Why Practicing with Recordings Makes You a Better Musician

As a musician of any age, it is important for us to engage with music at many different levels.

This can be as simple as learning the melody to our favorite songs or performing an original composition with a group or band. In either context, the growth of musical skills in timing, rhythm, and listening are needed to engage with other musicians and the audience around us.

If we continue to nurture these skills, it allows a musician to understand music much deeper than just reciting what’s on the paper. It ultimately leads to a deeper sense of memorization and confidence that a musician needs to play. It is something we continue to work at every day!

Music as a Language and Energy

One of the most important ways to nurture musical growth is exploring contexts where we have to play the music from a deeper part of ourselves. Music is a language and energy first. Just as when we were children learning our first words, we as musicians must take a similar process. We learn the sounds and the feeling, and internalize it so we can express by copying and mimicking what we hear.

Practicing the music we are learning to a recording is one of the most vital ways to develop this strength in communication. While it might seem like a daunting task, it develops a plethora of skills to make a musician more engaged and more confident. It helps develop a stronger sense of timing and rhythm, along with the growth of interpersonal communication needed to play with others.

The Three-Listen Rule: Active Listening First

The first step in practicing with a recording comes from listening to a song in different contexts, actively engaging with different parts. Before students even begin playing, they should listen to the song a minimum of three times. Each time, the student should listen for different things:

● The First Listen: Listen actively to the “bigger picture.” What instruments are you hearing? Is it a violin, a guitar, drums, keyboard, or voice? Knowing the instruments helps you know what you want to mimic.

● The Second Listen: Try and latch onto a melodic or rhythmic part. Is it the vocal melody that speaks to you most, or is it the bass line and drum groove driving the song that gets you into it?

● The Third Listen: Understand the order of events. What sections or melodies come back? Which parts are repeated most, and which parts don’t come back?

Active listening is an important first step. If we haven’t listened to a song and heard it enough, how are we going to copy what we hear?

Internalizing Through Memorization and “Chunking”

Memorization is one of the most important skills any musician can develop because it allows you to play from a deeper part of yourself. This allows a student to play with a recording without having to think about every individual note, focusing instead on the whole musical sentence. Now the song is yours forever.

A good way to develop this skill is chunking, where a student plays one measure at a time until it is memorized. Once that is strong, add the next, always starting from the beginning of the phrase.

In my lessons: If a student is playing “Eleanor Rigby,” we start by memorizing the intro vocal line, as it’s the building block for the whole song. That 4-bar phrase repeats four times in the song, so having that mastered gets them through a huge portion of the piece!

Practical Steps: YouTube and Playback Speed

Starting the process of actually playing to a recording takes time and patience. While it isn’t going to be easy initially, incorporating it into every practice session is important in making it a fun habit.

When a student is ready for this step, the best place to start is YouTube. It is your best resource because of the playback speed function. I usually recommend starting the song at 75%–80% speed so it isn’t too fast. This allows the student to hear the music at a slower pace, which aids in deeper internalization of the melody and rhythm. Playing with the song at a slower pace also gives a greater chance of matching what they are playing.

Strategies for Practicing with Recordings

The first few times practicing with a recording may be difficult, but there are two approaches that will help jumpstart a student:

1. Rehash Material: Before playing with the recording, try working on a specific section that might be a trouble spot. This will prepare you for when you actually jump into playing with the song.
2. Chunking the Melody: Start with just a few measures. Try to listen and “catch” that part of the melody only. If you can get the first part of the “Eleanor Rigby” intro, you can rest until it comes back in. This gives you multiple tries at the same melody within one song, building it into your muscle memory.
3. Continuation: In most performance opportunities, you won’t be able to go back and replay a mistake. Music moves forward in time. Practicing getting through a whole song—even with mistakes—helps you see the bigger picture. If you mess up, stop playing and listen. Once you hear a part you are comfortable with, jump back in!

Advanced Growth: Backing Tracks and Moises

A more advanced approach comes from using backing tracks. These usually have all the instruments of a song except for the part the student is playing. This allows you to practice being the only person playing your part while staying fluid with the rest of the “band.”

Another great tool is an app called Moises. You can upload a music file, and the app splices it so you can control the volume of any instrument. Say a student is playing the piano and singing; you can remove the piano but keep the voice so they can practice their accompaniment with the “real” singer.

In Review

Practicing with recordings is one of the most important skills a musician can develop. Not only does it help our personal growth, but it builds the interpersonal skills needed to perform with others.

A relationship with music is an ever-continuing journey that we build a love for through making it a deeper part of our lives. Music is a deep and powerful energy and language—so why not learn it the same way we learned our first words?