listening

Believe it or not, this isn’t going to be a post about relationship advice or communication. This one is all about how to listen actively to music! This post came about as my oldest toddler has been really getting involved with listening to music and has started to collect some favorite artists and songs. Watching him experience music has refocused my brain on how to listen actively as I’ve found myself needing to explain it to him! Active listening is a skill that can be learned to increase overall musicianship, pattern recognition, songwriting ability, and more… plus it’s easy! It’s also extra fun as an adult and music-lover to go back and listen to music that was heavily played and important during those formative years (especially the tweens and teens). At least in my experience, songs sound different now than how I remember them, and practicing active listening helps me appreciate them more! Read on to learn some tricks and help grow that musical brain.

Active vs. Passive:

Both types of music enjoyment are important, and one isn’t better than the other. Passive listening occurs when you have a song on in the background. Maybe you’re on your drive to work, cleaning the house, or at dinner with live musicians. Your brain isn’t focusing on the music and it doesn’t have your full attention. You may tune in (pun intended) at times, but the music is there to set the mood, make you happy, or help you focus.

Active listening is when you focus most of your attention on the music. Usually, you analyze it or deconstruct it while it’s playing, but that doesn’t have to be the case. As long as you’re thinking about what’s happening, musically, your brain is working and fine tuning itself (one again, pun intended). Active listening doesn’t have a specific roadmap, but here are some tips and tricks to get you started. I’ve broken them down into attributes of a song, which should make it easy to pick one specific item and go from there – which is particularly useful if you have a toddler in the back seat.

Structure:

Music is based on patterns both small and large. Our brains love a good pattern and some tasty repetition. In his book The Storyteller, rock icon Dave Grohl describes how he thinks of sections of songs like giant Lego blocks that can move around, interlock, and build on each other. When you’re practicing active listening with a song, try:

• How many different chunks (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.) does the song have?
• How long are the chunks? Are they all the same, or are some longer than others?
• If the song doesn’t have words, can you find parts (themes) that repeat?
• When sections of the song are repeated, how are they different from the first time?

Rhythm:

A great definition of music is organized sound. Without rhythm, we don’t have music! Rhythm is one of the easiest musical attributes to track, especially for young listeners. Try the following:

• How many beats, or pulses, does each measure have? Can you count out the beats? The song most likely has four beats per measure, but if not, can you tell?
• What are the drums, or the percussion section, doing? Can you track that part when you’re listening?
• How does the percussion change to introduce a new section or song structure?
• Can you hear how the bass (guitar, synth, or lowest instrument) interacts with the percussion? Start with the kick drum and the bass instrument relationship.
• Can you find patterns within the drum or percussion part? For example, can you track or count what the cymbals are doing in relation to the snare drum?

Pitch:

When we think of “music”, we often first think of pitch, or the melodies and harmonies in a song. This section is all about identifying the form and shape of the melodic lines. For example:

• Is the singer vocalizing high or low? Can you sing the same notes comfortably?
• Do the instruments sound like they are playing high or low notes? For example, is the piano using the high end, low end, or both?
• Latch on to a specific melody. What is the shape of that phrase? Are the notes getting higher, lower, or making a musical rollercoaster?
• How do melodies change to introduce new sections of the song’s structure?
• Is the singer using any vocal tricks like whispers, slides, or affectations?

Instrumentation:

This category is my favorite for active listening, and it’s all about identifying the unique instruments, plugins, effects, pieces of gear, and tonal colors in a piece of music. Like with other sections, the sky is the limit, but I find that you can get into some interesting rabbit holes here:

• What instruments (or samples) are being used in the song?
• Can you track each individual instrument through the song?
• If you were to see or play this song live, how many different instruments and people would you need to make it sound like the recording?
• How many vocalists (or how many layers of harmony) can you hear?
• What effects are being used on each instrument? For example, is a guitar clean or distorted, or are the drums electronic or acoustic?
• Do you recognize any sound samples that you’ve heard in other songs?
• What instrument or sound is the main focus in each section of the music?

Innovations:

Once you’ve practiced a lot of active listening, or when you’ve heard your favorite music so much that you know it inside and out, it’s fun to imagine (or write!) what you would do differently if you had been the original composer or recording artist. This is also a lot of fun to think or talk about after hearing a new piece of music for the very first time. For example:

• Is the song too long or too short? Why?
• Are the melodies catchy? How would you edit or improve on them?
• Clunky lyrics? Change them!
• Strange mixing decisions? Is it difficult to hear a specific instrument?
• Weak bridge or other section of the song? Write a new one!

Conclusion:

Active listening is a lot of fun, and it’s a huge asset for musical growth and development. Aspiring and pro musicians should be like a sponge absorbing all types of music across various genres. If you try something and don’t particularly like it, active listening can inform you as to why, and at the very least, it can help you find the silver lining in a song… or better yet, inspire you to write your own take on it! Let us know if you have further questions about songwriting or active listening, and stay tuned for our next installment of the Songbirds Knowledge Blog.