January 2025. Announcement of deep music listening sessions

Each of us has our own, more or less unique, timbre of voice. The more often we hear a voice, the easier it becomes for us to recognize it. For example, even if our relatives do not have very distinctive timbres, we easily distinguish their voices by subtle nuances and details, because we hear them very close and quite often

If we talk about vocalists, then there are those whose voices we easily recognize thanks to the really bright, original timbres; but most singers were not endowed with such a gift by nature, and their voices are not so easily recognizable among many others. Performers can stand out with their style of musical material, a special manner of singing, a wide vocal range, virtuosity, etc., but only a few are able to captivate us precisely with the natural richness of the overtones of the voice, when a simple whisper to the accompaniment of three guitar chords fascinates more than extraordinary skill developed over many years

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And what about musical instruments? The “basic” factory musical instruments that most musicians play usually do not have a special sound. Even if there is some difference between them, it is not so strong as to be noticeable to the listener. The criteria for choosing a concert that we will go to next Sunday may be the musical genre, a specific piece of music, a performer, etc. But how often have you chosen which violin, saxophone or guitar you want to listen to today?... How often have you caught yourself thinking that you absolutely do not care who and what will play, the main thing is that particular instrument, the sound of which you still seem to feel somewhere deep inside?

Unfortunately, nowadays we very rarely have the opportunity to listen to truly unique original acoustic instruments with extremely rich timbres, such as one of the Stradivarius violins, or one of Pepe Romero's guitars, or the same double bass of Reno Garcia-Fons...

Yes, this is a kind of musical gourmetism, and it is not interesting to everyone. Exactly the same as, for example, wine. We like to drink wine sometimes, choosing it according to more or less basic criteria. And there are connoisseurs who get special pleasure, starting from the bouquet, aroma, taste and aftertaste of this drink, in general, and ending with the most subtle nuances and shades

Robert Parker, a famous wine taster and critic, once admitted what he feels when he dips his nose into a glass of wine and takes the first sip: "Time stops for me, and until I unravel the mystery of wine, I do not leave this state. I seem to fall into another dimension, invisible tunnels open up for me, through which I pass and recognize the multi-layeredness and texture of wine. These are indescribable feelings. I seem to have a dialogue with wine. I understand it. Then I remember this information and convey it in texts"

You know, I envy Robert and people who know wine a bit, because, as a person who has never delved into the subtleties of wine art, I do not really know how to enjoy it. And even if Robert himself had suggested that I try a really good wine, I would hardly have immediately received any special pleasure, because for me such a depth of immersion in tasting is something new and incomprehensible. But if one day a true wine connoisseur tells me how to get more pleasure from this drink, what exactly to pay attention to, and suggests me a bottle so that I could then taste it alone, it is possible that this would have become the first step to a new, albeit somewhat dangerous, I would say, hobby 😊

The same is true with music, which, by the way, is a much safer hobby than wine 😊. We do not know how to get pleasure from the sound of instruments, because no one has ever taught us this, and we practically did not have the opportunity to listen to unique author's violins, guitars, double basses, etc. either being next to them or on a recording for a million reasons...

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When the Master began to introduce me to sound, when I began to listen to music in the highest possible quality, I began to understand why true musicians are so careful about choosing their instruments; I began to wonder what is unique about the instruments played by the performers I particularly like (spoiler: almost all of them have some unique instruments); I understood the value of Pepe Romero's collection of 160 guitars; I started wondering if anyone still plays the same violin that Stefano Grappelli once played, and if so, how does it sound in the hands of another musician, etc.

And although I am only a novice audio gourmet, I am eager to share the extraordinary pleasure that the sound of music, instruments and voices can bring

That is why I decided to start this musical year at the Human & Sound Insight Home with sessions of deep listening to music, during which I will introduce my guests to the diversity of the sound of the same instrument

So, next Saturday, January 11, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, in the format of Saturday evening sessions of deep listening to music, we will discover the world of sound of acoustic guitars

Write to me to book your Saturday evening

(I remind you that the sessions at the Insight Home are almost an intimate event, which does not bring together strangers. Therefore, the first person who books an announced Saturday evening comes to us alone, or with 1-2 of their relatives or friends. If you suddenly decide to just come without prior arrangement, be prepared that the doors of the Insight Home will not be opened for you)