Listen versus Hearing about:reader?url=http://www.melmartin.com/html_pages/Articles/lis...

melmartin.com

Listen versus Hearing

8-10 minutes

by

Mel Martin

We use our ears to hear and our brains to listen.The problem this
presents to the musician is that there is an assumption that what
is heard is accurate. In music, particularly jazz music, the ability
to hear accurately and quickly must be developed to the highest
possible degree. This can be done in a number of ways. The first
thing that is usually required of the student musician is to begin
to accurately gauge intonation. Hearing pitch is never a simple
cut and dried method due to the acoustic problems presented by
each instrument. A saxophone must be inserted in the mouth and
will create vibrations that are heard conductively through the
teeth into the inner ear. This is in conjunction with perceiving the
actual sound outside of the horn. Since the player is situated
behind the instrument, accurately determining one's pitch is
never a simple matter. Other instruments present similar yet
individual problems.The accurate perception of pitch is one of the
foundations of good musicianship.The use of modern tuners is a
recent phenomenon that can be of assistance but we don't play

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music by eye, we play by ear. Using a visual aid can be of great

assistance but it needs to be coordinated with the aural
perception of what you are seeing.

The next important trait a musician must develop is the ability to

hear intervals. An interval is the distance in pitch between two
notes. Since there are only fifteen pitches, oops, just checking.
Since there are only twelve pitches (not counting octave
counterparts), this is not an infinite study. All melodies are based
on intervals that take place in a rhythmic structure. Intervals are
of a particular character : major, minor, augmented, diminished,
perfect, not so perfect, all of the above. The key thing about an
interval is that the improvising musician must be able to
immediately, if not sooner, recognize it's precise character. Also,
it is very important to be able to perceive the exact intonation of
an interval because this is the key to playing in tune. We do not
just tune our instruments and then forget about it. We tune as we
go. The old "hunt and peck" system of learning songs had a lot
going for it. Attempting to learn music "by ear" is, in fact, the only
way to learn music because all music is played by ear. In other
words, it filters through the ears and into the brain where the
learning process takes place. Unfortunately, this process doesn't
always happen. Those that believe they are really playing jazz by
only reading tunes out of fake books are in for a rude surprise
when they find themselves in the position of having to deal with
musicians that are playing music that has been thoroughly
internalized as all great jazz players do. In improvisation, a
musical idea should be heard BEFORE it is played. This is

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conception. This is how music is composed.

Intervals are the basis of harmony. All chords are based on

intervals, usually the same intervals used in corresponding
melodies - but not necessarily. Rules are meant to be broken and
many great composers and improvisers break those rules.
Chords share many of the same characteristics of intervals.
Major, minor, augmented, diminished and so forth. However, they
take the concept of intervals further into the higher extensions
known as ninths (sharped, flatted) elevenths (sharped) and
thirteenths (sharped and flatted). Fortunately, we do not speak of
a fourteenth or twenty second chord so this is also a finite study.
The important point to remember is that these are sounds and
sounds can be memorized. Many try to look at a chord sheet and
are daunted at the prospect of attempting to learn a sequence
visually. This will not work. If the chords can be recognized by
their character, then it is not difficult to retain that knowledge with
one requirement. That is that the root relationships of the chords
must also be determined. Jazz players listen to the root
movement as played by the bass and choose the harmonic
character of the chords. This all must be perceived
instantaneously in the context of the rhythmic form.

If the distance between notes (intervals) and chords (harmony)

can be perceived and measured, then the distance between
beats or pulses (meter) can be also be perceived. This is also
known as "having good time." There are many more tempos than
slow, medium and fast. Thelonious Monks was a master at
finding tempos that were "in the cracks." Great jazz players can

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conceive of a tempo, maintain that tempo and execute it

unshakably. The concept of swing is a gut level phenomenon but
meter needs to be heard. This occurs in the brain.

The brain is a marvelous instrument of computation. It can

handle all of the functions of music and still keep the body
functioning (thank goodness!). In the computer world, this is
known as multiprocessing. The brain, however, needs to be
exercised and encouraged. It can handle all of these complicated
tasks but it requires the owner's confidence. When using the
brain to hear, the mind needs to be fully engaged. This requires
much concentration but the more it is practiced the easier it
becomes. "Use it or lose it" becomes the operative thought here.
Learning songs is fine but they need to be played until the
musician "owns" them. This requires performance, many
performances until the song is so internalized that it becomes
second nature.

Okay. I'm ready to start using my brain. What can I do to learn all
of these neat tricks, you may query? There are many things. The
first, oddly enough, is known as ear training. This starts with the
ability to hear basic intervals in a blind situation. In other words,
someone or something (computer, tape recorder) plays an
interval to be identified.This process goes on until the musician
can easily pick out any interval played. On a basic level, this can
be done by humming the bottom note and counting steps up to
the top note.The next step would be to hear more than one
interval at a time in a blind situation. These would be triads and
then four part chords. In classical theory, three and four part

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Bach Chorales are used in dictation. The theory of counterpoint

and the rules of harmony are applied along with the ability to
hear a bass line, a melody line, and all of the inner voices. This is
how the dictation takes place, assigning Roman numerals to
bass pitches for analysis.

One of the best ways to learn tunes is to transcribe them. This is

the single most useful practice a musician can do other than
practicing their instrument. But do not trust your "lying ears" at
first until you get a second opinion. Have someone
knowledgeable look at your work until you develop true
proficiency. Just as many have lost friendships over differences
in intonation perception, battles can break out between people
transcribing the same tune. "No man. He played an F demented
57th in bar 23." "Oh yeah! That's not what I heard." Please, let
cooler heads prevail.

When playing in an ensemble, always attempt to hear all of the

parts simultaneously. This is kind of like walking around in New
York City and hearing all of the sounds of the city at once.
Clearly, this leads to insanity and a lot of talking to yourself.
However, this is a priority in any kind of group situation. In order
to respond to something, you would have to hear it, identify it,
decide if you want to go with it or forget it and generally
accommodate the circumstances. Then there is hearing things in
your mind's eye (ear). This is also known as imagination and is
the most creative part of making music. This is where all of the
above mentioned techniques come into play.

The result of these types of discipline is that you become a better

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listener in all aspects of your waking hours. While driving and

listening to the radio or tapes, keep an analytical ear open. In
conversation, be still and really listen to what is being said so that
you can get the entire message the first time. If you have
difficulty with that, learn to ask questions. Remember that good
relative pitch is the most important trait to develop. Retention is
always a mental discipline. Start practicing it now.

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