composition & improvisation


Are We Really Listening? Matt Turner, WMEA State Chair, Composition & Improvisation


Imagine going for a walk and listen- ing to the sounds around you. What did you hear? Per- haps you heard the obvious – traffic, sirens, machinery, people talking, dogs barking and so forth.


Now, listen with more awareness, and what do you hear? Perhaps the slight hum of an insect, the crisp rustling of leaves, a distant train horn, or your own breathing? With focus and a heightened awareness of listening, you begin to hear sounds that you failed to notice initially.


Now, translate this experience to play- ing in an ensemble. One hears a trumpet, or the ensemble performing quietly, or the violin and viola sections performing the melody. Upon deeper listening, one hears that the oboist and the flutist are not articulating their passage in agreement, the tempo is dragging, or the timbre of voices is bright.


I point out to students that the point of rehearsing is to learn others’ parts through listening. And yet, students are often so glued to the page that they do not listen to what others are playing. This creates a “tunnel vision” of the ear, closing off the sounds around us.


Improvisation and/or learning music by ear are remedies for listening insufficien- cies. Since the goal of improvising is to create music by ear in real time, impro- vising removes the visual component in learning and performing music. Reading music burns up many “ear calories.” By the time we look at the music, comprehend the information, send out the information to our fingers, arms, embouchure, etc. and then actually produce sound, we are in danger of losing aural focus. It makes sense, since we are multi-tasking both


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aurally and visually. The visual takes precedence, since we typically learn music visually. How do we move away from the visual to focus on the aural?


Here are some exercises I use to increase listening skills and awareness:


Listen to the Room


Students close their eyes and listen to the sounds in the room. Many will be surprised at how many sounds exist that previously went unnoticed – a ticking clock, a low hum from a light, a slight hiss of a radiator or central heating, a student exhaling, etc. After identifying the sounds, ask your students to emulate the room sounds on their instruments. Use those sounds to create an improvisation or composition. Deep listening involves “digesting” the sounds around us – similar to demonstrating patience in listening to another’s argument before responding during a debate. Listen, focus, process, and then respond.


Teach or Learn a Piece By Ear


Teach a piece by ear through call and re- sponse. Keep it simple. Pieces with simple melodies, harmonies, and bass lines work well. All students learn each part (melody, bass line, harmony) and then are assigned parts later. Spoon-feed the more challeng- ing material, and ask students to learn the easier material by ear outside of rehearsal. When I have done this in the past, students have admitted that they wanted to “throw me overboard” because of the challenges


“Listening is an art, and it takes a great deal of care and effort to develop.”


involved early on in this process but later pointed out that the concert experience (no stands!) was like one they had never experienced previously. They were able to completely focus (listen!) without the distraction of the written music. As a result, they felt more at ease on stage and had a more profound understanding of the individual and sectional roles within the ensemble.


Spring a Pop Quiz


Ask students to explain in detail what others were performing during a piece or section of a piece. Here is how the con- versation usually unfolds:


Me: “Who had the melody with the flutes at letter B?”


Student: “I don’t know.” Me: “Why not?”


Student: “I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn’t listen to anyone else.”


Me: “This time through, be aware of which sections or individuals are playing the melody at letter B.” Or, “Memorize the first four measures at letter B. Now, close your eyes and play the passage. Who played this rhythm? Who was playing the melody? What was the cello section playing?”


Students listen with more focus with their eyes closed and immediately begin to hear the contributions of their peers.


Listening is an art, and it takes a great deal of care and effort to develop. Challenge yourself and your students to move away from the page to explore a new world free from visual learning.


Matt Turner is a cellist, pianist and com- poser. He teaches improvisation at Lawrence University.


Email: matthew.l.turner@lawrence.edu April 2017


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