Listening with an Open Mind

Listening with an Open Mind
EXPLANATION: Seldom (if ever) would you pop in a CD, click a song on your iPod, or tune your radio to a station that you strongly disliked. It just does not seem like a good use of time, and it is not something that you would probably enjoy doing on a daily basis. However, for this exercise, we are going to ask that you do precisely what we’ve described above and then apply what you’ve experienced and learned to several questions and four ESSENTIAL CORNERSTONES from

PROCESS: Over the course of the next few days, find a song from your least favorite genre. If you are a huge fan of R&B, move away from that genre and choose something from a genre of which you are not particularly fond. You might choose an old country song or a song from rap or bluegrass. If you enjoy listening to “Easy Love Songs,” try something different such as metal or swing. The only stipulation is that the song must have lyrics.

You will have to listen to the song several times to answer the questions. HOWEVER, it is important that you read the questions BEFORE you listen to the song—particularly question #2. The key to this exercise is to practice listening with an open mind, listening for content, and listening to words when barriers are in the way (the barrier in this case would be the music itself).

1.

What is the song’s title and artist? _________________________________________________

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2.

What emotional and mental responses did you have to the song the first time you listened to it? Why do you think you had this response?

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3.

While listening to the song, what happened to your appreciation level? Did it increase or decrease? Why?

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4.

In your opinion, what was the message (theme) of the song?

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5.

What about the song most surprised you? The lyrics? The actual music? Your like or dislike of the song? The artist’s voice? Etc…. ___________________________________________________________________

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6.

If you HAD to say that you gained or learned one positive thing from this song, what would it be? ______________________________________________________________________________

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7.

From memory, list at least two statements, comments, or quotes from the song. ______________________________________________________________________________

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By enhancing my listening skills, I can become more OPEN-MINDED by
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By enhancing my listening skills, I can become more CREATIVE by
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By enhancing my listening skills, I can become more KNOWLEDGEABLE by ________________________________________________________

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By enhancing my listening skills, I can increase my RESOURCEFULNESS level by

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