Does Active Listening Really Precede Hearing in Music?

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 Today, we are doing a little music philosophy debate up in here! I'm tackling a juicy question from the contemporary inquiry : in music, which comes first - listening or hearing? 

This issue has long divided some of history's greatest musical minds. It forces us to get existential about our relationship with music. 

See, listening seems active while hearing feels passive. The German composer Ferruccio Busoni said music needs to "send light into the depths of the soul" through engaged listening. So maybe listening comes first in creating those life-changing musical moments? 

But trailblazing composer Pauline Oliveros saw listening as "directing attention to what is heard." Isn't that just a fancy way of saying hearing? According to her, we hear first then gather meaning through listening.

And then there's my dude; The avant-garde icon John Cage who challenged traditional listening by using chance operations and noise, arguing, "If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.” His work provokes us to expand our listening habits.

As you can tell, I don't have one simple answer here. But isn't that the beauty of art, my friends? It's meant to be debated, pondered, and experienced. So chime in with your thoughts below - I know we'll get insight from many perspectives. The only wrong answer is to stop questioning and listening closely! Both are life-long pursuits.

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