Group Song Listening
One thing that’s common practice among bands, or at least should be, is the concept of group listening.
In a band, playing together is simply not enough. It’s equally paramount to make time to simply listen to songs together and exchange ideas. Here’s how it usually ran during my high school sessions:
- Have the equipment ready: In our band room, which had a PA, this meant having the right cables to hook up an iPod over the speakers. It’s double fun at double the bass levels :-)
- Get anyone to suggest a song he or she likes. It’s important to listen to a wide variety of genres. Talk about where the song was first heard, and why it was picked. This helps getting to know each other’s musical background better.
- Clarify expectations, what to listen for, what’s the goal? Are you planning on playing the whole song right afterwards - if so, which are the most basic building blocks you need to extract? (You can’t play everything perfectly from the start).
- Play the song. In absolute silence of all members. Listen to it in a concentrated and focused mood. Do not start tapping around on your instrument - this is very annoying to other band members.
- Discuss what you heard, what’s hard, what was cool.
- Relisten if things were unclear - this time you may talk and discuss, rewind, replay. Work the song.
- Move on with courses of action: Try playing the basic rhythm parts of the song, or get everyone to clarify which part he or she needs to learn. Basically, reflect on what’s the next step for everyone in the room.
- Thank the person who brought the song. Super important: Start and end the “song session” with social involvement by thanking.
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POSTED IN: Listening Lessons
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