Listening: The First Invisible Skill (Part I)
In our previous post, we took a look at the three invisible skills to mixing. Today, we will take a deeper dive into the skill of listening.
There are three key areas you should develop as an active listener:
Listening to Music
Listening to People
Listening to Production
Today, we will briefly discuss the first key area; listening to music, and how it can guide you on your path to greater skill and confidence.
Listening to Music
Here at Rectify, we believe there are four levels of engagement when it comes to listening to music.
Level 1: Start With Artistry and Enjoyment
At level one, you are listening with essentially the same level of engagement as you would when you are listening to music for your own enjoyment. You should be appreciating (or at least trying to appreciate) the artistry of the song and the emotional message it is sending. Understanding the emotional message of the music is crucial for sound technicians, as it is ultimately our goal to serve the artist and their song by enhancing this message.
Level 2: Instrument and Part Recognition
Level two is where we start to get into the deeper workings of a song. Here, you should sit down with a song and begin writing down a list of the instruments as you hear them. Once you have become familiar with the sounds of specific instruments, you will likely have an easier time recognizing them in other songs as well. At this point, instead of simply writing “drums,” try identifying the specific components of the drum set, such as the kick drum or the snare. Try doing the same with other instrument groupings like keyboard and vocals as well.
Level 3: Instrumental Tone
Level three takes us even deeper into the inner workings of the music. Here, instead of merely identifying the instruments in a song, listen for the different tonal qualities of each instrument from song to song and artist to artist. After practicing this, you might find that most musical styles have strong tendencies, and you can use these tendencies to help create a vision for your mix. Understanding the tendencies of specific musical styles will make you a more competent sound technician.
Level 4: Stylistic Variety
At level four, we begin to broaden the horizons of what style of music we are listening to. It is easy to get stuck listening to the music that we like. Such music may not vary much in style. To really grow as a sound technician, you need to go beyond your comfort to music that stretches your abilities. Practice listening to music with a wide variety of styles. Enjoy listening to Rock and Roll? Try listening to some Pop, Classical, Jazz, Country, Hip Hop, or other music instead. As you’re listening, see if you can identify the instruments and how they contribute to the different styles.
The Servant of the Music
In the end, it is our responsibility as sound technicians to serve the artist and their music. To truly be skillful at our work, we must understand the message of the music and use that understanding to enhance the experience for the audience. Spend some time listening to music at these different levels of engagement, and you will find yourself one step closer to being a great mixer.
Ciao!