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Listening to music means to become totally and completely absorbed in the music in both body and soul. It further means not allowing oneself to become distracted (the elevator effect) by extraneous stimuli in one's environment while seriously listening to music. It is always important to remember that music is an ultimate healer of mind, body, and soul. As a physician, I am able to cut into a body in order to correct a condition; however, it has been my long-time observation that music has the power to help the body to heal itself.

Listening to music is to grab a beer, turn your stereo on, and play an album. Then wonder after the album is over where your beer went, because the music just surrounded you.

It means setting aside time out of the day to truly listen to music with minimal disruptions. If I'm lucky, my imagination will take over, and I will get lost inside the music.

It means sitting in the sweet spot, eyes closed, volume cranked, lights turned down.

Active listening: Setting in the sweet spot with the lights out and eyes closed and letting the music flow into your every pore. You become one with the music. Passive listening: Usually with headphones while surfing the Internet. I still absorb the music, but don't make a spiritual connection.

I am a "listener." When I listen to music on my system, that's exactly what I do. It's like I'm at a live concert where the audience is prety much under controll. But the outer world is not under controll, and you cannot escape hearing all manner of sounds out there. And under those conditions, it goes in one ear and out the other. Unless someone shouts fire.

Sitting and relaxing, getting into the lyrics (when present) and each individual musician's contribution. It means listening to the engineer's interpretation of the artists' work. It means being filled with the desire to hear each of these ingredients as clearly and accurately as posssible. It means trying to imagine yourself not in the studio but in the engineer's booth, hearing the tracks as they are assembled. It means I started a lifelong and expensive hobby that I wouldn't trade for any other kind of artform. Well, except maybe stamp collecting.

The phrase "listening to music", to me, only applies if that is the primary thing you are doing. You are not "listening to music" if the music is only there as a backdrop to some other activity.

Exactly what it says—listening to the music—just listening. That's all. Hearing music when I'm doing something else is also enjoyable, but different.

Listening to music means that you put the material in your system, place your body in the best place in the room, turn the volume to "listening" level and at that moment the other factors which are affecting that pleasure are away from you (work, family members, etc.). If one is unable to create the environment which is suitable for listening to music, good headphones (and also portable players in case of mobility) are another very handy tools to achieve the result. I am listening music all day long while at work but I can not call it "listening to music" since "work" is between me and music.

In hi-fi terms, listening to music is sitting in the sweet spot, enjoying the sound quality that (hopefully) acompanies some great music. It's not so much just listening to music, as it is also listening to your stereo! Otherwise, when I am enjoying music, weather it be in the car, on an iPod, over the Internet; whatever, I call that listening to music too. It's sad when music is just relegated to a silence killer.

Sometimes, I listen casually, other times I'm totally immersed in the experience, and at other times I listen at some infinitely variable intermediate level. I don't listen the same way every time and I doubt that many people do.

I think most of last weeks responses hit the nail on the head. 'Listening to music' means sitting in the sweet spot and doing nothing else but enjoying the tunes you like with all the nuances. Reading,surfing the net, watching tv, cleaning the house or whatever distracts from focusing on just the music.

When you listen to music, you do just that; listen to music. You do not listen to your gear, which is the source of "listener fatigue". Audiophilia nervosa types might need to down an alcoholic beverage in order to "release" the tendency to critique their gear.

I'm in my chair and there are no interruptions or background household noises. Anything else makes it a background endeavor, in which case I don't really care if it stays on or off. Nodody in my family really understands this part despite effort to educate.

Required: time free from distractions, nobody else in the Ekornes chair in the sweet spot, no leaf blowers running in the neighborhood, an intent to give consciousness over to the chosen music and a wide grin and/or goofy-blissful smile. Optional: a fresh cup of coffee or a fine Burgundy, depending on time of day. When these are in place, the music can begin and payback for the trials of the hobby is gained.

For me, it is listening undistracted to an entire selection of music. While I am able to accomplish this daily now that I am retired, last Friday I had a wake up call. I attended the New York Philamonic's performance of Mahler Symphony #1. It was my first live Mahler. Wow. My system, my room; I will never be able to reproduce that at home.

Being in a room with music playing. My Central Scrutenizer is not the most important thing in any room. ;)

It means sitting in my listening chair in the otherwise quieted (often darkened) room, centered in front of my speakers, with nothing in my hands or lap, listening to the music being played.

Focusing my attention to what I am playing, as opposed to just listening to music as background.

It has different meanings for different people. I think there are different levels of focus; I have listened to music quite intently while doing monotonous tasks. I do recognize that beyond a certain point one is no longer actively listening and the music is merely pleasant background noise, but audiophiles are the only people I've ever met who believe they absolutely can not do anything else while they listen. Audiophiles often seem very joyless because they appear to want to divorce music from the rest of life. What is the point of getting the last 1% from the experience if it is at the expense of the other 99%?

I almost always have music "on" in the house. That means everything from an LP to a clock radio. It is usually popular music, and is often just the local radio stations. When I do this I am not really listening, and am often doing other tasks, but I am enjoying the songs becuase I like music. I do audiophile style "listening" by sitting in the special chair and playing entire albums through the system. I concentrate on the music with few distractions or interuptions. Along with popular music I also listen to jazz and the ocasional classical album this way. I "listen" this only a few times a month, and often for about two hours before I get listener fatigue.

...the most important activity after eating and drinking. It means digging deep into the harmonies, melodies, rhythms involving all the knowledge I have about the piece, the composer and the artist(s). Then all the emotions kick in. Being a musician I couldn't live without music!

Sitting down. Being quiet and listening.

Plain and simple, listening to music means going to a concert.

It means that music is the primary thing I am concentrating on, but not necessarily the only thing I am doing. For me, total listening immersion usually means I have had a drink or three (in this case it helps, no apologies), or I would probably otherwise be asleep (from fatigue, not boredom). For more typical listening, I think steady-state distractions can be a boon, leaving the mind more open as it benefits from changing contexts. So some of my best listening happens while driving at night (drink or drive!), while at home, atlases or art books keep my hands and eyes occupied while my interest remains with the music.

Home alone, air conditioning turned off,no food or drinks or other distractions. Just me and music.

It means anything. Sometimes I want to sit down, close my eyes and let the music soak into me. Sometimes it means putting on something loud and rude to speed me on the way to cleaing house. Sometimes it's something I put on to set a mood agreeable with the book in my hand. Music is to enjoy. The method is less important than the reality.

listening to music

It means i can play with my balls