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.

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.

4 Reasons Why Listening to Music is Crucial to Becoming a Better Musician

If you haven’t ever seen a game of cricket, chances are you are just average at playing the game too. Simple reason being that you don’t understand the context of the game. Playing an instrument is the same. You may have the knowledge but if you don't listen to songs/music, how are you ever going to be able to apply them? To be able to test your skills you need to have an idea, a reference to evaluate what you have learnt. Music is something everyone enjoys, so there is no need to force anyone to listen to music. In this blog, we talk about how listening to music is absolutely essential it is for you to grow as a musician.

1. Context

Every technique that you learn, every theoretical lessons has a role to play. Songs help you demystify them. You can hear techniques being applied, scales being followed which, only strengthens your understanding of it. It is amazing to be original but even originality needs an inspiration and a reference to create. Listen to your favourite artists, try to imitate them and it will inspire you to be better.

2. Aural(listening) Skills

It is emphasised time and again that aural(listening) skills are really crucial for a musician. Good aural skills makes you a more complete musician. Songs help you develop a sense of rhythm and familiarise you with different dynamics of sound including melody constructions which, are very important to create good music. You start to understand the difference in notes and apply them by just listening to a tune.

3. Learning different styles

There are so many different styles/genres of music and every one of them is unique. You will only get the idea of applying the same knowledge of your theory and technique differently to sound unique each time by listening to as many different genre of songs as possible. So explore and learn to use your skills differently to unlock skills to new genres of music.

4. Inspire Yourself

Songs that excite you inspire you to practice more, sharpen your skills and pushes you to dedicate more time to your instrument. Follow your idols, their moves, their techniques and integrate them into your playing style. It just pushes you to dedicate more time and effort to developing your skills which, will fast track your progress to becoming a better musician.

Listening to a range of different types of music is a vital part of your learning as it connects your playing skill to your knowledge of techniques and concepts. It shows you the application of the techniques you learn and encourages you to experiment more practically with your instrument. Thus, the more you listen, the better your grasp will be on how to approach a song or a certain technique that you have been learning on the instrument. So don’t just play your instrument, find time to listen to plenty of music and get inspired!

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.