Four friends went to an orchestra concert. Afterward, they went out for dessert and compared notes on the concert, talking about what they heard. Here is what they said:

One person heard the person in the row behind crackling a cough drop wrapper.One person, a flutist, heard that the clarinet wasn’t in tune with the flute.One person, a harpist, heard that the orchestra drowned out the harp solo.One person heard that the piano soloist was humming to himself while he played.

Oddly enough, when the review of the concert appeared in the newspaper the next day, it seemed the critic had gone to a completely different concert. The critic described the pianist as being an impassioned player with a fiery technique, the orchestra as presenting a colorful, well-balanced and nuanced interpretation. There was no mention of out of tune clarinets, or inaudible harps or even noisy cough drop wrappers. 

Yes, this is a fictional scenario, although I’ve been part of very similar discussions. I wanted to relate this to you today, though, to highlight the way we channel our listening. We pay attention to the things that distract us, like noises or mistakes. That’s not in itself a bad thing; it’s part of being observant. Often, however, our listening stops there. 

Think about how you listen to yourself. You pick out the flaws, the things that you wanted to do better. How often do you take time to identify what you have done well? Would you even be able to identify what you are doing well? 

Today, we are going to talk about listening for growth, not for comparison or fault-finding. I’ll help you discover how to listen with open ears and an open mind so that the next time you listen to that amazing harpist play the piece you’re struggling to learn, you can find the precise elements in that performance that will help you make your own playing sound the way you want it to. And we’ll talk about how to listen to yourself so you don’t end up in the depths of despair. It’s all about what you listen for.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 

• Work with a Harp Mastery® Certified Coach this summer!
• Harp teachers! Are you interested in learning more about our Fall Break Retreat? Email me at [email protected].
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

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