Listening
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One of the biggest hurdles in becoming a good musician is developing a good "ear". This is a very vague term; what it really means is to be able to maintain a particular kind of concentration is which you can follow a tune and notice its ups and downs, its timing nuances, and other attributes instantaneously. With practice, you will be able to hear a tune, and immediately "listen" back to it (or at least part of it) in your head. You will also be able to speed up or slow down the tune as you hear it in your head, allowing you time to figure out the notes if you are just learning the tune. You will notice if you are slightly out of tune or out of time, and be able to correct it.

A good ear is especially necessary for a full appreciation of Irish music, because without it, the subtle beauty of Irish ornamentation and variation is lost on the listener. Many people, when they hear Irish music played, really only hear the basic tune - the ornamentation goes by so quickly they don't notice it, and the tune quickly becomes boring and a burden to their ears. I believe that the best qualities of Irish music lie not in what notes are being played, but in how they connect, and this is where the style of playing comes in. Listening ability is, in my mind, crucial, and will enable you to play with more "soul".

This ability obviously has great advantages for the aspiring musician. Fortunately, it can be developed, with some time and concentration. You must learn to focus your mind on the music - not necessarily on your instrument and certainly not on anything else. Then, you will need to be able to keep the music going in your head while you think about the mechanics of your playing. Finally, you will want to be able to do both of these while also listening to any other musicians you are playing with (there are few things more annoying than playing with a musician who destroys the music because he isn't listening to you!)

EXERCISE 9
Pick a certain piece of recorded music which you enjoy. Listen to it in short (5-second) sections, stopping after each. Immediately sing it back to yourself a few times, and move on. When you have learned the tune, start back at the beginning and do the same thing, but this time, pay particular attention to any ornamentation. Listen very closely, and when singing each section back, sing it back slowly, and try to duplicate any ornaments. Gradually increase the length of the sections. Continue this on an ongoing basis as you proceed through this manual (you'll never get enough practice listening). When you feel confident enough, find and play the notes on the whistle instead of singing them to yourself. You'll then be on your way to playing by ear.

You should spend as much time as possible listening closely to established master players. This will give you a better feel for the tunes and should help you understand what good playing and ornamentation sounds like. Some starting points are listed in the section titled "Sources of Good Music".

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