I do think that people can be taught to love music. And I say "to love", not "to read" or "to write" or even "to appreciate". Sight reading, music theory, musical notation— these are all worthwhile studies, and the people who pursue them create great works with that knowledge. But that isn't what I'm aiming to teach, and, further, you don't have to know complex music theory to love or even create good music. Some of the most beloved musicians of our day have never had classical training. I can only read the very basics of sheet music and guitar tabs, I can't sight read sheet music despite my choral background, and I only know the very basics of musical terminology. This is okay. I'm not teaching you to read or produce or write music. I'm teaching you to love it, and to listen to it.
You probably already like music perfectly fine. You could probably tell me your favorite song or artist if prompted. What I want to do is shift us from liking music to loving it— or, to put it technically, to shift us from passive listening to active listening.
What is passive listening? Well, we do this all the time. You might even be doing it right now. When we listen to the radio in the car, when we have our headphones on while we work, when we listen to music while getting ready for the day, when we hear it over the speakers at the grocery store or in the bar... all of this is passive listening. Passive listening isn't inherently bad. It's just a term to describe listening to music purely for entertainment, or as background noise. We all do this. I listen to music when walking to class, I put it on for atmosphere during tabletop games, and I never drive anywhere without something to listen to. And in these moments, I'm not paying attention solely to the music. I'm focused on my route across campus, or talking with other people around the table, or checking if it's safe to make a right turn. Passive listening describes any listening to music that we do which isn't focused entirely on the music.
What is active listening? By comparison, active listening is done very deliberately. We focus by eliminating other stimuli and giving all our attention to the music we're listening to. If we're listening to a speaker or radio, we might turn the volume up. If the music is being performed by a live artist, we might move to be physically closer to them. If the music is in our earbuds or headphones, we should make sure that we have both earbuds in, or that both of the earphones are over our ears. Once we're sure nothing will distract us from the music, we can focus on the sound. There are lots of ways to describe, analyze, and interpret different sounds, and it's easier to do so when you have a basic musical vocabulary. We'll discuss this in the next section. I like to remind listeners that music was created very deliberately. If you're hearing a song, it's because someone wanted you to hear it. Every element of a song is there for a reason. Music always has something to tell us. Through active listening (which is a skill that can be honed), we can learn to hear it.
As mentioned above, in the next section I will teach you basic musical terminology that will help you describe the sounds you hear and analyze them. But before you add these tools to your toolbox, I invite you to try active listening for yourself. Musical interpretation is not a science. No words that you use to describe what you hear are "incorrect". With this exercise, I want to demonstrate that while the terminology in the following section can help you describe your experiences while listening, these words aren't necessary or definitive. All or none of them may apply to any given piece you listen to. They should be helpful, auxillary tools, not quiz answers to check off.
Pick a song that you know and like, and listen to it. What are the lyrics saying? Are there any elements to the music you hadn't heard or noticed before? What is the overall tone or emotion of the piece? How do these things contribute to your experience of the song?