Training Your Ear

On Free-Jazz and Harley Davidson Engines

“Other one!” My two-year-old exclaimed as my Father’s Day present began to spin on the record player. She reached for her Frozen Soundtrack CD in hopes I’d switch away from the glorious chaos of my newly arrived early pressing of John Coltrane’s Ascension. It’s a classic in the free-jazz movement, a subset of jazz known for its chaotic group improvisation. Ascension features an ensemble of eleven of the best names in jazz improvising from a loosely planned, optional chord structure. It’s wild.   

Chris Baber writes of Ascension,

“This is not music to have tinkling in the background, but a confrontation. You need to set aside 40 minutes to listen to what unfolds. Even if you approach the music with some prejudice against improvised music, it begins by shaking any preconceptions from you and pinning you back so that you are ready to follow the logic and coherence of the piece as it unfolds. After a total immersion in the piece, you emerge, perhaps cleansed, perhaps relaxed, but definitely changed to the way you were before the piece began.”

I asked my wife what she thought about it. “It sounds like they’re warming up.” I’ll admit, I don’t fully understand everything that’s happening in the album, but I love it. The way the album flows feels like a journey from one place to another. The instruments individually and collectively feel like they’re trying to tell me something important. It’s challenging to listen to, and one thing is for sure, this is an album that requires a trained ear to appreciate.

Training Your Ear

To my wife and daughter, Ascension sounds like noise. To me, it’s a spiritual journey with Coltrane as my guide. However, when a Harley Davidson rides by me on the highway it sounds like any other motorcycle… loud. To bikers they can recognize a Harley from a mile away. The sound is so distinct, Harley Davidson attempted to trademark the sound of their V-twin engine.

Sound is all around us, but we tune most of it out. To truly listen requires interpretation, and to interpret with accuracy requires a trained ear. The Listening Church is about listening as a spiritual practice, and with some effort, we can train our ear to hear (and understand) God, our church, and our neighbors.

Here are a few tips for training your ear:

1. Approach with humility and curiosity. The only way you will grow is to recognize that you don’t know everything. God is vast, institutions have long histories, and people are complicated. By approaching every prayer and conversation with curiosity, you’ll open yourself up for more revelation and more information.

2. Consider the context. Ascension makes a lot more sense when you know John Coltrane was on a journey towards spiritual enlightenment. It also makes more sense when you know that the album was recorded in June of 1965 in the height of the Vietnam War and just a month prior to the adoption of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As you approach God, your church, and your neighbor think about how the context impacts what you hear. What is the history of your church or community? What is your cultural identity and what is the cultural identity of your neighbor? All of this will help you interpret what you hear more accurately.

3. Sit with it over an extended period. Time and proximity are essential ingredients to understanding. In our hurried culture we’re always onto the next thing. To listen to God requires setting aside intentional time of silence and contemplation. When you’re getting started that might be 5 minutes. As you practice that time will get longer. Try to build habits of intentional listening. As body builders say, “Put in the reps.” The more time you spend listening, the deeper your understanding will grow.

I have friends who love hardcore/metalcore music because they connect with the lyrics. When I listen to it, I hear “rarararar.” It would be easy for me to dismiss this music and say it’s just racket. But that would stifle my growth as a human and limit my understanding of my friends. With some time and intention, I might be able to train my ear and come to love hardcore/metalcore as much as I love Coltrane and as much as my daughters love Frozen. At the very least, I could come to understand why my friends love it. After all, understanding is why we listen in the first place.

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A Quick (And Exciting) Update

After two years of writing this newsletter regularly, we reached 1,000 subscribers today! I’m so grateful for each of you and appreciate your support along the way. The release of paid subscriptions last month has also gone well. We’ll have the first monthly community listening check-in call with me and fellow readers in two weeks. Thanks to those who are investing in this work to equip the church to be better listeners!