{"id":1759,"date":"2017-12-05T22:53:16","date_gmt":"2017-12-05T21:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ondrakozak.com\/cs\/?p=1759"},"modified":"2025-01-16T17:25:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T16:25:23","slug":"hrajes-tak-poslouchej","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ondrakozak.com\/en\/2017\/12\/do-you-play-so-listen\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Play? So Listen."},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Importance of Critical Listening for Musicians. List of Recommended Bluegrass Recordings.<\/em><\/h3>\n

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\"listening\"<\/p>\n

How to become a better musician \u2014 universal answer HERE!<\/h2>\n

Every year I meet a lot of people who want to become better musicians. They want to play better rhythm, tasteful fills, faster solos, fancier chords. They would like to sing more convincingly, find harmony vocal lines by ear, arrange songs for their bands, become better at rhythm, know how to improvise and build solos, know what to practice or just want to learn something new. Really a lot of different desires and it seems like everybody is hoping for a simple, straightforward answer and advice. Therefore they go to workshops, attend private lessons, order music transcriptions or buy instructional materials.<\/p>\n

Well, I do have one straightforward answer and advice. It is just one word and it gives universal answer to all the above requests regardless of the music genre (\u2026 that sounds like a dream, I know). It has helped me and \u2013 more importantly \u2013 every good musician I know. It’s no secret, and is right there in the title: Listen. Listen to yourselves but primarily to others. How do <\/span>they<\/i><\/span> play, sing, phrase, how do they react to impulses and how do they talk about music. But above all, <\/span>listen to music<\/i><\/span>. Music you actually want to play. Answers to most music-related questions can be found on recordings. By listening to good music you refine your taste and thus you can judge your own playing more easily. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are people who would like to write a book but do not read. Others want to master a foreign language but do not let it surround them. And there are plent<\/span>y<\/span> of people wanting to become better musicians who do not listen to music. More specifically, their listening is not focused and critical. They use it as a background for other activities. I am convinced that this is not enough. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Hear and listen<\/h2>\n

\"knobs\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Driving a car, washing dishes, gardening, reading, writing e-mails, eating. All great occasions to turn on some music. You are surrounded by nice sounds, do not feel alone, sometimes sing along, bounce your head or tap your feet. Music makes you feel better. I do it too, it is great! But I am not musically evolving when it happens <\/span>\u2013<\/span> I am <\/span>hearing<\/u><\/span> but am not <\/span>listening<\/u><\/span>. Or sometimes at night when everyone is sleeping already. You play a nice music clip on YouTube. When it ends you play another one, and another, and \u2026 I do it too! But I find myself being focused more on the video than the music. <\/span><\/p>\n

Listening to music has evolved a lot in recent years. Most of us have some music stored in a cell phone and access to tons of free music online. Some people tune in to music channels on the TV and others have a radio playing all day long. <\/span><\/p>\n

Being a millennial, LP records are the stuff of fairy tales for me and I discovered cassette tapes only in my teens as the<\/span>y<\/span> were already in decline. I grew up during the MP3 boom ,\u201cillegally\u201c downloading music from the internet. Our connection was dial-up so we used to go online in the evening only to check e-mails. During the day I had the boring Winamp window on my PC screen, and the program played one record after another. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are so many media online these days and music has much stronger competition. I can hardly imagine a situation when somebody would turn on a music-playing-only device and pay it their full attention. I like the idea very much. Being busy with so many things myself, it is hard for me <\/span>\u2013 <\/span>but still I work to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

When was the last time you listened to a whole album without interruption? I am not saying that all albums are worth it, but there are many out there worth a listen. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Analyze and play<\/h2>\n

\"g-run<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are a few tips for more effective engagement with recordings. This is how I try to approach listening. <\/span><\/p>\n

Listen repetitively<\/h3>\n

Before you judge, play the record 3 times. At the first go, we look for something familiar. We tend to reject the record if it sounds too unfamiliar. Someone whose opinion is important to you said it is a good album? Give it one more chance!<\/p>\n

Vary the music you listen to<\/h3>\n

This might sound like a contradiction to the previous tip. What I am trying to point out is that most people <\/span>like<\/i><\/span> the music they know so they prefer it. Then, they end up with a few favorite records and do not care about the rest. This is not a good strategy for a musician.<\/span><\/p>\n

Analyze<\/h3>\n

Focus your attention on various musical layers and instruments. Thus, you will learn how the music works. Ask yourself: Is the key major or minor? What is the speed and rhythm? What is the structure of the composition (intro, verses, choruses, interludes, bridge, outro)? What harmonic functions (chords, progressions, cadences) can you identify? What instruments are involved and how does their role change during the song? How are the solos built (melody, licks, improvisation)? How do you feel about the singing and how is the vocal harmony structured? Can you identify the intervals in the melody and can you imagine how to play it on your instrument? What is repeated in the song and when? Why is the song so catchy? <\/span><\/p>\n

From my own experience I can confirm that repetitive analytical listening is crucial for active learning \u2013and playing. Some people express their surprise that I play several instruments. I am a <\/span>guitar player <\/i><\/span>after all! I confess I have never practiced too much on mandolin and bass. Not as much as I have on guitar, for sure. However, I can play these instruments. The main reason is that I was listening to them very intensively at the time that I was learning and playing guitar exclusively. Later, all I had to do was imitate the sounds that I already had in my head. If you want to play more than one instrument, I can highly recommend this <\/span>\u2013<\/span> do not forget to listen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen loud and on a good equipment<\/h3>\n

If you play records through the built-in speaker on your phone or computer, you are not only losing most of the musical information within but also the emotional experiences that the acoustic experience of music can bring. <\/span><\/p>\n

Listen with you instrument in hands<\/h3>\n

Would you like to play together with your heroes? Thanks to recordings \u2013 your dreams can come true! Do not put your instrument aside but have it at hand. Search for the key, chords, melody. Try to play rhythm or solos. You can actually play breaks through the whole song–this is the only situation when nobody will <\/span>be <\/span>annoyed by that. Learn how to <\/span>slow down the music<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span> using your computer and learn how to <\/span>write music down<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>. Do not rely on your memory \u2013 make notes of the good stuff. <\/span><\/p>\n

Visit concerts<\/h3>\n

While you are at a live performance, focus on the music rather than the visual aspects. Concerts have down sides: the sound is often mediocre or bad, the audience is noisy, it is too cold\/hot in the venue, there are too many\/too few people, the artist plays too many new\/old songs, you have to pay for it, etc. However, it is worth it. I have never gained as much motivation and energy for practicing and composing from recordings, videos, workshops or jam sessions as I have from attending good concerts. <\/span><\/p>\n

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What music?<\/h2>\n

\"banjo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Perhaps you are about to start exploring the wide ocean of worldwide music production. Congratulations! You already listen to some music and have your favorites for sure but you want to broaden your horizons, discover both the essential stuff and news. How to do that?<\/p>\n