This book is all about ears and this chapter might even change your whole life, perception and playing. Get ready!
Some of you may already be “ feel ” players : playing by ear and by feel, knowing music by instinct and appreciating “ the good stuff ”. I know I wasn’t! My path was full of deceptions and questions. I’d be thinking “ well, I learnt the notes and all the chords, what’s next? ” and I’d be trying to emulate the most “ impressive ” and “ flashy ” players. I gradually realized that technique is worth nothing in itself (complicated doesn’t mean good to listen too). The Beattles are a great example of this : simple chord progressions and melodies being the foundation of major, historically significant, songs.
The Ears Have It
I was stunned when I heard Wes Montgomery for the first time. I was listening to the first few tracks on “ The Incredible Guitar of Wes Montgomery ”. Then I watched a video of him and I was shocked! I know he’s the most influential and imitated jazz guitarist of all times, that’s beyond the point. There’s more to it, go on YouTube right now and watch him to hear what I mean!
Ear-wise, that is exactly what you’re looking for. Don’t worry about the theory (notes, chords), the technique (fingers), the sound (guitar, amp) or the style (late bebop), just watch him. He played what he felt and heard. I think that’s why he became so famous and influential: his ears and feel. He played nice lines and everyone is learning his solos but it may be a good idea to imitate his feel, gestures and intentions first.
Wes never read or wrote a single note of music; I saw footage of him teaching his tune to a band. He’d strike a chord and say “ This, play this chord… ”, the other musician would go
“ Ah ok! Dominant seventh with a flat five. ” and Wes would just nod and smile “ Yeah, yeah, that’s it! ”. This is exactly what I mean, knowing by “ instinct ” what is good for you. Your goal is to make “ the ears come first ” at all times (playing or practicing). Nevermind your brain or fingers…or what other people think!
Sing Sang Sung
Throughout this book, I gave you “ stuff to play ” on the guitar; you may have noticed that most of it is NOT playable in a performance context (I would never play entire scales up and down in concert!). The goal for me is to give you “ stuff to play ” that will connect you with your inner musicality. It may sound strange but if you let go when performing, beautiful ideas will come out without your assistance. In other words : you create the “ pathway ” between the instrument and your “ inside ” and the music will pour through the guitar magically.
In short, the goal is to connect your inside musicality with your instrument. Reflecting on this, one might even say that “ you are the instrument ” and the guitar is merely a vehicule. Your
even recognize it! Try to sing right now. Keep going. Don’t stop! Singing is a good indicator of whether or not your HEAR something deeply inside. (What about that last improvised blues solo?)
To emulate the typical connection horn players have with their instrument (because they blow in it), I suggest that guitar players sing everything they play. It doesn’t have to be loud or in tune. One of the great advantages is that you can’t play more notes if you are out of breath; this is real pacing (see chapter 1.1). Sing melodies (learnt or improvised), sing the top note of the chords you play, sing only the rhythms, sing when NOT playing (imagining what you could be playing), etc. Try it for a few weeks and your playing and hearing will change drastically!
(your singing is most likely to improve as well but you don’t care about that, do you?!)
Inner Ear
Now that you know that the connection to the “ inside ” is the most important, let’s work on what you are REALLY hearing. Having a clear sound definition in your head is called aural imagination. It is the same process as mental pictures applied to sounds and music.
(How easy is it to see your best friend’s face inside your mind? What about an entire song?) I believe it is as important to work on improving what you can hear inside than how well the inside is connected to the instrument. I call this the inner ear. It is much like singing without making a sound with your voice; it is imagining that you are singing. (Can you imagine icy water on the tip of your tongue? What about a single open-string on the guitar?)
My favorite way of working on the inner ear is quite cool and simple. I play an open string on the guitar and hear another note in my head. It’s harder than it sounds! Try it yourself : play an open D and sing an open G in your mind (don’t play or sing out loud the G). Focus on the
“ imagined ” G and make it louder and clearer in your mind. When the D string fades out, make the G fade in even louder in your mind. It must be as if you are SCREAMING the note in your head; yell it so loud in your head that it will wake up the neighbours!
Once you are comfortable, you can start to work on hearing all the other notes (twelve notes) above or below any note that is played. Don’t be concerned about the theory of the intervals, just do it. After that, you can do fancier things like hearing two or more notes or singing a song (or part of a song) from the only note you are playing. Make sure the focus is on making the “ inner song ” as loud and clear as possible. Five or ten minutes a day is plenty and you’ll notice your hearing and your concentration improve. I usually do that first when I pickup the guitar; it puts me in a nice state of mind.
[Note : Use this technique to hear rhythms and grooves in your mind as well]
Sing Again
To conclude on the “ sing everything you play subject ” here are a few more suggestions to improve this area :
• Play easy folk tunes or nursery rhymes. Pick your favorite melody, choose a random note on the guitar. This note is going to be the first note of the song. Play and/or sing while playing and/or sing by yourself. Select another random note and play the same melody (repeat a few times).
• Use the same process with slightly more difficult tunes over time (classical melodies, jazz standards, bebop heads and jazz compositions).
• Use play/sing combinations with the melody and the bassline of the songs used above.
(Example : Play bass, sing melody then play melody, sing bass.) Do it in many
“ random keys ” as well; you’ll be relying on your ears 100%.
• When learning a new chord voicing, sing all the notes individually while playing.
• Come up with your own play/sing and/or inner hearing challenges.
More Here (ing)
Finally, I want to add that the best jazz players are always listening and paying attention to everything that is happening within the band… and beyond. In fact, I find that world-class players have three distinct “ states ” or hearing : 1- The self, 2- The group, 3- The audience. They seem to be listening to those three “ channels ” all at the same time; it is really important to gauge and be listening “ from an audience point of view ” whenever you perform. Getting the right mood and feel is often dictated by who’s listening (and caring enough to pay attention to your music).
Work hard on your ears and don’t give up! In the first few years of my formal musical training (classical), I was often very depressed by my own playing and hearing abilities. I was making progress but it never felt “ good ”; I finally found the answer : if you’re training your ears, you’re also hearing yourself better (and differently). You may notice more “ mistakes ” that you couldn’t identify before. That can be depressing but it is a good sign; since your ears are improving, you will be a better overall musician and artist.