I basically do a combo of the two--I automatically experience music on both the trees (the technical, music-theoretical, analysis of details) and forest (the holistic, transcendent) levels at the same time, without having to think much about either. It's second-nature to me. Of course, I've had over 45 years of practice at it--I started taking music lessons as a little kid, and I've been just as focused on composition and arranging, which helps with the forest level, for about 40 years, too.
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