Listening to music is a very important part of making music, so it’s essential that your listening equipment is set up properly. Arve Bersvendsen has written an excellent tutorial on setting up your stereo system, including a downloadable Audio test CD. You can play back the test tones on your sound system to make sure that the placement of your loudspeakers within the room isn’t messing with your sound.

He also talks about positioning subwoofers and even those little bookshelf speakers, and weighs in on the controversial topic of speaker cables. Follow his advice to set up your room so your music sounds its best, without having to hire an interior designer or spend $1000 on a pair of cables.

Finally, he gives an excellent piece of folk wisdom that we should all remember, since our ears are such an important part of our music-making activity:

Do not let objects smaller than your elbow near your ear.