1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:09,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: tip is to upgrade your background music. If you're listening 4 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: to your favorite podcast or album while you're driving or 5 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: making dinner, by all means continue, But if you're just 6 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:32,279 Speaker 1: listening to something to listen to something, consider starting a 7 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: listening project to make this time feel a little more satisfying. 8 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: So longtime listeners know that each year I undertake a major, 9 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: year long project. Normally it's been a reading project, like 10 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: all the works of Jane Austen, but this year I 11 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: decided to do something a little different. I am listening 12 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: to all the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. I love 13 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: box music, and he was prolific. So this winds up 14 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: working out to about thirty to forty minutes of listening 15 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: each day. I started on January first, and a few 16 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: weeks in, I can tell you it has been amazing. 17 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: I'll be making a kid toast in the morning and 18 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: listening to an intricate organ fugue. I am stretching out 19 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: tight muscles after running, and I'm listening to a soprano 20 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: trill her way through an almost operatic aria in a cantata. 21 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 1: Let's just say that this elevates the experience of daily 22 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: life tremendously, and it's been pretty easy. There are recordings 23 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: of basically all of Bach available on YouTube, so I 24 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: just find one hit, play and go about my day. 25 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: If you are a Bach fan too, maybe you'd like 26 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: to start listening in the car while waiting for your 27 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: plane to board. When I began this project, I quickly 28 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: realized that I had a lot of potential listening time 29 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: in my day. Most days, I've been able to listen 30 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: to all of my assigned Boch before it's even nine am. 31 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: But whether you are into Bach or not, you might 32 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: choose something else that would let you listen with purpose. 33 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: There are lots of other composers. Beethoven comes to mind. 34 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:21,799 Speaker 1: You could listen to all of Wagner's operas. You could 35 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: listen to all of Gershwin's works, or Stephen Sondheim's musicals. 36 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,919 Speaker 1: A performer like Duke Ellington would be fantastic, or the Beatles, 37 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: you know, their greatest hits. But maybe it's worth listening 38 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: to everything, the good and the more run of the 39 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: mill stuff that shows you how they whound their way 40 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 1: to the great stuff. Or Hey, maybe you're going to 41 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: a Tailor Swift concert and you want to listen to 42 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: everything before you go. You might explore a genre you've 43 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: heard of but know little about. I'd certainly like to 44 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: learn more about jazz now that a couple of my 45 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: kids are in a jazz band. Or maybe it's the 46 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: music of Brazil or indigenous music from a certain part 47 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:09,080 Speaker 1: of the world. There are a ton of possibilities. Maybe 48 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: think about a place you are visiting or would like 49 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: to visit, or think about a historical character who fascinated you, 50 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: and listen to music from that time. The beautiful thing 51 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: about the Internet, plus the various streaming services, is that 52 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:27,519 Speaker 1: you can find pretty much anything. I remember as a 53 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: kid going to the library and checking out various CDs 54 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: of say, traditional Brazilian music in my hunt to find 55 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: interesting material. But I had to get someone to drive 56 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: me there, and I had to rely on what my 57 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: local librarian elected to add to the collection. These days, 58 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: you just need to look on your phone. I think 59 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: all time is valuable. We have a lot of time 60 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: in life that we spend in transition or not really 61 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: doing all that much Upgrading your background is one way 62 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: to make this time feel more rich and full. I 63 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: am so excited to be listening to Bach instead of 64 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: what is randomly on the radio. I bet you would 65 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: enjoy this life upgrade too. In the meantime, this is Laura. 66 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 67 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 68 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 69 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 70 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit 71 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 72 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.