Graham English

Posts Tagged ‘listening practice’

Always Be Training Your Ears

If you hear some music and don’t know what it is, figure it out immediately. The next time you hear the same chord progression, melodic structure, or rhythm, you’ll probably know what it is. It’s usually as simple as that, and not unlike looking up a word you don’t know in the dictionary. Read on…

Sound Journal: Ringing

Last week I mentioned creating a sound journal as part of a listening practice and to improve your aural intelligence. So I thought it would be a good idea to give some examples of how to do this by keeping a public diary of sound. Hopefully, this will be good for both of us.
Today, I [...]

Ear Training or Listening Practice?

You can make ear training something you do once in a while or you can make it part of who you are. That’s the difference between ear training and a listening practice.
Ear training has often been half-jokingly, half-seriously referred to as “ear straining.” And I can understand why if it’s something that you feel forced [...]

Songwriting Challenges - Where Do I Begin?

One of the most common challenges I hear about songwriting is not knowing where to begin. With the lyrics? With the music? Or something completely different? It’s a rather simple challenge to find a solution to, really.
Start with a single note or single word
Play a single random note and just listen to your imagination. Does [...]

Hearing and Consciousness

From Mind Hacks: Tips & Tools for Using Your Brain
Hearing is the first sense we develop in the womb. The regions of the brain that deal with hearing are the first to finish the developmental process called myelination, in which the connecting “wires” of neurons are finished off with fatty sheaths that insulate the neurons, [...]