Intelligent Listening Checklist
Basic Checklist Questions as of March 5, 2007
[Revised and new questions are highlighted in yellow with new ones also in bold]
- What is the name of the song?
- Who is/are the performer(s)?
- What style is the music and what sounds do I hear (Stylistic Idoms) that make me choose this style?
(Expanded version of "What style is the music?") - What is the Form of the record? (e.g. IAABABInsABBB)
- What is the tempo of the music? Is it consistent? If it changes, where and how?
(Expanded version of "Is the music fast or slow?") - Does the record have an obvious backbeat?
- What is the meter of the music?
- What is the time signature?
(You need the sheet music for this, but the educated guess would be 4/4 -- quadruple meter, four beats in a measure) - What are the dynamics of the music? Are they consistent? If they change, where and how?
(Expanded version of "Is the music loud or soft?") - What instruments am I hearing?
- What kind of singer(s) do I hear? Male/Female? Solo/Group?
- What are the lyrics about?
- What is/are the outstanding characteristic(s) of the music?
- What is the mood of the music?
- Do I like the music? Why?
Even though we try to remain objective with most of these questions, some ask for observations that can be subjective and vary from person to person. For example, what is fast or loud to you may not be fast or loud to someone else.
And, here's the Full Practice Version of the full Checkist. Try to answer as many questions as you can right now and send in the form for extra credit.