Deep Listening
Would you learn a language without listening to it? This is a crucial aspect of learning musical styles, and should be part of your regular practice regime.
Most people only intentionally listen the second way
Structure in listening time for all three this week!
1 - Passive - Music plays in the background. The listener pays no attention and sound is registered subconsciously (ex. while chatting with a friend, cleaning, working, etc)
- Assignment - pick a piece of music you want to learn or are learning (for free improv pick something in the style you desire to play) and play it in the background while doing something like chatting with friends, reading, writing, or cooking.
2 - Active - Music plays in foreground. The listener is participating in the experience consciously and is able to reflect on the qualities and attributes of the music and style (stay left brained - no analyzing)
- Assignment - take the same piece of music and listen actively while enjoying it. Just like a fine painting, you should be able to step back and appreciate the whole picture without analyzing the brush strokes. If your training creeps in and pushes you toward #3 then do your best to flip the listening to general qualities - what is the groove like? What textures does the instrumentation create? If this is hard you may need to pick something in a style unfamiliar to you in order to turn your analytic mind off.
3 - Participation - The listener engages deeply and explores the nuances and detail of style and attributes. (playing along, transcription, analyzing the lingo)
- Assignment - Play along with the track and get creative! Now is the time, not just for analysis, but a practical EXPLORATION of how to execute and imitate what you hear. Make 'mistakes', and if you are ready, do some transcription!
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Listening is a core component of musicianship but is often taken for granted or overlooked as a skill to cultivate when we are so focused on learning technique and 'perfect' execution.
