Listening to what we play in an examining, scrutinising way might seem to be a skill that’s necessary for developing expressive skills as a musician. I want to challenge this. Whilst we hear what we play and this helps us to make the sound we want, our response to the auditory feedback is entirely natural and needs little, if any, directing. In fact, critical listening might be the cause of a much more fundamental problem that makes people’s playing sound stiff and unmusical.
