3 Ways to improve your Aural skills

This week, we will cover a topic that is a little complicated but will help you wonders in the future. It may sound easy but, it is the most complex technique or skill to have as an aspiring musician. It is one of the most important tools you need to have in your inventory. You must have heard about ear training, and as a student you must have done a lot of exercises but in this blog, we will look at few general skills you must have and understand.

Recognizing the Instrument

This is the most basic skill you need to inherit through hearing songs. When you listen to a song, can you differentiate the instruments? Every instrument has a part to play in the song. They all have a different role and yet, together it sounds so majestic. Listen to each instrument and recognize the different tones and different space in the song that they occupy. This will help you a lot in a band setting where you understand your peer's participation and weigh their contribution. This will also enable you to use your instrument in a much better way and sound unique yet one with everyone.

Finding out the key/pitch

Except for the drummers, others should be able to find the key of the song in their instrument just by listening to it. Once you do that it will help you find the melody line as well as chords that is been played in the song. Although, some of the songs make key changes, most of them follow the theoretical study you are doing now. As a drummer, your task is to understand where the beats are been played, for eg; where does the bass drum kicks in or where the snare is been played.

Understanding the Rhythm

As you get acquainted with the process of hearing the song and applying it to your instrument, try to understand the rhythm of the song and play it accordingly. The best way to test if you are doing it right is play along with the song and listen if it matches the groove of the song. Once you can get the rhythm, you can easily express the feel of the song and add texture to your playing. Drummers should now able to identify the rudiments and different pattern of beats that is going on in the song.

There are lot many aspects and traits that you have to understand and master through just hearing the song, however we will discuss those in detail another time. For now, just start with these basic approaches and try to learn as much as you can.

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