We spend so much time practicing singing in choir, and give so much feedback on singing better…but how much time do we spend practicing listening and giving feedback on listening better?
I can sometimes sing and listen critically to what’s happening around me at the same time.
Not always. The harder the music, the more I am focusing on effectively singing my part. With Billy Joel’s “Longest Time,” which I’ve been conducting every year for the better part of two decades, I can confidently sing the tenor two part and listen for the vowels of the baritones.
As a young singer and conductor, I couldn’t do that. It took all my concentration to listen critically, assess in real time, and then offer effective feedback.
Before that, I was in the place of many high school singers – I could sing my own part accurately, and homorhythmically with the other singers in the choir, but I paid zero attention to tuning, balance, or any of 100 other factors. I was a passionate musician but without the training to listen beyond my own part, my ears did little more than a superficial “auditory glance” at the other parts.
I find this to be the case for many young singers – particularly in the post-lockdown moments we’re living in. There was no reason to practice listening outwardly, after all, when you were singing by yourself in your room.
More time than ever needs to be spent on listening – really listening – to what’s happening around us.