Learning to Hear
As songwriters, our two most important gifts are our voices and our ears. I’ve spoken often about the need for songwriters to get singing teacher in order to refine their technique and learn to communicate effectively across a recording. Today, I’d like to focus in on how we can all learn to hear a bit more precisely. The benefits of learning to hear are as follows: identification of instruments in a track, better ability to communicate with your producer when they have not executed your vision properly, and a greater knowledge about what makes your favorite songs tick.
In order to identify what analog instruments are used in a track, I advise you to watch YouTube videos of live jazz bands performing. As the these performances unfold, you’ll watch as clarinetists, saxophonists, and piano players perform solos. While watching, take note of the timbre of the instruments and the octaves that various instruments are able to reach. This practice will help you develop a visual representation of what analog instruments sound like.
If you are not already a producer, I highly recommend watching production tutorial videos next. YouTube “production experts” will elucidate matters of EQ, compression, torment shifts, reverb and other plug-ins. These tutorials can help you identify when high frequencies are getting erased from a track or whether a vocal has been given a “dry” or “wet” treatment. Learning the jargon will help you be a better communicator with your producers.
Once you develop a better sense of analog instruments and production jargon, I want you to go back to your favorite records and listen with the intention of pinpointing what specifically is making the record tic. Is there panning? Are there real strings or fake strings? Is there an overly compressed vocal? Identifying what makes your favorite records work will allow you to use similar strategies in your own work.
Listening is a practice. It is one that can give you a greater vocabulary and a better understanding of how to produce records that you will love and cherish in the years to come. Make listening a priority.
