Weekly Studio Update - Listen to More Music! - 09/03/20

It's time to continue our journey along the 8 Steps to Improving your Musicianship! On to number 4:
If you don’t listen to music, you won’t get better at playing music.
Sounds pretty simple right? In fact, it's about the easiest homework you can do, because you don't need to be anywhere near a piano to do it! So how does the sing-along in the car or your headphones helping you through your daily commute help you become better at playing the piano?

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Essentially, if you're not a fan of music, there's really no point in playing music. Your motivation to do something musical should be, at the heart of it, inspired by passion. This is the reason I so often ask during a lesson what you've been listening to, and why I ask on my sign-up form who your musical hero is. The best musicians I know are the ones that love music, and they're able to continue to grow their skills by being curious about what they listen to. It's also why I share each week the things that I've been listening to in case you're in need of something new to inspire you!
If you're an adult learner, chances are that your musical tastes have already been heavily curated, as we usually slow down on the amount of new music we listen to after our teenage years and early 20s. That's fine! Your challenge with the music that you already know inside-out is to find new ways to appreciate it. Have you listened to what the drums or the bass guitar are doing? Is there a melody or harmony in the backup vocals that you'd like to work out how to play?
Once you've listened to something with a critical ear (which isn't to say that you have to be critical of the music) you'll hopefully be inspired to want to know how that song was built, which might inspire you to sit at the piano and have a go at learning the song.
Some students listen to hours of music each day, some students might only hear 30 minutes of music of their choosing in a week. Some, none at all. Want to hazard a guess at the group of students who are more likely to improve their musicianship more quickly?

Things I've been watching/listening to this week:

1. History of EDM on the Piano | HDpiano Original - my colleagues at HDPiano have put together this one-take video of dance music from the 70s to now!
2. Over the weekend I was at a games retreat at my parents' property, and my Dad had a music trivia quiz where we had to identify a song by the first second of it. I was surprised at how recognisable some songs were by their opening seconds - get someone in your family to try it out with you!
3. Today's cleaning was soundtracked by: Foo Fighters (In Your Honor)
4. I also saw Katy Perry's performance before the final of the T20 Women's Cricket World Cup last night. I've never seen cricket bat shaped backup dancers before!

Be sure to let me know what you've been enjoying lately and if there's anything you think I should check out!