What makes a good audio engineer?  What makes a good musician?  Or producer?  One of the main characteristics is the ability to listen to a song and hear what is there as well as what is missing.

As a producer/engineer, musicians rely on and trust my ear.  They know that I will be able to guide them through the writing or recording process with confidence.  I have no personal interest or investment in their music other than to see them succeed.  I approach each project with this mentality.  I guess that some people have it while others do not.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have professional training as well as more than my share of unconventional training.  I attribute the larger portion of my overall ear training to my father.

When I was younger, I remember riding in the car with him.  We’d be listening to music (he is one of the greatest guitarists I know) and he’d always ask me, “What song is this?”  Or, “How many total instruments are in this song?” Or, “Listen to the guitar.  What band is this?”

These questions, while seemingly a game to me at the time, really helped develop both my listening capability and discernment.  Without knowing it, my father was training me to be a very critical listener.  Highly detail-oriented.  I have always retained this ability and am always seeking to improve it.  I have my favorite music that I listen to, but I always enjoy putting in a new CD and finding out what makes this song or band different from the rest.  To me, it’s a game as well as a necessity.  I find myself asking my wife the same questions my father asked me.  And I know  that I’ll be (and am looking forward to) asking my future children the same questions.

One misconception that a lot of amateurs will make when mixing, editing, or even listening to music is the overall volume.  I agree, it can be enjoyable to turn it up and feel the music.  But this is only ruining your ability to really listen and appreciate the music.  Try turning it down and listening at a lower level.  This is where your real listening and mixing skills come to show.  If the mix and song sound good at a lower level, it’s going to sound good loud.  And you’ll be able to get more hours out of your ears without falling victim to ear fatigue.  Lower level listening will help you refine your critical listening capabilities as well as preserve the life of your ears.

If you’re in the music or audio industry, your ears are your money makers.  Whether you play guitar, drums, produce, mix, or sing, you need to be able to hear (we’re not all as gifted as Beethoven).  Try turning it down for a little bit.  Try writing down the total number of instruments in a song.  Listen for that faint violin or set of shakers.  You’ll find over time that your ear will become much more refined and sensitive to changes in the music you already listen to.