Listening Room
Follow the Part That Stays Put While Everything Else Changes
Listen through a passage for a recurring musical part and notice how changes around it can alter its apparent role and emotional weight.
Good sounds. Fresh ideas.
On the record
Sound Experiments
A Two-Sound Rhythm Game You Can Change One Step at a Time
Build a short rhythm with two comfortable sounds, then change one event at a time to hear what repetition, silence and emphasis contribute.
Music, Unpacked
Draw the Shape of a Melody Before Naming Its Notes
Follow a short melody with a pencil line to notice rises, falls and repeated shapes without needing to identify pitches or read notation.
Music, Unpacked
Listen for the space between musical phrases
Pauses can shape expectation as clearly as notes. Explore the gaps between phrases without assuming that every silence means the same thing.
Listening Room
A playlist with a beginning, a turn and a landing
Give a short playlist a sense of movement by choosing an opening, testing transitions and deciding how you want the final track to leave the listener.
Music, Unpacked
Why the return of a chorus can feel bigger
A chorus may return with the same melody and a different impact. Listen for changes in layers, register, rhythm and the space before it.
Sound Experiments
Make a one-minute sound piece with three ordinary objects
Build a tiny composition from contrasting everyday sounds, using repetition, silence and a clear ending instead of expensive equipment.
Listening Room
Follow the bass for one song and hear a different route
Move your attention below the melody and listen for how a bass part repeats, pauses and changes the feel of a familiar song.