January 1998:Using your ear

Unit One: On The Art Of Listening

One of my students recently gave me a wonderful and unusul gift, a rock engraved with the word "LISTEN". Apparently this is one of my favorite directives (along with "Count") and indeed it represents the essence of all musical work.

As a student my teachers were constantly reminding me to listen to myself as I played and for many years I assumed they were a bit "daft" because of course I was listening, how could I not be? But alas they were correct- at least in part.

The fact is that listening requires that we FOCUS on something.

MORE OFTEN WE FOCUS ON PARTS OF WHAT WE ARE DOING:

• NOTES draw our attention first and are the most common point of focus.
• RHYTHM requires that we relate the musical patterns to a consistent beat structure that we set either internally or with the use of a metronome.
• FINGERING allows us to move from note to note in whatever manner the music requires. Consistency of fingering requires constant monitoring.
• TECHNIQUE involves the way in which we use our physical body, hands, elbows, wrists, sitting position, etc. Again it requires constant monitoring.

GRADUALLY WE MUST LEARN TO FOCUS ON BROADER CONCEPTS:

• PHRASES group sections of the music into musical ideas. There are short phrases, long phrases, and phrases inside of phrases all of which we must learn to hear, and then to shape and express.
• DYNAMICS are the levels of volume at which we play. But they are not exact. They require judgements regarding the style of the piece, the period in which it was written, etc. Many require gradual degrees of movement.
• TEMPO is the rate of speed at which we play a piece. It relates again to the type of music, a dance, a lullaby, a march, etc.
• CONTRASTS occur between sections of music and often between phrases. Many require different styles of execution to achieve mood changes, etc.

FINALLY WE MUST HEAR THE MUSIC AS A WHOLE:

• STYLE and CHARACTER are the sum total of all the parts we learned above.
• EXPRESSION is a combination of style, character, interpretation, and whatever of "ourselves" we bring to the music that we execute.

SUGGESTION: When you have gotten a piece into solid playable condition, record yourself on tape and listen as though the player were someone else. This can be a truly surprising experience. You will hear things you simply were unaware of as you played. Try it - its fun!

See you next month for Unit 2.

Stephanie

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