[Vocals and First-Year Students] 19. How Musicians Rest

*This content was translated by AI.

Lately, I often take time to organize my thoughts while having a cup of coffee at a café.

Thanks to the pleasant space, it is not bad for concentration despite the increasingly hot weather. However, strangely enough, when leaving the café, I was left with unexpected fatigue. At first, I thought it was simply a matter of physical stamina, but soon I wondered if it was due to the music playing. "Is the music volume too loud? Is it the speaker quality? Or is it a problem with the playlist composition?"

As the same experience repeated over several days, I began to re-examine the cause. I came to the conclusion that the source of fatigue was not specific music, but the fact that music was constantly flowing. Whether I was organizing my thoughts, reading a book, or briefly gazing out the window, music kept flooding into my ears. My ears could not rest in a space where sound did not stop.

Suddenly, I recalled a conversation I had with a friend long ago. A friend who had lived abroad for a long time briefly returned to Korea, and we met at a café before they left for overseas again. When I asked, "Don't you want to keep living in Korea?" they replied, "I'm even considering moving back, but there's one thing that makes life in Korea difficult. No matter which café I go to, the same music plays, and it's mentally exhausting musically." At the time, I brushed that off with a laugh, but recently, while feeling similar fatigue at cafés, those words finally resonated with me.

Liking music and being constantly exposed to music are entirely different matters. Especially for those who make music their profession, most live within music all day long. They listen to students' singing, analyze recordings, search for new music, and prepare for lessons and recording sessions. In the days when I enjoyed music as a hobby, I would choose and listen to songs I liked, but now I must encounter countless songs whether I like them or not. Music has become more than an object of appreciation; it has become an object of work.

For the average listener, music can serve as background music (BGM), but for musicians, music often becomes an object of analysis like a conditioned reflex. When listening to a song, pitch and pronunciation are heard regardless of one's will, and rhythm and phrasing are broken down and heard. Even in the moment one mistakes listening to music for resting, a precise analytical process is already running in the mind.

Once, I heard an interesting story from an otolaryngologist.

To properly rest the throat, one must not only refrain from speaking or singing but also turn off music for a while. Even if one is not singing while listening to music, the vocal cords react subconsciously and move slightly.

An acquaintance undergoing voice therapy shared a similar conclusion. "Generally, it is said that music appreciation is deeply related to right-brain activity, isn't it? But in a recent test experiment, people who specialize in music showed much more activation in the left brain when listening to music. They seem to understand music as 'language'."

Unlike the heart that loves music, there are times when listening to music does not constitute rest.

I begin to think about how musicians should rest.

Of course, there is no definitive answer. However, I often take the advice of relevant experts as a hint and intentionally create "time of silence." I turn off the music in the room, feel the stillness of the space, and remain quietly, or I walk along the riverbank, taking in the textures of nature like the sound of water and wind into my ears. Or, through activities that use the body, such as walking or exercising, I disperse the energy that was entirely focused on the ears into other senses.

To love music for a long time, a "strategic retreat" toward music is necessary. This is a kind of buffer zone created to increase the ability to absorb good music. Just as important as listening well is properly resting the ears. One must prepare a playlist called "silence" for recovery and rest.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.