How do you listen? There’s so many excellent works written on listening to music. I’m not offering anything new. In fact, at the end of this little series I will list some worthwhile reading for serious, deep work on listening. This here is to help any music student, even our very little ones. Parents as well. Sitting in the living room and listening together for at least one song carefully once or twice a week like this would be a wonderful opportunity for the whole family.

I’ve designed this to consider at least a handful of listens. The first time, just listen, enjoy. Don’t think. What follows before is a suggestion for your second listen to the same recording. In this short post I will focus on tone.

• Listen to the tone or sound of the melody: For a vocalist this would simply be their voice. For a horn player, other wind instrument or guitar, the tone, feel, and sound of their instrument.
• Are there things that alter the sound, perhaps the twang often applied to county vocals, rasps or growls often applied to rock or blues, electric pianos or synthesizers using various sounds, guitars with special filters or processors, mutes for brass instruments, etc.?
• Reflective questions: What do you appreciate about it? What might you not care for as much, and why? Is there something the musician does, a sound they achieve, that you would like to learn how to do? That would be a great thing to write down and ask your teacher about.