The Importance Of Not Just Listening But Hearing

In our day to day lives, people often talk about situations where people maybe listening but they are not truly hearing what is being said. Consequently, the point that was trying to be conveyed is lost.

The same is true of music. However, the listening and hearing exists in two clear ways: as performer and as audience member. This is not to say that the same is not true when speaking but the addition of words in speech makes for a wholly different diatribe that I will not embark on here.

As a performer, it is essential that you listen to what you are playing. All too often, particularly with young players, you hear a cacophony of notes but not one of them has meaning or thought.

When one sits down to play, it is essential that you listen and hear everything you are doing. Do not be satisfied with just being able to play a lot of notes at once. The difference between the world's greatest musicians and the rest is their ability to have total command of everything they play and that, even in the most complicated of passages, every note has been thought through.

Knowing exactly how you want something to sound requires more than just hearing, you must understand the context in which something was written. These external factors may have a great impact on your interpretation. Recordings can be helpful but it is important that you arrive at your conclusion yourself. Play something through, feel how are notes are. In this way you will end up with an interpretation that is true to you and not some weak imitation of someone else.

A patient, considered approach is all that is need. Hear what you are playing do not just sit back and let the sound wash over you as it would in a waiting room. Engage and improve: you will be rewarded!