Tip: Playing With Your Ears

Image Courtesy of Hypothetic Help

   A big thing that Jon has been driving into me in my lessons is to play by how it sounds, not by how it feels. If you can get this coordination mastered it can improve every aspect of your playing -consistency, intonation, tone- just to name a few major ones. This sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right?

Cons of Playing by How it Feels

• Anyone who has ever used a mirror when they practice fully understands that what we think we're doing is usually completely different from what's actually going on.
• The feeling of how you play changes slightly each day and if you just "go along" with these changes you're developing slightly inconsistent habits each day.
• If you're just playing notes in a way that feels right you can probably go ahead and kiss your chances of having good intonation farewell...
• If you're feeling tired, sick, and not good then chances are your playing will also be tired, sick, and not good.

Pros of Playing by How it Sounds

• Your sound won't lie to you. If you're sound has "wobbles" or a fuzzy attack then you'll hear it immediately and know that something has got to change for the better.
• Once you've formed your idea of an "ideal, personal sound" then that shouldn't change and you should always be striving to achieve that sound (no matter the circumstances).
• If you're ears are actively engaged in the musical conversation then it'll be second nature to fit your pitch in with all the others. Intonation doesn't seem so scary, now does it?
• It won't matter how you feel while you're playing because an audience is always expecting your best and will never know any of those outside circumstances. As long you go for that ideal sound it'll work out, even if it does seem like more effort when your sick.

Any Doubts?

  If you're still having a hard time accepting this idea of playing with your ears because it's so much different than what you've been doing then I've got one final trick left in my bag to get you to hop over that fence and join the winning team. Make sure to listen for the part where Radek talks about what he remembers from his first horn teacher...

Radek Baborák Talks About R.Strauss Horn Concerto No.2