Listening Is A Choice

On one of my first gigs after arriving in Nashville, the drummer turned to me and said "it's really nice to play with a guitarist who listens".

I was a little surprised at this, being a new arrival in Music City and knowing the old joke about how if you come to Nashville to be a guitar player and the first guy you meet after entering the city limits plays better than you, you turn around and go home. (And odds are that happens frequently, there are a LOT of phenomenal guitar players in Nashville, my drummer friend's somewhat cynical comment notwithstanding).

But he does raise a good point. Just because a group of people are onstage playing a song together doesn't mean they're listening to each other. And I don't mean that in a mean-spirited or overly critical way....there is hearing and there is listening, so I'll take a moment to elaborate on what I mean.

Let's define "listening" from a musician's perspective as an active rather than a passive activity. In other words, a musician who is listening is constantly evaluating and reacting to what they hear, and those reactions are expressed in how they play or sing. Simple example: if the lead singer feels that a certain part of the song should be delivered with a softer, more relaxed energy, a band that is listening will simply react and follow the singer's lead. The first rule of accompanying is that the lead voice/instrument sets the tone: volume, intensity, feeling - and the accompanists (e.g. the rest of the band) follow suit. In a good band, this happens easily and the entire performance is dynamic and musical.

So why WOULDN'T someone not be listening? It's generally not a question of ego, or childish onstage behavior.....for the most part, people want to do their best and for everyone to sound good. But because playing an instrument or even singing comes from certain physical/mechanical movements and actions, it's often easy to get more focused on that aspect than on the sound that's being produced. Guitar players have a (somewhat deserved) reputation for being the worst offenders in this area....playing too loud being the most obvious expression. But I've seen players who sounded incredible warming up who suddenly seemed lost when the band started to play. What happened? Their fingers can lead the way, but place them in a musical context where the ears have to come first and the fingers don't get the guidance they need.

Singers do this too. The old gag about how you know when there's a singer at your door because he/she doesn't have the key and doesn't know how to come in. But well-arranged music has a natural ebb and flow, an energy that moves and leads the ear.....a singer who is REALLY listening will naturally hear when the spotlight is shifting to them, because the band's performance will make it clear. (For example.....when the song begins, the intro may be high energy to grab the audience's attention, but then the volume comes down and the texture softens at the beginning of the verse to make room for the singer).

What all of this means to any musician is that your goal is to be an active, attentive listener. And while musicians who study formally take classes in "ear training" these skills can be picked up simply by paying attention to the right things. Listen for dynamics, the rise and fall of volume and energy. Listen for who has the primary voice at any moment....if it's you, grab the spotlight, and if it's not, stay out of the way until your turn comes. If you're jamming along with a band you've never played with before, don't play your guitar licks WHILE the singer is singing but in the spaces in between. A great performance in almost any genre of music is a conversation in which each member gets to have the floor....sometimes the spotlight shifts quickly and you might only have a moment to add something, but a moment is all you might need. It's as simple as choosing to pay attention and being as aware of what's going on around you as you are of what you're doing yourself.....and that's a worthwhile thing to strive for in many aspects of life, not just music.