Learning by Listening

We practice learning by listening so we can say with confidence, “I can hear it, I can play it, I understand it, and I can communicate my musical ideas with others.”

One of my daily rhythms with music is an activity I call "reCHORDit”.

Every morning, I take something I heard on the radio the day before and write the music in standard notation.

It's not my favorite activity.

I do it for the undeniable benefit of connecting what I hear with what I know.

I also do it because I recommend students at popMATICS do the same (and I don’t recommend anything that I'm not practicing myself).

With students, I’m easy on what satisfies the daily reCHORDit. The only requirement is that it must include writing of some form (and it doesn't need to be in standard notation).

If you can write it, you can read it.

That's the path.

You’ll always develop, improve, and gain independence with your reading if you approach it through writing.

I know professional pianists who perform advanced pieces that would struggle to write out the melody to “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” It’s harder than it sounds.

With the amount of time, effort, and attention that goes into becoming proficient with a written piece, it's hardly fair to say it was learned by reading. It was learned by lots of things. Not all of them benefit your learning and understanding.

At popMATICS, we practice learning by listening so we can say with confidence, “I can hear it, I can play it, I understand it, and I can communicate my musical ideas with others.”