with a definite frequency that also produces overtones. However, the main tone of a song is louder than the overtones. The tones in Beethoven’s “Eroica” vary, with the change in tones and overtone. Tone continuously changes in the musical piece.

The second factor is consonance. Consonance occurs when a consonant is formed. Furthermore, a consonant is developed when two or more tones play concurrently. The combination of different chords and notes produces this consonance. In Beethoven’s “Eroica,” consonance is recognized with the simultaneous changes in tones and chords. This consonance in the musical piece engages its audience and draws emotional reactions from them.

The third factor is the dissonance. Dissonance occurs when the tones played simultaneously do not form a consonance; instead, they are unpleasant due to the beating phenomenon. Dissonance is present in Beethoven’s “Eroica” with the C-sharp in measure 7 of the first movement. The dissonant evokes reactions from the listeners of the musical piece.

The other factor is rhythm. Rhythm is the relationship between the sounds found in a musical piece. The rhythm of Beethoven’s “Eroica” can be felt throughout the performance.

The other factor is tempo. Tempo refers to the speed by which a musical piece is played. Also, tempo arouses tension. In Beethoven’s “Eroica,” the tempo changes throughout the play, but it is mostly allegro. Melody, counterpoint, harmony, dynamics, and contrast are also evident in Beethoven’s “Eroica.”