listening acuity

October 21, 2025

Critical Listening

(Fernand Khnopff, Listening to Schumann [1883]) Producers who compose-record their own music spend a lot of time in critical listening mode. This is different from casual, everyday music listening, when the music washes over you and takes you into its space. Critical listening attempts to understand what’s really in play and at stake in a Continue reading

listening acuity
March 30, 2020

Ear Reset

A few weeks into the quarantine, with barely a car on the road or people on the sidewalks, I’m hearing my neighborhood’s soundscape more acutely. Where I used to spend a lot of time blocking out the city’s sounds (with earplugs, music, or avoidance), now its decibels have fallen back down to nature’s mix level. Continue reading

listening, listening acuity, Uncategorized

Thomas Brett is a musician and writer who holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from New York University. He is the author of Principles of Electronic Music Production and The Creative Electronic Music Producer, a book described by Sound On Sound magazine as “a deep philosophical analysis of the various creative inspirations, ideas and processes involved in producing electronic music.” His essays have appeared in the journals Popular Music and Popular Music and Society, as well as edited collections by Routledge, Oxford, and Cambridge University presses. Thomas has played percussion on Broadway since 1997 and writes about music at brettworks.com.

listening acuity

Critical Listening

Ear Reset