Use Technology to Aid Your Listening : SHOP UBB
Use Technology to Aid Your Listening
Use transcription machines, wav file editors, etc. to aid your listening. Choose phrases to learn, loop them or slow them down to aid your listening. This is the way that you could use a transcription machine, or a wav file editor, or a tape recorder that can slow music down. This technology is wide-spread at this point.
I use a program called Sound Forge Studio. It is a wav file editor. I can rip CDs into my computer and loop certain parts if I’m working on a particular phrase. I can take two bars and I can loop that over and over so I can really drill that phrase into my mind. I can even slow that down and if I am having problems hearing a certain note or hearing part of the phrase, I can slow it down. It is important to use these technological aids to help you learn and hear more.
There is nothing wrong with using technology. In fact, it’s stupid not to use it. It’s like not using a metronome or not recording yourself. It’s a tool that can help you grow. It’s a tool that exists that can be incredibly powerful. Use it, loop phrases, slow down music and gradually bring it back up to the original tempo and make sure that you can still hear the details that you were going for in the first place. Yes, ultimately, you will want to be able to hear things in real time. Using a tool is only a way to get there faster. This is a smart way to do that.
I’ve met some musical purists who think that’s a crutch. These people believe that using a wav file editor is a crutch because you should be able to learn in real time by ear, like the masters of 1940 did. And that is fine, but I am sure that the masters in 1940, if they had the ability to loop tracks or loop phrases, or slow things down, they would have used that tool. You should use that tool now.
Use technology to aid your listening. It is not a crutch as long as you gradually bring the tempo back up and as long as the goal is ultimately to be able to hear the thing in real time. Eventually what is going to happen if you do enough of these things, say you are trying to learn a Coleman solo bar by bar so you can really hear the notes and the rhythms and the phrasing and all that. You do that a few times and through a couple of solos and eventually the effect will be that you will be able to hear it in real time when you listen to the next Coleman solo you decide to study. It is just a powerful tool to help speed up your progression. By all means use any form of technology or any tool in general that can help you master certain musical skills and help you hear more and get more out of your listening strategies or listening sessions.
Chris Punis is an active jazz musician in the northeast. He is founding member of the critically acclaimed group Gypsy Schaeffer and a member of renowned saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase’s group The Explorer’s Club. Chris is also an accomplished jazz educator and author of “The Monster Jazz Formula”. For more information about his teaching methods and to receive your free lessons, “21 Great Ways To Become a Monster Jazz Musician”, visit www.learnjazzfaster.com.
Use Technology to Aid Your Listening / Author: Chris Punis
