Learn Hardcore Chinese: Wǒ xǐhuan yìbiān tīng yīnyuè, yìbiān shàngwǎng. - I like to listen to music while surfing the internet.

In very casual speech, people might drop the second 一边 sometimes, but the standard and safest pattern for learners is to use 一边 A，一边 B with both 一边 present.

Can I swap the order of 听音乐 and 上网?

Yes. Both are grammatically fine:

我喜欢一边听音乐，一边上网。
我喜欢一边上网，一边听音乐。

The meaning is basically the same: you like doing both things at the same time.

If you put one action first, it may feel just slightly more emphasized or more “background-y” in context, but in everyday conversation the difference is minimal.

Does this sentence describe a habit (“I like to usually do this”) or something I’m doing right now?

By default, 我喜欢一边听音乐，一边上网。 describes a general preference or habit:

“I like (in general) to listen to music while surfing the internet.”

To talk about what you’re doing right now, you’d typically add 在 or other markers of ongoing action:

我在一边听音乐，一边上网。
“I am listening to music and surfing the internet (right now).”

Or:

我一边听音乐，一边上网呢。
The 呢 helps show it’s a current ongoing action.

Can 一边 … 一边 … be used with past or future actions?

Yes. Tense in Chinese is mostly shown by context or time words, not by changing the verb form. For example:

Past: 昨天我一边听音乐，一边上网。
“Yesterday I listened to music while surfing the internet.”
Future: 明天我会一边听音乐，一边上网。
“Tomorrow I will listen to music while surfing the internet.”

The 一边 … 一边 … structure itself just shows simultaneity, not tense.

Why is 一边 pronounced yìbiān (4th tone + 1st tone) and not yībiān?

The character 一 normally has 1st tone (yī), but it changes (tone sandhi) depending on what follows:

Before a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd tone, 一 becomes 4th tone (yì).
Before a 4th tone, 一 becomes 2nd tone (yí).

In 一边 (biān is 1st tone), 边 has a 1st tone, so 一 changes to 4th tone: yìbiān.

How is 一边 … 一边 … different from using 的时候 (…的时候) to say “while”?

一边 … 一边 … is more compact and strongly emphasizes two actions happening simultaneously.

Compare:

我喜欢一边听音乐，一边上网。
Focus: two actions done at the same time, fairly balanced.
我喜欢在上网的时候听音乐。
Literally: “I like to listen to music when (I am) on the internet.”
This frames 上网 as a kind of time/background and 听音乐 as the main action.

Both can be correct; 一边 … 一边 … just feels more symmetrical and is the canonical “do A while doing B” pattern.

What kind of structure is 听音乐? Why isn’t there a 的 in between?

听音乐 is a verb–object phrase:

听 = to listen
音乐 = music

In Chinese, many verbs directly take a noun object without anything in between, just like “listen to music” in English (no extra word between “listen” and “music” either).

You would not say 听的音乐 here; 的 would change the grammar (for example, turning it into something like “the music that [someone] listens to”). For a simple “listen to music,” 听音乐 is correct.

What’s the nuance difference between 喜欢 and 爱 here? Could I say 我爱一边听音乐，一边上网?

喜欢 means “to like,” “to enjoy.” It’s the normal, neutral verb for likes and hobbies.

爱 means “to love,” but in modern Mandarin:

For people: strong, emotional love
For things/activities: can mean “really like / be crazy about,” but sounds more intense or casual depending on tone and context.

So:

我喜欢一边听音乐，一边上网。
= I like/enjoy doing this. (very natural)
我爱一边听音乐，一边上网。
= I love doing this / I’m really into doing this.
Grammatically okay, but feels stronger or more informal.

For stating hobbies or general preferences, 喜欢 is more common and safer.

What exactly does 上网 mean? Is it like “to surf the web,” “to go online,” or something else?

上网 (shàngwǎng) literally means “go onto the net,” and in practice it covers a wide range of internet-related activities:

going online / connecting to the internet
browsing websites
using social media
watching videos, chatting online, etc.

So 一边上网 is naturally understood as “while online / while surfing the internet,” without needing to specify exactly what you’re doing online.

Is the comma after 音乐 necessary? Could I write it without punctuation like 我喜欢一边听音乐一边上网?

In modern written Chinese, putting a comma between the two 一边 phrases is standard and clearer:

我喜欢一边听音乐，一边上网。 ✅

You can see it written without the comma, especially in casual text:

我喜欢一边听音乐一边上网。 (not wrong, but less clear)

In spoken Chinese, the comma just represents a natural pause. You would typically pause a little between the first and second action:
我喜欢一边听音乐，（pause）一边上网。

Are there other natural ways to say the same idea in Chinese?

Yes, several variants are common and natural:

我喜欢边听音乐边上网。
Here 边 … 边 … is a slightly shorter, colloquial version of 一边 … 一边 ….
我喜欢听着音乐上网。
听着音乐 = “listening to music (with 着 indicating a continuous background state)”
Literally: “I like to surf the internet while (having) music playing.”
我喜欢一面听音乐，一面上网。
一面 … 一面 … is similar in meaning, a bit more formal/literary in some contexts, but still used.

All of these essentially mean that you enjoy listening to music and using the internet at the same time.