[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC STOPS] [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] [ALARM BEEPING] [CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING] ANNOUNCER: FUNDING FOR THIS SERIES HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY: GEORGE: HI, I'M GEORGE MARRINER MAULL, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE DISCOVERY ORCHESTRA, AND WE'RE HERE TO CHAT ABOUT LISTENING TO MUSIC.

[PIANO PLAYS] NOW, YOU MIGHT BE SAYING, "I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO LISTEN," AND IT MAY VERY WELL BE THAT YOU DO, BUT WHILE I'VE BEEN TALKING TO YOU, A LITTLE BIT OF MUSIC WAS PLAYED IN THE BACKGROUND.

I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD, RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THOSE SOUNDS?

DID YOU SAY, "WELL, THEY WERE PLAYED ON A PIANO"?

TRUE ENOUGH.

BUT CAN YOU TELL EXACTLY HOW MANY SOUNDS WERE PLAYED?

COULD YOU TELL WHICH SOUND WAS THE HIGHEST OR THE LOWEST?

COULD YOU TELL WHICH WAS THE LONGEST?

HOW ABOUT, WHICH SOUNDS HAVE THE BIGGEST DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM?

WE'LL TAKE THESE QUESTIONS ONE AT A TIME, BUT BEFORE WE DO, LET ME ASK THIS: IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO EACH OF THESE QUESTIONS ALREADY, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS?

MIGHT IT BE BECAUSE YOU WERE LISTENING TO WHAT I WAS SAYING, RATHER THAN LISTENING TO THE SOUNDS BEING PLAYED?

I INTENTIONALLY SPOKE OVER THE SOUNDS JUST TO MAKE A POINT, AND THAT IS TO EMPHASIZE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEARING AND LISTENING.

HEARING IS ONE OF OUR PHYSICAL SENSES.

WE CAN DETECT VIBRATIONS THAT ENTER OUR SOUND SENSORS, OUR EARS, AND THAT FUNCTION IS AUTOMATIC; NO USER INTERVENTION.

OUR HEARING SWITCH IS PERMANENTLY IN THE "ON" POSITION, EVEN WHEN WE'RE SLEEPING.

AND OUR PHYSICAL SENSE OF HEARING SEEMS TO BE DESIGNED THAT WAY FOR OUR SAFETY.

BUT THINK ABOUT THIS.

WHEN HUMAN BEINGS SPENT MOST OF THEIR WAKING AND SLEEPING TIME OUTSIDE IN THE ELEMENTS--AND REMEMBER, EVEN TODAY THERE ARE MORE THAN A FEW HUNTING AND GATHERING SOCIETIES ON THE PLANET--IF, WHILE WE WERE SLEEPING OR JUST STARING OFF IN ANOTHER DIRECTION, THE SOUND VIBRATIONS CAUSED BY LARGE CAT PAWS WERE DETECTED BY OUR EARS, WE WERE OUT OF THERE, CLIMBING UP A TREE OR RUNNING AWAY AS FAST AS WE COULD.

AND EVEN THOUGH MOST OF US NO LONGER LIVE OUTDOORS, OUR HEARING STILL SERVES AS A FRONT LINE OF DEFENSE, PICKING UP THE SOUNDS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLE SIRENS, FOR INSTANCE, OR TRAIN CROSSINGS AND BLARING HORNS.

WE DEPEND ON THE AUTOMATIC FUNCTIONING OF OUR HEARING FOR OUR SAFETY.

SO WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEARING AND LISTENING?

HEARING IS THE MERE DETECTION OF SOUND VIBRATIONS; LISTENING IS BEING FULLY PRESENT WITH THOSE SOUNDS AND PROCESSING THEM.

WHEN WE TRULY LISTEN, OUR MINDS, OUR ENTIRE BEINGS, ARE COMPLETELY FOCUSED ON THE SOUNDS OUR RECEPTORS ARE HEARING.

TIME FOR AN ACTIVITY.

ARE YOU WITH ME?

KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEARING AND LISTENING, I'M GOING TO PLAY THE SAME SOUNDS I SPOKE OVER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SHOW.

I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU TO REALLY LISTEN THIS TIME AS I PLAY, AND ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.

FIRST, HOW MANY SOUNDS ARE THERE?

JUST MENTALLY ASSIGN A NUMBER TO EACH SOUND AS I PLAY.

COUNT THEM OFF IN YOUR HEAD.

[PLAYS PIANO] DID YOU COME UP WITH 5?

WE HOPE SO.

LET ME SING AND COUNT.

♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ IN MUSIC, WE HAVE DIFFERENT RANGES OF SOUNDS: HIGH SOUNDS... MID-RANGE SOUNDS... AND LOW SOUNDS.

SO THE NEXT QUESTION IS: WHICH SOUND OF THE 5 IS THE HIGHEST?

[PLAYS PIANO] AND THE ANSWER?

THE FIRST SOUND.

NOW, YOU MIGHT HAVE PICKED THE THIRD SOUND... BECAUSE IT DOES GO BACK UP AGAIN, BUT IT DOESN'T GET UP QUITE AS HIGH AS THE FIRST SOUND.

[PLAYS PIANO] NEXT, DECIDE WHICH SOUND IS THE LOWEST.

[PLAYS PIANO] HOPEFULLY YOU CONCLUDED THAT 5 IS THE LOWEST SOUND.

4 MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN SOME VOTES, BUT SOUND 5 IS JUST A TINY BIT LOWER THAN 4.

THE NEXT QUESTION CONCERNS WHAT WE CALL "DURATION" IN MUSIC, HOW LONG A SOUND LASTS FROM THE MOMENT IT FIRST OCCURS UNTIL IT STOPS.

SO WHICH OF THE 5 SOUNDS IS THE LONGEST?

I REALLY HOPE THAT NO ONE OF THE SOUNDS SEEMED LONGER OR SHORTER THAN ANY OF THE OTHERS.

I DID MY BEST TO PLAY THEM ALL THE SAME LENGTH.

I ADMIT, THIS WAS A TRICK QUESTION TO SEE IF YOU WERE REALLY LISTENING OR JUST DAYDREAMING ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE.

NOTICE THAT I DID NOT PLAY THE PATTERN LIKE THIS...

BUT LIKE THIS... AND NOW THE LAST QUESTION ABOUT THESE 5 SOUNDS: WHICH TWO SOUNDS HAVE THE LARGEST DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM?

IN MUSIC, WE SPEAK ABOUT THIS DISTANCE USING VARIOUS WORDS: INTERVAL, LEAP, SKIP.

SOME SOUNDS ARE SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER THAT THEY ARE, IN FACT, ADJACENT.

AS WE PROGRESS BETWEEN ADJACENT SOUNDS, WE SPEAK OF "STEP-WISE MOTION," LIKE THIS SCALE.

BUT WHEN WE BEGIN TO JUMP OVER SOME OF THE SOUNDS, WE CALL THIS A "SKIP" OR A "LEAP."

MY POINT BEING SOME OF THE SOUNDS IN THE PATTERN WE'VE BEEN LISTENING TO ARE FARTHER AWAY FROM EACH OTHER.

LISTEN CAREFULLY.

SEE IF YOU CAN TELL WHICH TWO SOUNDS HAVE THE LARGEST DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM.

AGAIN, IT MAY HELP TO MENTALLY ASSIGN A NUMBER TO EACH SOUND AS IT OCCURS.

[PLAYS PIANO] HOW'D YOU DO?

SOMETIMES PEOPLE SAY THE TWO SOUNDS HAVING THE LARGEST DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM ARE THE FIRST... AND THE FIFTH.

OTHERS WILL SAY IT'S THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE THIRD SOUND... AND THE FOURTH SOUND.

TRUTH IS BOTH ANSWERS ARE CORRECT BECAUSE I DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY ASK YOU WHICH TWO CONSECUTIVE SOUNDS HAVE THE LARGEST DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM.

IF WE RESTRICT OURSELVES TO CONSECUTIVE SOUNDS, THE ANSWER IS BETWEEN SOUND 3... [PLAYS PIANO] AND SOUND 4.

[PLAYS PIANO] WE CAN ACTUALLY CREATE A PICTURE OF THIS PATTERN THAT WILL CLEARLY SHOW THE ANSWER TO THE DISTANCE QUESTION.

[PLAYS PIANO] NOW LET'S GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY PRACTICE LISTENING.

WE'RE GOING TO PLAY SOME ORCHESTRAL MUSIC THAT CONTAINS THIS 5-SOUND PATTERN.

TAKE A MOMENT TO GET A PENCIL AND PAPER OR SET YOURSELF UP TO WORD PROCESS IF YOU'RE WATCHING ON A COMPUTER.

WE'LL CUE UP THE MUSIC WHILE YOU DO THAT.

HEY, WE'RE NOT KIDDING.

YOU'RE GOING TO NEED A PENCIL AND PAPER.

WHAT WE'D LIKE YOU TO DO IS TO MAKE A TALLY MARK EVERY TIME YOU NOTICE THE PATTERN.

THE FIRST OCCURRENCE WILL BE VERY OBVIOUS, SO THAT FIRST ONE IS ON THE HOUSE.

[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING] OK, ADD UP YOUR TALLY MARKS.

IF YOU HAVE 1 TO 5, IT'S A START.

WE KNOW THAT YOU WERE LISTENING.

6 TO 10, MMM, NOW WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE.

YOU'VE GOT YOUR SENSORS SWITCHED ON.

11 TO 20, YOU'RE ON THE VERGE OF HITTING IT OUT OF THE PARK.

LET ME ASK, DID YOU NOTICE ANY OF THESE TREATMENTS OF THE 5-SOUND PATTERN?

WHEN WE TAKE A MUSICAL PATTERN AND REPEAT IT AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL, HIGHER OR LOWER, WE CALL THIS A "SEQUENCE."

A SEQUENCE MAY ASCEND... OR DESCEND.

SEQUENCE IS ONE OF THE TOOLS THAT COMPOSERS CARRY AROUND IN THEIR TOOL KIT, AND IT'S A VERY SPECIAL TOOL INDEED, BECAUSE SEQUENCE GIVES THE LISTENER THE ILLUSION OF TRAVEL.

IT'S NOT PHYSICAL TRAVEL BECAUSE NEITHER THE PERFORMERS NOR THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS EVER LEAVE THEIR SEATS.

IT JUST FEELS, IN AN ALMOST MAGICAL VIRTUAL WAY, THAT WE'RE GOING SOMEWHERE.

WE'RE GOING FROM ONE MUSICAL PLACE TO ANOTHER MUSICAL DESTINATION.

GOING FROM HERE... TO HERE.

YOU MIGHT HAVE EVEN ANTICIPATED THAT I WAS GOING HERE.

AND OF COURSE WE CAN REVERSE THIS PROCESS.

SO WE FIND THAT THE 5-SOUND PATTERN IS SOMETIMES PRESENTED IN SEQUENCE.

YOU MAY HAVE ALSO NOTICED THAT THE PATTERN IS PLAYED IN MANY DIFFERENT RANGES: WAY UP HERE...

IN MIDDLE RANGE... AND WAY DOWN HERE.

WE HOPE YOU WERE COUNTING THE PATTERN'S OCCURRENCES IN THE DIFFERENT RANGES, AS WELL AS EACH STEP OF THE SEQUENCED VERSIONS.

I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULDN'T COUNT THEM.

[CHUCKLE] ANOTHER TOOL THAT COMPOSERS HAVE IN THEIR TOOL KITS IS IMITATION.

WE ALL KNOW WHAT IMITATION IS.

WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG, ONE OF THE WAYS I KNEW I COULD REALLY ANNOY MY OLDER BROTHER WAS TO IMITATE EVERYTHING HE SAID IMMEDIATELY AFTER HE SAID IT.

THIS WAS, OF COURSE, ASKING FOR TROUBLE.

COMPOSERS FREQUENTLY USE IMITATION, BUT THEY DON'T SEEM TO GET IN THAT KIND OF TROUBLE.

BUT WHEN AN IMITATION OCCURS SO CLOSELY TO THE ORIGINAL IDEA THAT THEY OVERLAP, WE GET ANOTHER TOOL OF THE COMPOSER, "STRETTO," AN ITALIAN WORD MEANING "NARROW."

LET ME PLAY ANOTHER EXAMPLE.

IMITATION.

STRETTO.

AGAIN, USING OUR 5-SOUND PATTERN: IMITATION.

STRETTO.

AND THAT COUNTS AS TWO OCCURRENCES.

HOW MANY OF YOU NOTICED THIS TREATMENT OF THE PATTERN?

THAT, OF COURSE, IS THE BACKWARDS, OR REVERSE, VERSION OF THE PATTERN, STARTING WITH THE FIFTH SOUND.

♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ DID YOU COUNT THAT ONE IN YOUR TALLY?

OK. LET'S LISTEN ONCE MORE TO THIS MUSIC PLAYED BY THE ORCHESTRA.

DON'T MAKE ANY TALLY MARKS THIS TIME; JUST LISTEN.

RESET YOUR SENSORS.

BE LISTENING FOR ALL THE THINGS WE'VE JUST DISCUSSED AND, PERHAPS, SOME COMPLETELY NEW THINGS.

[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING] DID YOU NOTICE THE USE OF SEQUENCE, STRETTO, RANGE CHANGE?

HOW ABOUT BACKWARDS, OR WHAT WE CALL "RETROGRADE MOTION"?

DID YOU NOTICE SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T EVEN TALKED ABOUT YET?

WE IDENTIFY THE VERY FIRST VERSION OF A MUSICAL IDEA GIVEN TO US BY A COMPOSER AS "THE ORIGINAL," FOR LACK OF A BETTER WAY TO DESCRIBE IT.

SO IF THE ORIGINAL IS THIS... WHAT'S THIS?

YES, THE SECOND VERSION WAS FASTER, WHICH MEANS IT TOOK LESS REAL TIME FOR IT TO OCCUR; IN EFFECT, THE ORIGINAL IDEA HAS BEEN SHRUNKEN.

ORIGINAL.

SHRUNKEN.

THIS PROCESS HAS A NAME IN MUSIC, TOO.

WE CALL THE "SHRUNKEN" VERSION THE "DIMINUTION" VERSION.

AND IF A COMPOSER CAN USE DIMINUTION, OR SHRINKING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU THINK COULD BE DONE?

THE OPPOSITE, OF COURSE, EXPANSION, WHICH WE CALL THE "AUGMENTATION" VERSION.

ORIGINAL.

AUGMENTATION.

WHAT IS THIS VERSION, AGAIN?

RIGHT.

THE RETROGRADE, OR BACKWARDS, VERSION.

SO WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?

YES, I PLAYED THE ORIGINAL AND THE RETROGRADE SIMULTANEOUSLY, AND IF WE'RE COUNTING OCCURRENCES, THAT LITTLE EVENT COUNTS AS, YOU BET, TWO OCCURRENCES.

AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, THERE ARE TIMES IN THIS MUSIC WHEN BOTH THE ORIGINAL AND THE RETROGRADE VERSIONS ARE FIRING OFF IN STRETTO.

ALL RIGHT, ANOTHER CHANCE TO CHALLENGE YOU TO LISTEN CAREFULLY.

HERE'S THE ORIGINAL VERSION.

I'M GOING TO ALTER OR CHANGE THE ORIGINAL IN 6 DIFFERENT WAYS.

SEE IF YOU CAN DETECT ALL OF THEM.

SO WHAT DID YOU NOTICE?

YES, I CHANGED THE RANGE FROM HERE... DOWN TO HERE.

I ALSO PLAYED THE RETROGRADE, OR BACKWARDS, VERSION.

I EMPLOYED REPETITION BY PLAYING THE IDEA 3 TIMES.

AND TO INTENSIFY THE EMOTION, I DID 3 ADDITIONAL THINGS TO IT.

I EMPLOYED DIMINUTION, THE SHRINKING PROCESS, BY MAKING IT OCCUR FASTER... AND I REINFORCED THE INTENSITY BY PLAYING IT WITH BOTH HANDS.

AND LASTLY I MADE IT GET LOUDER, OR AS WE SAY IN MUSICAL ITALIAN, I MADE A "CRESCENDO."

SO HERE IT IS AGAIN IN THE ORIGINAL.

AND NOW WITH ALL 6 ALTERATIONS OCCURRING SIMULTANEOUSLY.

WE'D LIKE TO ASK YOU TO MAKE ONE MORE SET OF TALLY MARKS, NOW THAT YOU HAVE ALL SORTS OF NEW WAYS OF COUNTING THE 5-SOUND PATTERN.

ARE YOU READY?

[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING] SO HOW MANY OCCURRENCES OF THE 5-SOUND PATTERN DID YOU FIND?

DID I HEAR YOU SAY "NONE"?

I HOPE YOU SAID "NONE."

I PLAYED THE WRONG MUSIC FOR YOU ON PURPOSE.

I CONFESS TO PLAYING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MUSIC TO SEE IF YOU WERE REALLY LISTENING OR IF YOU WERE MUNCHING ON A SANDWICH AND JUST HEARING THE MUSIC.

BY THE WAY, WE HAVEN'T MENTIONED THE NAME OF THE MUSIC CONTAINING THE INTRIGUING 5-SOUND PATTERN THAT WE'VE BEEN LISTENING TO.

THE COMPOSITION IS CALLED "MUSIC FOR STRINGS, PERCUSSION AND CELESTA" BY BELA BARTOK.

THIS EXCERPT IS TAKEN FROM THE THIRD MOVEMENT OR CHAPTER.

LET'S LISTEN AGAIN.

MAKE YOUR TALLY MARKS AND ADD THEM UP WHEN THE MUSIC IS FINISHED.

["MUSIC FOR STRINGS" PLAYING] HAVE YOU ADDED YOUR TALLY MARKS?

WOULD YOU NOW COMPARE THAT TOTAL TO YOUR FIRST TOTAL?

MY GUESS IS THAT THE NUMBER OF TALLY MARKS INCREASED, AND WHY?

FIRST, BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN ACTUALLY LISTENING, CONSISTENTLY AND CONTINUOUSLY.

SECOND, YOU'RE NOTICING MORE DETAIL.

AND THIRD, YOU'VE LISTENED TO THIS MUSIC 3 TIMES.

IF A COMPOSER PUTS A LOT OF DETAIL INTO A MUSICAL COMPOSITION, WE MAY HAVE TO DRIVE THIS CAR MORE THAN ONCE AROUND THE BLOCK TO NOTICE SO MUCH DETAIL.

ONCE WE HAVE NOTICED THESE DETAILS THROUGH REPEATED LISTENINGS, IF WE RETURN TO THE MUSIC, EVEN AFTER A LONG ABSENCE FROM IT, THAT DETAIL WILL NOT HAVE EVAPORATED.

WE'LL JUMP ON THE LISTENING TRAIN RIGHT WHERE WE GOT OFF AND BE ABLE TO ENJOY THOSE DETAILS EVEN MORE, AND THIS IS TRUE WHETHER WE'RE LISTENING TO BARTOK OR TO BEETHOVEN.

REMEMBER, HEARING IS A NATURAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL PHENOMENON THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE OUR COMPLETE ATTENTION.

LISTENING IS INTENTIONALLY GIVING OUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION TO THE SOUNDS THAT YOU ARE HEARING.

AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY TIMES THE 5-SOUND PATTERN OCCURRED, THE ANSWER IS 32 COMPLETE OCCURRENCES AND 7 FRAGMENTS.

HAVE ANOTHER LISTEN, AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT, MIGHT I ASK YOU, HAS YOUR EMOTIONAL REACTION TO THIS MUSIC UNDERGONE ANY CHANGES DURING THESE REPEATED LISTENINGS?

IF YOU WEREN'T BEFORE, MIGHT YOU NOW BE ENJOYING THIS MUSIC ON SOME LEVEL?

I HOPE SO.

HERE IT IS, WITH ALL OF THE DETAIL BARTOK INFUSED IN THIS MUSICAL EXCERPT.

["MUSIC FOR STRINGS" PLAYING] I'M GEORGE MARRINER MAULL FOR THE DISCOVERY ORCHESTRA REMINDING YOU TO LISTEN...BETTER.

[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING] -Funding for this series has been made possible in part by... ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ -The complete 8-part series of "Fall in Love with Music" is available on DVD for $12.95 plus shipping and handling.

To order, call 973-379-2200 or order online at www.DiscoveryOrchestra.org.

♪ ♪