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This episode of The Unstarving Musician is sponsored by Liner Notes.

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Welcome to another episode.

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I am Robonzo.

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This is The Unstarving Musician, the podcast where I talk to independent musicians and music professionals about all kinds of things to help you make more music.

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Thank you for being here.

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How are you?

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Where are you?

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And what are you wearing?

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These are the things I need to know, right?

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Before we get into the meat of today’s episode, I want to read a listener, subscriber, follower note.

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It’s Dean Johanneson.

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He is always contributing here.

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And you can contribute too, by the way.

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You can contact us via the website.

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You can also leave me a voice message.

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There’s a link there to either go to…

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What is that thing called?

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I’m forgetting.

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There’s a link there to leave a voice message online.

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You can even leave one on my Google Voice number.

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You just have to remember it’s my personal number.

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Probably says something about Roberto, and that’s about it.

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Leave me a message.

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But just say why you’re calling.

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You can leave me a message, and that’s 408-454-8368.

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So yeah, that would be cool.

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You can do that.

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But you can be like Dean, and to be read on the show maybe, or in the Liner Notes newsletter.

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So yeah, Dean was responding to a recent edition of Liner Notes, titled The Secret Skill That Gets You Hired, and it really focused on dynamics, something that not everyone is great at.

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But he was thinking about it apparently, he kind of gave me a different outlook on it, although he loved the newsletter.

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He’s always gives me great feedback and supportive feedback.

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But he did say, and this is along the same lines of dynamics, spreading out sound has become my main focus as opposed to being so loud from one place.

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Totally about dynamics.

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He uses a remote Bose S1 Pro and a wireless guitar rig to place a small speaker at the back of a room to extend his sound, and that has helped him a huge amount, he said.

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And he said venues often comment about how much they love the idea as well.

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I could see that.

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He says, being able to play so soft at the table nearby that is an arm’s reach from a stolen fry can still have a conversation and enjoy their evening is a skill that can keep you booked.

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He feels like it’s one of the main reasons he’s been so busy.

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He stays busy, booked and rebooked.

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He goes on to say one night, I’m background music at a restaurant or private event.

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Another performing in a listening room with other writers and other times doing showcase sets at a festival.

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I know that to be true about Dean.

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He’s a busy dude, which is great.

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He also said knowing which hat to wear and performing accordingly is so important if you want to book many types of gigs as you know.

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Yes, I do know, Dean.

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I do know and hopefully all of you know that too.

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But what a great reminder.

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Thanks, Dean.

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I appreciate it.

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He also, he didn’t know, recall if he’d mentioned this tool he’s using called Metricool.

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Metricool, an app.

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Yes, you have mentioned it before, Dean, but I should share it.

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He uses it for scheduling social media posts.

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I’ll put a link in the show notes for it.

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He said it’s helped him a ton, so he batches his content along with, I mean, the schedule weekly and daily posts, and it gives him more time to write songs and take breaks from being online.

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He was probably sharing that again because I had also written in Liner Notes about this dilemma of getting overwhelmed and burned out.

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So yes, you can check out Liner Notes at unstarvingmusician.com/linernotes and get in on the action, so to speak.

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I also wanted to share quickly that Sound Exchange has a newsletter called SoundBite, and they dropped one in my inbox, I think, last week on the Hits Act.

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Last week, President Trump, whose name I really don’t care to mention in a positive note, but he signed a bill that included the Hits Act.

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That was probably his big, beautiful bill, which is now law, marking a major win for music creators.

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For the first time, independent artists can now deduct up to 150,000 per year in production, expenses for recordings made in the US.

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A tax incentive previously only available to film and TV.

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This is a meaningful step toward recognizing the economic and cultural contributions of independent music creators across the country.

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End quote.

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I didn’t give you a start quote, but that was from Sound Exchange, from their Soundbite newsletter.

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It’s pretty good industry news, and I would love to know what you guys think about that.

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Just the, not about President Trump, but about the actual deduction you can now use.

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If it’s something you knew about, something you’re looking forward to, it would be great to hear from you.

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Then on the flip side, devastating cuts to public media and its effect on independent musicians.

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So as I was writing an edition of Liner Notes, the last one, the Senate passed the Recisions Act, which cut over a billion from public media funding.

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The House followed suit.

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The cuts will significantly impact arts and humanities programming that has long been supported independent musicians.

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So while these cuts appear likely to become reality, they are reality as I’m reading this to you.

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There are still actions we can take.

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So contact your representatives about minimizing the impact and protecting the most essential programs.

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The specific allocations and implementation details still matter.

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And more importantly, consider increasing your direct support to local NPR and PBS stations, which will need to offset these federal funding losses.

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My understanding is that some stations have done some restructuring in anticipation of this dumb move, but we shall see how that goes.

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And yes, if you didn’t know all about it, there you go.

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All right, I’m going to dive in here and I’m going to start.

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We’re going to talk about the art of listening while playing.

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And I’ll start with a quote from Kid Andersen, who has been on the podcast.

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He’s a blues guitarist and producer who’s played with everyone from Rick Estrin to Charlie Musselwhite.

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Those guys are icons in the blues scene.

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Living legends.

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And the quote is, listening should be at least half of what your brain is doing.

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Let me share something with you I think every musician can relate to.

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I’ve had more than one moment where poor listening while I was playing led to a musical mishap or a missed opportunity, to put it mildly.

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And I’m sure I’m far from alone in this, but listening to the rest of the band is a skill I actually possess and I’m pretty good at, but it’s a skill I’m constantly working on and I’m far from a master at this art.

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I’m also pretty good at hearing when other musicians aren’t listening to the rest of the band.

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I’ll hear it when they lose their place or miss an opportunity to use dynamics in a song.

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And the truth is listening makes the difference between sounding pro, professional or sloppy.

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And here’s a problem we don’t talk about much, but many if not most musicians focus 90% on execution and 10% on listening.

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You can hear it in their playing and see it in their body language.

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We typically focus on technical obsession at the sacrifice of musical awareness.

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Getting all the chords or solos right takes precedence over listening.

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But here’s the thing.

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Playing your part correctly isn’t enough in ensemble settings.

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If you’re not actively listening correctly, playing parts can actually make you sound stiff.

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Playing parts correctly and actively listening makes you and your band sound fluid and professional, basically kick ass.

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Kid Andersen’s 50% rule, going back to that, is listening should be at least half of what your brain is doing.

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Think about that for a moment.

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Half.

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Not the leftover 10% after you’ve worried about your fingering, timing, or whether you’re hitting the right notes.

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Half of your mental capacity should be devoted to hearing what’s happening around you.

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If you’re using 90% of your brain power to execute parts, you’re left with just 10% to respond to all the subtle things like tempo shift, emotional crescendos, or an invitation to lock into the groove.

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You’re essentially playing solo while standing next to other musicians.

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You’ve probably had that happen to you before.

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Here’s where it gets interesting.

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Kid’s Insight reveals a paradox that trips up countless musicians.

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You must be technically solid enough that your execution becomes largely automatic before you can truly listen.

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But most musicians think technical mastery is the goal when it’s just the entryway into real musicianship.

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It’s so funny I have so much trouble saying the word musician.

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It’s an irony, I tell you.

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I’ve experienced this firsthand with fellow musicians when I change up the time signature of a groove or invite the band to make like a dynamic shift.

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Bandmates will keep driving forward with a predetermined time signature or volume, missing my cues entirely.

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It’s like being in the same physical space but a different musical conversation.

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And my bandmates aren’t the only ones at fault.

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I’ve been guilty of similar disconnects.

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The irony is technical preparation, which should free us to listen, becomes a constraint.

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We can be so concerned with executing what we practice that we don’t always respond to what’s actually happening.

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Neuroscience backs up kids’ observation.

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Our brains have limited processing power, and struggling with technique consumes most of our cognitive resources.

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It’s like trying to have a deep conversation while solving a complex problem.

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One task inevitably suffers.

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But when your technical skills become second nature, when your fingers know where to go without conscious direction, your brain suddenly has bandwidth availability.

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Obviously, if you’re a drummer, that happens when your limbs know where to go without conscious direction.

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That’s when real listening becomes possible.

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That’s when you hear the bass is setting up a turnaround, or catch the guitarist’s subtle dynamic cue, or the energy shift that signals it’s time for a song to breathe.

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You know, I have to say that as I feel like a new singer, I’ve been fronting a band, singing lead vocals.

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I’ve been a drummer and sometimes drummer-singer for many years, but it’s opened up the realization that listening is very different, depending on your instrument.

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And even as a singer, while it’s changed not only my ability to listen, but my awareness of maybe not being able to, or my awareness of things that are going on from a completely different perspective than when I’m drumming.

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Here’s some practical listening strategies.

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So how do you implement the 50% rule?

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Start with what I call conscious splitting.

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This is deliberately dividing your attention during practice sessions.

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Here’s an exercise to try.

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Play a song you know well, but assign specific percentages to your focus.

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And I know that sounds kind of weird, but bear with me.

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So start with 70% execution, which is hopefully normalish for you, and 30% of your cognitive resources for listening.

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So you’re trying to pay attention to how much you’re listening there.

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As the song becomes more automatic, shift to 60-40, then 50-50.

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It sounds mechanical, but this conscious practice trains your brain to multitask musically.

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And by the way, I’m the first to say or admit that multitasking is for suckers, but this is an exception to the rule for sure.

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During band rehearsal, when I’m drumming, I often try to focus like around 60% of my listening to the bass, and 40% of my playing.

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I’m kind of guesstimating there, but it’s like developing peripheral vision, though, for your ears.

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You maintain awareness of your performance while actively tracking what’s happening around you.

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Musicians sometimes disconnect from the band when things get challenging due to a lack of practice or preparation, but this lack of preparation draws our attention from listening and it tends to shut our hearing off during challenging parts.

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I have personal experiences where I play a big drum fill and then feel disconnected from the rest of what’s happening in the band.

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It’s easy enough to recover from, but even better to maintain focus on listening while doing things like executing big drum fills.

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You can also lead through listening.

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So let’s move on to kind of an advanced territory here.

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One thing many musicians don’t realize is that the rhythm section leads the band not by playing louder or more complex parts, but by listening more intently than anyone else.

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We’re like musical air traffic controllers and our listening skills determine whether the song takes off smoothly or crashes on the runway.

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As a drummer, my most important relationship isn’t with the front line instruments necessarily, it’s often with the bass.

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Even though I do have a propensity for listening to what the guitar player is doing as well.

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We ideally listen to each other’s attack, we being the bass, me and the bass player when I’m on drums, and the rhythmic feel.

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When I hear the bassist lean slightly behind the beat during a ballad, I might adjust my snare placement to match.

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When the bassist digs in harder for a chorus, I might respond with more aggressive hi-hat work or something.

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So this conversation happens entirely through listening, often without a single word or visual cue, most often.

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Advanced rhythm section listening means hearing what’s coming before it happens.

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You listen to the vocalist’s breath patterns or watch for body language that tells you when they’ll need space for a big note, for example, or you track the guitarist’s picking dynamics to feel when they’re building toward a solo climax.

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You’re not just responding to what’s happening now, but you’re preparing for what’s about to happen.

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Sometimes bands need guidance.

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A rhythm section that listens well can gently steer a song’s energy.

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So if the song is too intense, too early, we might collectively lay back 5%.

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If it’s loosening momentum, we might subtly drive it forward.

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The key is subtly.

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It isn’t about taking over.

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I’ve been guilty of doing it, trying to do out of frustration.

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It doesn’t work, believe me.

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It’s about making small adjustments that serve the song’s emotional arc.

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This can get genre specific too.

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So every genre has its own listening priorities and communication styles.

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So what works in a jazz setting can kill the vibe in a rock band, and what’s essential in an acoustic situation might be, probably will be, irrelevant in a metal context.

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In jazz, listening is everything.

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You’re not just playing written parts.

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You’re participating in a real-time musical dialogue.

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I’m not telling you this is someone who’s versed in jazz.

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I’ve attempted to play it a bit, but just watching it, you can see this.

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During a piano solo, an accomplished jazz player isn’t listening to notes being played, but to the spaces between them, the dynamic choices and the harmonic implications.

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The challenge in jazz is learning to listen to multiple conversations simultaneously.

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I can see this.

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I can hear it when I watch it.

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The soloist’s melodic line, the bassist’s harmonic choices, and overall energy of the room.

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Rock listening is about finding the pocket and locking it down.

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It’s less conversational in jazz, but requires just as much preparation.

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So when I’m playing rock, I listen for subtleties in the guitarist’s playing, the bass player’s note length choices maybe, and the exact way the singer will sit against the beat.

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In rock, small timing discrepancies that might add character to jazz performance can kill the energy of a song.

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So just to kind of point out that they are different, as well as acoustic music, which requires the most delicate listening skills, arguably, because every note is exposed.

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There’s no wall of sound to hide behind, no effects to mask timing or little.

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You’re listening to things like breath sounds, string notes and natural resonance of instruments in the room.

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Every musical choice is magnified in acoustic settings, so your listening has to be equally magnified.

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The highest level of musical listening isn’t about what’s happening between the musicians, it’s about reading the entire musical situation and responding appropriately.

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An advanced musician learns to listen to the room, which is something that Dean Johannesson was kind of touching on, so not just the band.

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Is the audience engaged or distracted?

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Are they ready for an uptempo song or do they need something more contemplative?

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I’ve been in situations where the setlist said one thing but the room’s energy begged for something completely different.

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Musicians can hear this and adapt in real time.

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The ones who can do that are the ones who create memorable performances.

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Sometimes a bandmate is having an off night and you can hear it in their playing before anyone else notices.

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Maybe the guitar player’s timing is slightly off because they’re stressed or the singer is holding back because they’re fighting a cold or something.

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Advanced listening skills let you make subtle adjustments to support struggling bandmembers in these situations.

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So playing a little more solidly to help with timing issues or creating more space for a vocalist to have who’s having pitch difficulties.

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At the highest level, bands develop their own musical language, subtle cues and responses that happen entirely through listening.

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A slight accent on beat four might signal an upcoming key change.

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A momentary dynamic pullback might indicate it’s time to extend a solo section.

00:20:02.020 –> 00:20:07.080
These communications happen faster than visual cues and more subtly than verbal instructions.

00:20:10.060 –> 00:20:16.780
Mastering these advanced listening applications take years of focus, practice and experience.

00:20:16.780 –> 00:20:27.400
You need to develop your ear, study different genres and log countless hours playing with others to truly understand how musical communication works at the highest levels.

00:20:27.400 –> 00:20:39.800
Which does worry me about a lot of the YouTube players out there that, some of whom I’m pretty sure have never played in a band, but seems like, I don’t know, I guess a lot of them are starting to come around to that.

00:20:39.800 –> 00:20:43.580
But anyway, when it first started happening, I was like, these guys, you can tell they’ve never played in a band.

00:20:43.580 –> 00:20:53.200
But in today’s digital music landscape, many of us struggle to find the time and focus needed for this deep skill development.

00:20:53.200 –> 00:21:06.040
We’re constantly pulled between improving our craft, our technical skills and keeping up with the endless stream of industry information, and new techniques and platform demands.

00:21:06.040 –> 00:21:12.220
So this brings me to something that some of you have been writing me about.

00:21:12.220 –> 00:21:19.760
Responses to reader surveys that I put out indicate that burnout looms for a lot of musicians.

00:21:19.760 –> 00:21:21.620
I get it.

00:21:21.620 –> 00:21:33.600
Many struggle to keep up with industry trends, new techniques, social media demands, gear technology, and evolving music business practices without exhausting themselves.

00:21:33.600 –> 00:21:48.540
The pressure to stay informed basically becomes overwhelming between like following industry news, learning new techniques, social media presence, you know, researching stuff like gear and understanding streaming platforms.

00:21:48.540 –> 00:21:50.860
A lot of musicians feel like they’re drowning in information.

00:21:53.160 –> 00:22:00.820
The cruel irony, though, is the more we try to stay current, the less time we have for actually making music.

00:22:00.820 –> 00:22:11.160
Information overload in the digital age that we live in creates a state where we’re constantly consuming but rarely creating.

00:22:11.160 –> 00:22:18.360
FOMO drives us to chase every new opportunity, technique or platform update.

00:22:18.360 –> 00:22:26.040
But a scattered approach like this often holds back our mental musical growth instead of advancing it.

00:22:26.040 –> 00:22:37.220
I can see the cycle in my own work, sometimes spending hours researching concepts or video tutorials, then feeling productive despite not touching my instrument.

00:22:38.400 –> 00:22:42.100
Why does staying current sometimes feel more important than practicing?

00:22:43.300 –> 00:22:46.840
The 80-20 rule works really well here.

00:22:46.840 –> 00:22:51.580
So most of the information we consume doesn’t directly impact our music.

00:22:51.580 –> 00:22:56.020
So focus on the 20% that actually moves your creative endeavor forward.

00:22:57.100 –> 00:23:01.460
Choose like two to three reliable sources instead of trying to follow everything.

00:23:01.460 –> 00:23:09.840
And practice seasonal learning by batching similar skills into focused periods rather than juggling everything at once.

00:23:10.060 –> 00:23:13.860
That actually helps me, is particularly practice scheduling.

00:23:15.440 –> 00:23:17.320
Quality beats quantity.

00:23:17.320 –> 00:23:23.560
One deeply understood concept totally wins over 10 half-absorbed ideas.

00:23:23.680 –> 00:23:30.020
So focus on what’s in front of you one thing at a time.

00:23:30.020 –> 00:23:36.300
Set specific times for industry research versus creative work and protect your practice time from digital intrusion.

00:23:36.300 –> 00:23:38.640
I know that’s a challenge.

00:23:38.640 –> 00:23:45.900
Regular digital detoxes can help reset your perspective and remind you what focused work feels like.

00:23:45.900 –> 00:23:49.120
A little walk in nature can contribute to that.

00:23:49.120 –> 00:23:55.240
Most importantly, remember that being informed is a tool for better music making, not the goal itself.

00:23:55.240 –> 00:24:02.620
Whether we’re talking about listening while playing or managing information overload, the principle is the same.

00:24:02.620 –> 00:24:06.680
Intentional focus creates better results than scattered attention.

00:24:06.680 –> 00:24:09.980
Kid Andersen’s 50% rule isn’t just about musical performance.

00:24:09.980 –> 00:24:15.820
It’s about being present and responsive to what actually matters in the moment.

00:24:15.820 –> 00:24:19.140
The goal isn’t to know everything or play everything perfect.

00:24:19.920 –> 00:24:31.640
It’s to be musically present, technically prepared enough to listen deeply and focused on what serves the music and your growth as an artist.

00:24:31.640 –> 00:24:34.680
Here’s a question for you to consider.

00:24:34.680 –> 00:24:39.740
What’s one industry trend you’ve been ignoring that might actually benefit your music?

00:24:39.740 –> 00:24:47.300
And what’s one trend you’re spending too much time on that’s pulling you away from your actual practice and creative work?

00:24:48.560 –> 00:24:49.400
Let me know.

00:24:49.400 –> 00:24:51.860
I’d love to hear from you.

00:24:51.860 –> 00:24:55.380
You can find all the ways to contact me at unstarvingmusician.com.

00:24:58.020 –> 00:25:00.900
And you can also leave me a voicemail.

00:25:00.900 –> 00:25:02.540
It’s a personal voicemail again.

00:25:02.540 –> 00:25:03.720
It’s 408-454-8368.

00:25:05.660 –> 00:25:06.520
Would love to hear from you.

00:25:06.520 –> 00:25:11.460
Just be sure to say who you are, why you’re calling so I can have some context.

00:25:12.720 –> 00:25:21.400
Listening, whether to your bandmates or to your own priorities, might just be the most important skill you can develop as a musician.

00:25:22.460 –> 00:25:24.220
Until next time.

00:25:24.220 –> 00:25:27.140
As an independent podcaster, your support means the world to me.

00:25:27.140 –> 00:25:29.180
You could even say I depend on it.

00:25:29.180 –> 00:25:32.000
With that in mind, here are some things you can do to help support us.

00:25:32.000 –> 00:25:34.720
Follow us on your favorite podcast app.

00:25:34.720 –> 00:25:37.100
Leave us a review on your favorite podcast app.

00:25:37.100 –> 00:25:43.680
Or shoot me a review by email, robonzo at unstarvingmusician.com that I can use on the website.

00:25:43.680 –> 00:25:45.760
Or just share this episode with a friend.

00:25:46.040 –> 00:25:49.260
This makes a huge impact on our audience growth.

00:25:49.260 –> 00:26:01.020
You could also visit our crowd sponsor page at unstarvingmusician.com/crowdsponsor to learn the many other ways of supporting the podcast, including a quick and easy online tip jar.

00:26:01.020 –> 00:26:05.600
It’s like click, tip, done, easy and super appreciated.

00:26:05.600 –> 00:26:16.560
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00:26:16.560 –> 00:26:20.860
The music you’re hearing is NewGods Part 2, the instrumental mix by yours truly.

00:26:20.860 –> 00:26:25.620
You can hear the full version, download it or buy it at robonzo.com.

00:26:25.620 –> 00:26:35.920
And if all this was too much to remember or process, just go to the show notes for this episode at unstarvingmusician.com to find links to all the stuff talked about in this episode.

00:26:36.400 –> 00:26:40.480
You can leave us feedback, questions, comments, complaints at unstarvingmusician.com/feedback.

00:26:43.000 –> 00:26:44.400
Thanks for listening.

00:26:44.400 –> 00:26:46.580
Peace, gratitude, and a whole lot of love.