I’m always looking for ways to get out of my head and into the world. One good way I’ve found is to actively hunt for details.
You can do this with any number of things, but I like to do it with music.
I put on a track, and as I listen through, I try to see how many things I can notice. I sometimes write them down. Not always, though. It’s not important.
I start the track. I might notice that there’s a little tape hiss before the song starts. Perhaps there’s a count-in. When it gets going, maybe there’s a guitar on the left side and an organ on the right. Maybe when the vocals come in, they have a delay effect on them. Maybe another voice joins for the chorus. Maybe a fragment of the melody reminds me of a song by somebody totally different, reminding me that all music is made from the same 12 notes. Maybe the a middle section feels like it was shoved in at the eleventh hour and I feel I could have done a better job…
Something cool happens when you do this. It’s as though one time of actively hunting for details causes you to permanently notice more details without even trying.
Try it.