Listening to multiple things at once

As an ensemble director you have to be able to listen to lots of stuff at once. You’ve got to be able to listen to all of the different instruments when they’re playing all at the same time. This is a skill that some people naturally develop after hearing the same music multiple times, but it’s something that can also be practiced.

One way you can practice this is by listening to music. Listen to music and try to hear each instrument on it’s own. It can be any type of music too because this skill isn’t specific to one genre. If you’re listening to a rock song try to just hear the bass. Then try to just hear the drums. Percussion is often easier to hear because it’s often the most different in sound. Then try to listen to the guitars. Lastly listen to the singer.

Vocals is often what people focus on the most in songs, so I like to pay attention to that last. It can also be the thing that is quite literally mixed to be the loudest in the song. So for multiple reasons it’s easiest to listen to.

After listening to each individual instrument try to pay attention to two at once. Listen to the drums and vocals first. Those are likely the easiest to hear at the same time because they’re often the loudest and most distinct. Then try to hear the drums and guitar, or the drums and bass. Then listen to the bass and guitar together. How do they relate to each other? Lastly listen to the vocals with the other instruments.

The more you listen like this the easier it’ll get.

Eventually listening to music will be a much more immersive experience, regardless of what genre you listen to. Listening to a folk band will be more detailed because you’ll be able to hear how the fiddle and the mandolin interact and how that all relates to the bass, drums, and banjo or guitar. The same can be said for electronic music or jazz music and basically all genres of music.

It makes many genres of music easier to appreciate when you can listen in detail.

ISJ