The Conscious Listening™ Process
Empowering creativity through musical connections
Engaging with music is an ultimate multidimensional workout — when I am most conscious of the whole reality of life and of being fully alive.
Follow Guided Listening in a 4-step process...
to savor Beauty... Imagination... Musical Elements... Integration of analysis... Emotions... Colors... Space... Connections... Breath...
...and Transform Your Powers of Engagement!
MIND
Notice and make sense of musical details with a 4-step listening grid.
Connect and integrate what you know with what you hear to find personal meaning.
Liberate yourself from the same listening habits to listen as if for the first time, every time.
BODY
Enhance health/wholeness by integrating emotions and biological response through Musical Breathwork™, Hsing-ay's unique breathing amplification of the musical phrasing.
HEART
Create a collective multidimensional perspective.
Develop the confidence to explore unfamiliar material/ideas.
Explore the beauty and potential of life around us through musical ideas, modalities, and perspectives.
Enhance your health/wellness by recognizing emotions and regulating breathing through music to activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
"Access your creative mode by improving the quality of your listening."
- Hsing-ay Hsu, Steinway Artist
Access Your Creative Mode...
Imagine a world where we are...
multidimensionally connected to ourselves and others,
open-minded about what we don't understand,
and intentional about how we fit into the big picture.
"Play is uncertainty with social engagement. It's a mobilization."
- Stephen W. Porges, professor of psychiatry and former clarinetist
Connect on the Online Café...
with concert music lovers who are curious to learn about new ideas and want to broaden our sense of humanity. We identify as Lifelong learners, Music teachers, Amateur musicians, Audience members, Students, Parents, Visual artists, Writers, Creative thinkers, Good listeners.
Buy a membership or day pass below.
"I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed YOU - and your course! How grateful I am that I have participated with you! You really are a delightful, engaging teacher!" - Lynn, seminar participant/counselor
"I love how you pull in different ideas, memories, stories, impressions, and layers of meaning." - Loretta, Café participant/visual artist
...Or Come to a Live Event!
Conscious Listener Membership
INVITATION TO SUPPORT MY WORK
*If you share these values of musical creativity, social engagement, and multidimensional training,
consider supporting this important effort to build a culture of listening at the $250 level.
*If you face financial hardship, start with $10 for your entire annual membership, or join at any of the level options.
*Your contribution makes possible the ongoing research, content preparation, coordination, and tech costs. *Membership is included for current studio clients.
*Paypal paypal.me/NutmegStudioNYC, or email theNutmegStudio@gmail.com for a Zelle invoice (specify what you wish to pay and which email to use).
WHAT is included?
Online Café, with Pre-Café music link if you like to listen ahead, and Post-Café summary afterwards.
Members Events and Specific Project Sponsorships happen at various times.
Please sign up for the newsletter to engage with me!
WHEN
Online Café is 4th Saturdays, JANUARY - OCTOBER. 12NoonET/9amPT/10amMT/11amCT. 45 minute presentation followed by 15 minute peer discussion. Drop in as often as you can. For your first time, please RSVP 24 hours in advance so I can send out a link one day beforehand. During NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, we will have an online Holiday Social to include all disciplines of art that members are creating. Membership is good for 12 months. Confirm your registration and date/time with theNutmegStudio@gmail.com.
Café Visitor Day-Pass: $10
Recent residencies/series:
Online Café, Colorado Music Festival, Denver School of the Arts, International Odyssiad Festival, DAMTA music teachers intensive.
What People Are Saying
"I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed YOU - and your course! How grateful I am that I have participated with you! You really are a delightful, engaging teacher!" - Lynn, counselor
Spending time in your [webinars] helps me to be centered, intentional, and elegant. - Lilly, international business woman
Fascinating and engaging: creative programming, generous sharing of skills /colors /philosophic communications, all done with your unique & graceful style, always growing from your experiences, visionary performances; wow!! - Tamara, concert pianist
"Thank you Hsing-ay. It's been marvelous! I feel refreshed after your lessons; I can't believe how much I've learned. I've been applying your teachings to my students and it is fascinating how even the very young are eager to pay attention to detail, and how fast they can learn from the very start to play 'meaningfully', no matter how simple the music is. I feel motivated to practice and work on new pieces. Thanks!"
“Thanks for a superb class! You made it very interesting by your upbeat personality and obvious piano excellence… "
"You helped rekindle my passion for teaching - thank you! Your approach is helping me know how to put difficult concepts into words. I also like how you ask questions and let people try to put their thoughts into words- it is one of the most effective ways of teaching."
"You have a very thoughtful approach that has something for all levels of experience."
"I’m sure that lots of teachers will be referring to your handout when they return to their studios after this conference."
FAQ's
"I'm rusty with musical terms. Will I fit in?"
Every registered participant gets a list of terms, a 4 step worksheet, and a starter mood meter. Study this at your own pace before the Live Webinar.
"Will everyone laugh at me if I don't know my stuff?"
We are life-learners here - people who will applaud you for taking the risk to show up! Success is showing up and participating.
"What if I can't hear all the musical details that everyone else is hearing?"
The expectation is not to hear everything I show you, but to hear just one more detail than you were able to before. Please enjoy the journey and take it easy.
LEVEL: While the quantity of formal experience is of no consequence, regular concert music listening habits are strongly recommended so that you will be comfortable enough in exploring personal connections to the music, recognizing emotions/character, breathing to the music, and trying out new ideas. There will be only 3-4 people in each breakout room so you can get to share with and know your colleagues. If you would like to ease into the breakout room conversation, you are always welcome to say "I'll pass for now" or just wait in the main room.
WHERE: A quiet room, reliable WIFI, and a device with decent speakers/headphones. Please keep your video, as this is a group think.
HOW: Register for your interactive Zoom link by emailing TheNutmegStudio@gmail.com. You can get a membership below right now and choose the amount you can pay. Want to try it first before becoming a member? Please tell me about yourself and I will invite you to your first meetup as my personal guest.
WHY IS THIS BENEFICIAL? Steinway Artist and former University of Colorado faculty member Hsing-ay Hsu developed her Conscious Listening™ method to guide audience listening inside each composer’s unique language across the genres of classical/concert music. We use mostly classical piano excerpts, but you are encouraged to adapt the 4-step process to a broader canon. This approach is the culmination of a lifetime of performing, teaching, and connecting mind, body, and heart. Whether the listening is in a concert hall, in the practice room, or on stage while performing, we can connect our emotions and physicality to our analytical minds to unlock your innate musicality.
How do we grow musical intuition?
Small group cooperative fun in a safe space for slow, integrated listening to live demos.
Embody the music with breath, knowledge, & emotions.
Listen intentionally to the elements of the music, for the purpose of engaging with the composer’s musical language.
Follow a structured 4-step listening method that grows musical intuition.
Practice aural skills with specific targets and discovering the character and emotions inside each moment.
Explore how your breath can interact with musical phrasing and other elements.
Acquire creative skills as you contribute ideas and make connections within the dynamic interplay of musical elements.
Join a community of inquisitive adults, both concert-goers and active performers, for motivated peer group learning.
Discover new pieces and new musicians