You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Why social listening is important

Episode Date: November 8, 2021

Don't listen alone! Adam and Peter help you discover the importance of 'social listening'.Have a question for us? Leave us a SpeakPipe: link.youllhearit.com/speakpipeSupport the pod by spreading the word with the link youllhearit.com Learn more about Open Studio Pro: openstudiojazz.com/proInterested in more music advice? Go here to browse our catalog of jazz lessons and courses available for purchase. And be sure to check out our All Access Pass - every course from Open Studio on every instrument.Let us know what you think by leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, or head over to our YouTube channel.Follow us on Twitter | Instagram

Hey, Peter. Yo. What's important? Well, we know listening is. That's always number one around here, right? Yeah, but is that the only thing? Well, I have the feeling like you want to lead to this place of social listening. I do indeed.

All right, let's go there. All right, here we go. I'm Adam Manus. And I'm Peter Martin. And you'll listen to the You'll Hear podcast. Music, advice, inspiration, and how to listen. You know, I've been trying out different taglines. I think I might have just hit on something.

And how to listen. He finally, what about dope? Doppiness to the popeness. Well, no, but, you know, dope. listening idea that's part of it but that's a lot about what we talk about around here we talk a lot about how to listen because we love it we love listening it's been such a game changer for us i mean it's like one of those things that you're both participating in and you're learning and it's nourishing you and it's fun yeah you know what i mean all the same time that could be listening like what we're

going to talk about today which i'm super excited about you know social listening listening with others like how does that enhance the not that it's better or worse than individual listening it's different yeah but it's important but also listening on the bandstand, listening when you practice. I mean, like, the ears, the process of listening is just so important. And like, we take it for granted because we're like, oh, of course. It's like if you're an artist, how does the art look? Your eye, like that's the window into that world.

Of course, if you're dancing, how does it feel and how does it look and all that? So, of course, how does it sound? But I mean, it's just like, once you start thinking about listening and really zeroing in on that and the different ways that you can do it. It's just so exciting and such a game changer. Yeah, and full disclosure, this whole episode is really inspired by our new course Language of the Masters, which you've probably heard about there at the top of the show. For today, for our you'll hear our listeners, if you check the show description,

you can save $30 on this new course. What? It's super popular course already, Peter, called Language of the Masters. It's where we do a bunch of social listening. We break down five of the greatest piano solos of all time, blah, blah, blah. But it's really, really important to listen with other musicians, both musicians who are on your level and better than you, and even musicians who aren't as good as you

so that you have to explain things to them. All of these things are like part of the process, man. Every musician goes through this. It's why it's so much, the social element is so important to growing. So we thought we talked about why it's important to listen socially and how you might think about doing that with some of your listening friends. That's right. And can also be a great way to make new friends.

That's right. You know what I mean? You can, I mean, think about how many people, we connected over music. You know, most of my dearest friends in the world, there's that connection between music and listening is one of the great ways to do that. So, all right, so what do you think is,

not necessarily the most important part of social listening, but what's the part that resonates the most, or has for you? Yeah. For me, most of my favorite records were recommended by someone else. And I think that, like, if we start from sort of panning out, right?

Zooming out to why having friends who are into the same music or even not even the same music, it's music in general and can point you to new music is super important because when you find someone who you like their taste, like, I cling. I'm like, what are you doing? Yeah. What are you listening to right now?

You know what I mean? Because they're going to feed me like, hey, I'm right outside your windows. See me over here? Kind of creepy. No, but those friends have always been super important in my life. And I'd like to think, I hope that I've hit people to cool stuff that I'm into as well.

Well, you've hit me to stuff for sure. But it's really, I think, you know, especially when you're developing and you want to grow, like having a social network of people who can recommend records to listen to and who can argue about what's the favorite records and the best version of this or that or whatever, man, it's all really important because then you get to know sort of the culture around it too.

Right, exactly. Culture around listening and around interacting with and learning from, but also just enjoying, you know, music. I think about, you know, what is that phrase or that advice where it's like you're the average of the four people that you hang out with the most. That's right. So I think with this, like hanging out with people that can, that not only can hip you to great stuff, because I think everybody's got things that they kind of know or have heard that others don't.

So that's a nice thing too. But also it's like how do you listen? What are you listening for? Because think about like social listening. It's not just, hey, have you ever heard, you know, Miles smiles that record? Oh, no, I haven't heard that. Is that good. Oh, yeah, go listen to it.

Of course. That's a recommendation. But you could get that off the internet or from, a radio show or, what's a radio show? What am I talking about? There's no radio. Come on, man. You can get that from us, you know.

And that's great. Well, you'll hear it radio out. Radio, yeah. The embers are burning. But weather and traffic on the ones. But that's like the, that's just a recommendation for you to go probably listen on your own. Totally.

Which is great too. And that's an important thing. That's a whole other episode we can talk about. But I think that when you listen with people, it's like you're getting not just the recommendation. You're getting a recommendation on how to listen to, like what to discover in that. It might be something that you know really well or thought that you knew really well. But if you have very astute, if your, you know, network of four people are elevating you, like, if they're kind of lame and you're only elevating them, that's fine.

You're doing a public service, but you've got to find some other friends. That's right. I mean, come on, man. Yeah. Because, I mean, I remember listening to, and this would be fun if we could just kind of go through some memorable listening sessions. Totally. From yesteryear. Absolutely.

I remember back in 1990, five. Do you remember 1995? I do indeed, yes. You were probably. A junior in high school. A junior in high school. So I was a full grown adult, as it were.

Right. So, you know, not the tallest, but full grown for me. But I remember doing a tour in Japan. piano yeah Christian McBride a young Christian McBride well we're all young yeah on bass yeah Kenny Washington ever heard of him on drums I would like to hear that trio please yes it was I got to hear them every night so there was that listening because we were alternating sets at the Blu No clubs in three different cities I was playing with Joshua Redmond Brian Blade Christopher Thomas quartet that was actually the

first kind of big tour we did then in 95 but as much it was fun to listen to them play each night the hang afterwards where we were just like listening in bride's room until late at night because he had like a laptop then which was kind of a thing then and had like some music loaded in that wasn't just we all had like our CDs or whatever he had some kind of MP1

file going on or something but I remember hearing specific things like what's the horse silver record with the with the circle I get it I've remembered it I can still picture it what you know how it looks and stuff but it was a great blue note record that I'd never heard

and I thought I'd heard all the horror silver stuff But it was so great to hear that, but then to hear McBride, like, oh, check this out. Check out this rim shot. You know, I mean, it was just such a discovery thing. And then Blade was playing us like really cool stuff. And I mean, I learned so much on that tour. And most of it wasn't on the bandstand. Most of it was just on the hang.

Really? Yeah. Yeah. No, for real, man. Would this be Horace Silver Tree introducing the Horace Silver Tree? No. It would be, it would be. New faces, new sounds.

No, no. But let's hear about a memorable period of yours. and I will find it by the time of your story. But I will both simultaneously be listening to your story as well. Yeah, I mean, for me, thank you. For me, the most prescient memory I have is the first time I heard giant steps. And I remember the apartment I was in with my friend Jason Van Diemen, a bass player and him like telling me about it and what was happening, right?

And so this is where we can kind of get to the next thing. So you have these friends who introduce you to new music and what to listen to. and then they could like if you're with a more experienced musician they can tell you what's like because i was like wait what what is happening here and it's moving in major thirds it's moving through b major g major and e flat major i was like what no that fast mind blown is up to mind blown for sure yeah and uh that's the other part of this that i think is so crucial is when you're listening with musicians who are more experienced with you they can point out the things that you can't hear that are going on, that you may be like,

I love that sound, what is happening? What is going on there? And they know, right? And then another part of that is, if you're listening to musicians that are less experienced than you, don't sleep on that as a learning experience because they're going to have questions and you are going to have to think of your answer

in a way that is like correct, hopefully. Yeah, yeah. And helps them to understand it better. And teaching always helps us solidify how we know things. Yeah. So it's a teaching moment for you as you listen with unexperienced musicians. or less experienced musicians.

And that can be really, really crucial too. And then just listing with your peers and just commiserating on stuff you both like, you know, or that you all like you said, I mean, I feel like my story is no Benny Green Trio featuring Chris McBride with Joshua Redmond and Chris Thomas, Brian Blade. Yeah.

That's some names dropped on the floor, my friend. Yeah. Well, I mean, they were just, they put on their pants just like everybody else, I guess. But, but yeah, I mean, I think that you touched on touched on, you know, kind of an important duality of, um, communal or, or community based social listening. And that is, you know, not only what to listen to and like getting hip to things like, what. Okay. It's, by the way, it's Horace scope, the horse silver quintet. Because I remember strolling is the first tune. Of course. Um, it's great, great, great record. Nika's dream is on

there. But, um, it's only not like what to listen to, but it's how to listen to it. That's, you know what I mean, like what to focus in on, like, how to experience it. And sometimes that's an overt thing where it's like, oh, check out this G7 sharp 9 or whatever and how it's placed there. I mean, I remember even being like, this is a two feel that he's playing. Yeah. I'm like, oh, that's a two feel. Okay, cool. I've heard of that.

Right, right, right. Absolutely. Oh, it's great stuff. All right, buddy. Thank you so much. And again, check out the new course link here just for you. You'll hear it listeners for $30 off. Our brand new course language of the master's here.

Today only. Well, no, all week. All week only. Sorry. But make sure to get on it now because this price won't be like that for a while. This is a, this course is already popping off too. You're going to want to check it out. Yeah.

And we're getting a lot of like really positive feedback, which I'm always excited about. I mean, I actually get excited about negative feedback too because it tells us, you know, if you don't know what you're not doing right, how do you know what to do it right. Absolutely. Our members are really digging it. If you're already in Open Studio a member, it's on your dashboard. Exactly. It's right there available to you.

And you can consider becoming a member where you get access to all this stuff. But I do think that, you know, our initial idea, because this is different than anything. we've ever done. Totally. I mean, it's probably closer to this podcast in some ways, but with the GPSes and like this so specific to like these solos of these pianists that we love and know and like, you know, we had so much fun doing it. It's almost criminal.

Yet it's not. How do we get away with it? So we're going to take a little risk here. Until next time, folks. You'll hear it.