Overlistening is listening at a volume higher than the material needs. It is a term I use in my ear training courses, and it is why I prefer that you do the lessons on speakers instead of headphones.
Headphones invite it. They can make the sound louder than it needs to be. With speakers you're less likely to listen at a volume that is too loud.
To make this very clear, overlistening is a volume problem. It isn't about how close the sound is or how hard you concentrate. It's about the level.
And you don't have to guess at the level, because the lesson sets it for you.
When I speak at the beginning of a lesson, you set it to my voice. When a lesson opens with piano, you set it so the piano can be heard comfortably. However the lesson starts, that's your metric for the entire lesson.
At the start of the first week of The Composing Hour, before any exercise, I tell students to find a quiet and comfortable space and adjust the audio to a warm, pleasant volume. Then I say it shouldn't be too loud and it shouldn't be too soft, but it should be about a level where you do have to concentrate to hear.
That last clause is the instruction. The volume is set so the listening still takes some effort from you. In the second week I repeat the reminder: not too loud, not too soft.
Going past that level is overlistening.
Set it at the start, not halfway through when something gets hard. If you catch your hand reaching for the volume in the middle of an exercise, notice that, and leave the dial where it is. Whatever opened the lesson is still the reference.
If you're on headphones, check the level more often than you think you need to. If you have the choice, use speakers.
The level I ask for is one where you still have to concentrate to hear. Anything louder than that is more than the material needs.
If you want to try the lessons at that level, the first week of Flawless Ear Training is free.
