How We Listen to Music

In the story "How We Listen," by Aaron Copeland, both a subjective attitude and an objective attitude occur in each separate plane that is being described. The subjective attitude is where everything is taking place in the listeners mind, where as they are unaffected by the world around them. The music becomes essential to them. The objective attitude is where the listener has something to do with the material object as distinguished from the mental …

…to the musical notes itself, they do not just takes in what they hear. They will distinguish the harmony and tone, as Copeland explains. The musical plane is simply where the listener is aware of what the artist is implying. Most listeners, when listening to music, do not realize that all three categories are being listened to at the same time. Each category helps them to distinguish an attitude and emotion toward what they hear.