The Art Of Listening

Can we learn music without actively listening to it? It seems like a silly question. But, now that music plays most everywhere via tv, film, radio, commercials, video games, sporting events, social events, stores, streaming & social platforms, we need to ask: “Are we as musicians ACTIVELY listening”?

Active listening, a popular topic in relational psychology, could be musically defined as “a communication skill that involves going beyond simply hearing to intentionally seeking to understand and appreciate the design, meaning and intent.”

Active listening requires setting aside time and planning ahead.

Why bother? I know. We are all pretty busy. And, with music streaming everywhereallthetime247, do we really need to schedule times to "actively listen"?

Well, if we are musicians learning how to play an instrument or sing, listening is the primary skill we need to grow.

So, how do we get better at actively listening to music?

Here are a few fun examples from film and television:

In the opening scene of La La Land, one of the main characters (a jazz pianist) is stuck in traffic. While waiting, he actively listens to a recording by a famous jazz pianist on a cassette tape. He rewinds a section of the recording over and over and over. Why?

We can assume that he is genuinely curious about what he’s hearing. He wants to understand it. He wants to get to know the music well so he soaks it in as much as he can. Later in the film, this same character is invited to tour with a successful band. His hard work pays off. Listening was part of his learning and personal growth.

In Selena: The Series (twenty minutes into Season 1, Episode 1), Selena’s father, Abraham wants to educate his children on how to play music together in their family band. He invites them to sit down together while he puts on a vinyl record and instructs, “Listen to the song and then tell me what every instrument is doing. Can you hear the guitar?” When one child answers “no”, the father replies: “It’s okay. Listen again.”

They all attentively listen to the same song again. “Do you hear it now?” One child replies, “No…I don’t know. I hear the music.” The dad responds, “The music is all the separate parts— all playing together. But also, each one of you, listening to what everyone else is playing.” Eventually, it clicks. Later on, in this true story, these children grow up to become profes