Why Listening to More Music Will Make You a Better Guitarist (Even If It's Outside Your Favorite Genre)
- Michael DeGiovine
- Jul 9
- 13 min read
Updated: Jul 11
As guitarists, it's easy to spend most of our practice time thinking about technique. We work on scales, chords, picking exercises, speed, sight reading, improvisation, and countless other skills that help us become more proficient on our instrument.
Those things are all important—but they're only part of the equation.
One aspect of musicianship that often gets overlooked is simply listening.
The music you choose to listen to shapes your ears, your creativity, your phrasing, and ultimately the way you play your instrument. Whether you're a beginner learning your first chords or an experienced guitarist looking for fresh inspiration, expanding your musical horizons can have a profound impact on your development.
As a guitar teacher, I encourage my students not only to practice regularly but also to become active listeners. Listening outside your favorite genre exposes you to new rhythms, harmonies, melodies, and musical ideas that you may never discover if you stay within a single style.
You don't have to become a jazz musician, classical guitarist, or bluegrass player to benefit from those styles. Simply listening with an open mind can make you a more complete musician.
Great Musicians Are Great Listeners
Many beginning guitarists assume that professional musicians became great simply because they practiced more than everyone else.
Practice certainly matters.
But nearly every accomplished musician has also spent thousands of hours listening.
Listening teaches things that method books often can't:
Musical phrasing
Tone
Dynamics
Groove
Interaction between musicians
Songwriting
Arrangement
Musical storytelling
These are qualities that are difficult to develop through exercises alone.
When you immerse yourself in recordings by great musicians, you're training your ears just as much as you're training your fingers.
Step Outside Your Musical Comfort Zone
One of the biggest mistakes musicians make is limiting themselves to a single genre.
Maybe you're a metal guitarist.
Maybe you only listen to classic rock.
Maybe country is your thing.
There's nothing wrong with having favorite styles, but limiting yourself means limiting your musical vocabulary.
Every genre has something valuable to teach.
Jazz can introduce sophisticated harmony and improvisation.
Classical music develops an appreciation for voice leading, dynamics, and phrasing.
Blues teaches expressive bends and rhythmic feel.
Funk sharpens your timing.
Bluegrass demonstrates precision and articulation.
Even genres you don't expect to enjoy often contain ideas that can transform your own playing.
Throughout my own musical journey, I've found that some of the biggest breakthroughs came from listening to artists I never expected to enjoy.
Rather than asking, "Do I like this genre?" ask yourself:
"What can this music teach me?"
That simple shift in perspective changes everything.
Listening Is More Than Entertainment
It's easy to think of music as background noise while driving or working around the house.
But musicians should learn to listen actively.
When you hear a recording, ask yourself questions:
What makes this melody memorable?
Why does this chord progression work so well?
How does the rhythm section create momentum?
What is the guitarist doing that catches your attention?
Those questions gradually train your ears to hear music differently.
Instead of simply enjoying songs, you begin understanding how they're constructed.
That understanding eventually finds its way into your own playing.
Don't Stop at the Studio Albums
One of the most rewarding discoveries for me has been exploring live recordings.
Many musicians are known for classic studio albums, but their live performances often reveal an entirely different side of their artistry.
For example, John Coltrane's 1963 Newport performance captures an energy that differs from many of his studio recordings. The change in personnel—including drummer Roy Haynes instead of Elvin Jones—creates a unique musical atmosphere that makes the performance exciting in its own way. It's a reminder that great musicians continually evolve and that different performances can reveal new interpretations of familiar material.
The same is true for guitarist Wes Montgomery.
While his studio recordings are exceptional, his live performances often showcase a greater sense of spontaneity and freedom. Albums like Smokin' at the Half Note demonstrate why live recordings deserve just as much attention as studio releases. They capture the interaction between musicians, the excitement of improvisation, and the energy that only comes from performing in front of an audience.
If you've only listened to studio albums by your favorite artists, try seeking out their live recordings.
You may discover an entirely new appreciation for their music.
Follow the Musicians, Not Just the Albums
One of the most enjoyable parts of discovering jazz is realizing how interconnected the musicians are.
Unlike many rock bands, jazz history is often built around individual artists collaborating with different groups throughout their careers.
That means every album becomes a doorway to another musician.
You hear an incredible piano solo.
Who played it?
You check the album credits.
Then you listen to that pianist's own recordings.
Soon you're discovering entirely new artists you never would have found otherwise.
This process creates an endless musical journey.
Instead of running out of music to hear, each album leads naturally to another.
It's one of the reasons jazz remains such a rewarding genre to explore, but the same idea applies to many styles of music.
The next time you find yourself captivated by a solo, don't stop at admiring the performance.
Find out who played it.
Chances are they've contributed to dozens of other recordings waiting to be discovered.
Memorable Songs Matter More Than Technical Brilliance
As musicians, it's easy to become fascinated by technical ability.
Fast scales.
Complex chords.
Long improvisations.
Unusual time signatures.
There's certainly a place for all of those things, but one lesson I've learned over the years is that great music is remembered because of the songs—not because of how difficult they are to play.
That's something I find especially important when listening to jazz.
Jazz has produced some of the most technically gifted musicians in history, but technical brilliance alone doesn't guarantee that a piece of music will connect with listeners.
Some of the recordings I return to again and again aren't necessarily the most complex. They're the ones with melodies that stay with me long after the record has stopped playing.
When I discussed Jazz Samba by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd in my video, one of the qualities I emphasized was how memorable the melodies and improvised solos are. Even though the solos are improvised, they're so lyrical that you can find yourself humming them later. That's something every musician can learn from, regardless of style.
As guitarists, we should always ask ourselves:
"If someone heard me play this, would they remember the music—or just remember that I played a lot of notes?"
That's an important distinction.
Creativity Comes From Exploring New Musical Ideas
Another lesson that has shaped my playing is the importance of seeking out artists who don't sound like anyone else.
One musician who had a tremendous impact on me was Charles Mingus.
His album The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady isn't simply another jazz record. It's an ambitious work that combines jazz with influences that reach far beyond the traditional boundaries of the genre, including unexpected instrumentation and compositional ideas that make it feel unlike almost anything else.
Whether you ultimately enjoy the album isn't really the point.
The point is exposure.
Every time we hear a musician who approaches music differently, we're expanding our own creative vocabulary.
Sometimes inspiration doesn't come from copying someone else's playing.
Instead, it comes from asking:
"I've never heard anyone do that before. Why does it work?"
That curiosity is what fuels artistic growth.
Throughout music history, the musicians who changed the course of their instruments weren't simply the fastest or the most technically proficient.
They were the ones willing to think differently.
Learn From Every Generation of Musicians
One thing I particularly admire about Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers is the way the band constantly evolved.
Art Blakey regularly brought younger musicians into the group, giving them opportunities to develop while benefiting from the energy and fresh ideas they brought to the music. The result was a band that balanced experience with youthful creativity, allowing each generation to contribute something unique.
There's an important lesson here for all musicians.
We should never stop learning.
Some of the most valuable ideas you'll encounter may come from musicians who are decades older than you.
Others may come from players much younger.
Music isn't a competition between generations.
It's an ongoing conversation.
Every artist adds something to that conversation, and every listener has the opportunity to learn from it.
Approaching music with humility makes it much easier to continue growing throughout your life.
One Album Can Lead to Hundreds More
One of my favorite ways to discover music is surprisingly simple.
I start with one album I love.
Then I look at the personnel.
Who played piano?
Who played drums?
Who played bass?
Who arranged the music?
Those names often become the starting point for an entirely new musical journey.
In jazz especially, musicians frequently appear on each other's recordings, making it easy to trace connections between artists. Over time, one great album naturally leads to another, introducing you to players you might never have discovered otherwise.
This approach also encourages you to appreciate music as a collaborative art form.
Rather than focusing exclusively on one famous performer, you begin recognizing the incredible contributions of accompanists, arrangers, composers, producers, and session musicians.
That's a much richer way to experience music.
Become a Student of Music History
Before streaming services and search engines, musicians often discovered new artists through album liner notes.
Those notes introduced listeners to the performers, the recording sessions, and the stories behind the music.
Today we have instant access to nearly every recording imaginable, yet many people spend less time learning about the music itself.
Take advantage of the resources available.
Read interviews.
Learn about the musicians.
Discover who influenced your favorite artists.
Explore the recordings that inspired them.
Understanding where musical ideas came from gives them greater meaning.
It also reminds us that every musical tradition builds upon what came before it.
The greatest musicians didn't create their art in isolation.
They listened, studied, absorbed ideas, and then transformed those influences into something uniquely their own.
Listening Is One of the Most Important Skills a Musician Can Develop
If you've read this far, you may have noticed that very little of this article has actually been about guitar technique.
That's intentional.
Technique is important, but it's only a tool.
Without musical ideas, technique has nowhere to go.
One of the biggest misconceptions in music education is that becoming a better musician is simply a matter of practicing more hours. While consistent practice is essential, practicing without actively listening can leave your playing feeling mechanical or uninspired.
Every exercise you learn has a history.
Every chord progression has been used by musicians before us.
Every scale has appeared in countless songs across hundreds of years of music.
The goal isn't simply to master these ideas technically. It's to understand how musicians have used them to communicate emotion, tell stories, and connect with listeners.
As I mentioned in my video, many of the exercises I've shared on this website and YouTube channel—including diminished exercises and jazz vocabulary—weren't invented overnight. They're ideas that have existed within the musical community for generations. Our responsibility as musicians is to study those ideas, understand where they came from, and then use them to create something personal and meaningful.
That process begins by listening.
Develop Your Ears Alongside Your Technique
Many guitarists build impressive technical skills but struggle to apply them in real music.
Why?
Because they haven't developed their ears.
Your ears guide every musical decision you make:
Choosing the right chord for a progression.
Creating a memorable solo.
Accompanying another musician.
Learning songs without relying on tablature.
Improvising with confidence.
Writing your own music.
These abilities don't come solely from practicing scales or memorizing fretboard patterns.
They come from listening.
The more music you absorb, the more naturally your ears begin to recognize harmonic movement, melodic phrasing, rhythmic feel, and stylistic differences.
Over time, you'll notice something remarkable.
You'll begin hearing musical ideas before your fingers ever play them.
That's when your instrument stops feeling like a collection of notes and starts becoming a true musical voice.
Let Curiosity Be Your Greatest Teacher
One of the most rewarding aspects of becoming a musician is realizing that you'll never run out of music to discover.
One album introduces you to a pianist.
That pianist leads you to another recording.
A guest soloist becomes your new favorite artist.
A composer introduces you to an entirely different genre.
Before long, you've discovered music you never even knew existed.
That's one of the greatest gifts music can offer.
Curiosity keeps us growing.
It reminds us that no matter how much we've learned, there's always another style, another recording, another composer, or another musician waiting to teach us something new.
Don't feel pressured to like every album you hear.
Some recordings won't resonate with you immediately.
Others might become lifelong favorites.
The important thing is remaining open-minded enough to give them a chance.
As your ears mature, you'll often find yourself returning to recordings you once overlooked and hearing entirely new things.
That's one of the joys of being a lifelong musician.
Make Listening Part of Your Practice Routine
Most guitarists schedule time for technique.
Why not schedule time for listening?
Challenge yourself to listen to one new album every week.
Explore artists outside your favorite genre.
Compare studio recordings with live performances.
Read album liner notes or artist interviews.
Pay attention to the musicians playing alongside the featured artist.
Ask yourself:
What makes this melody memorable?
Why does this rhythm feel so good?
What chord progression caught my attention?
How do the musicians interact with one another?
What ideas could I bring into my own playing?
These simple questions transform listening from passive entertainment into one of the most valuable forms of practice you'll ever do.
Final Thoughts
Whether your goal is to play rock, blues, country, jazz, metal, classical, or simply enjoy making music at home, broadening your listening habits will make you a stronger musician.
You don't need to imitate every style you hear.
You simply need to remain curious.
Some of the greatest breakthroughs in your playing may come from an album you never expected to enjoy.
That's certainly been true in my own musical journey.
The musicians and recordings discussed throughout this article challenged the way I heard melody, rhythm, harmony, improvisation, and composition. Even though my own playing has continued to evolve, those lessons continue to influence how I approach music today.
If there's one takeaway I'd like you to remember, it's this:
Never stop listening.
Your ears are every bit as important as your fingers.
The more music you explore, the more musical ideas you'll have to draw upon—and the more expressive, creative, and confident you'll become as a guitarist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is listening to different genres of music important for guitarists?
Listening to a variety of musical styles exposes you to new rhythms, harmonies, melodies, and phrasing techniques. Even if you primarily play rock, blues, or metal, exploring genres like jazz, classical, folk, or opera can inspire new musical ideas and improve your overall musicianship.
Can listening to jazz make me a better guitarist if I don't want to play jazz?
Absolutely. Jazz can strengthen your ear, improve your understanding of harmony, and introduce new approaches to rhythm and improvisation. You don't have to become a jazz guitarist to benefit from listening to great jazz musicians.
How does active listening improve my ear training?
Active listening means paying attention to elements such as melody, harmony, rhythm, phrasing, and the interaction between musicians. Over time, this helps you recognize chord progressions, intervals, and musical patterns more easily, making it easier to learn songs by ear and improvise.
Should I listen to live recordings as well as studio albums?
Yes. Live recordings often feature different improvisations, arrangements, and interactions between musicians than studio versions. Comparing both can give you a deeper appreciation of how music changes from one performance to the next.
How can I discover new music to listen to?
One of the best methods is to explore the musicians who performed on albums you already enjoy. Reading album liner notes or checking recording credits can lead you to other artists, bands, and recordings that expand your musical horizons.
Do I need to enjoy every style of music to learn from it?
No. The goal isn't to like every genre—it's to remain open-minded. Even music you wouldn't normally choose to listen to may contain ideas about melody, rhythm, harmony, or songwriting that can influence your own playing.
How much time should I spend listening to music each week?
Consider making listening part of your regular practice routine. Exploring one new album each week and listening actively can help develop your ear alongside your technical skills.
Can listening to music improve my songwriting and improvisation?
Yes. The more music you absorb, the larger your musical vocabulary becomes. Listening to different artists and styles can inspire fresh chord progressions, melodies, rhythms, and phrasing that naturally find their way into your own playing.
What are some good albums to begin exploring?
If you're interested in broadening your listening, classic albums such as Kind of Blue, A Love Supreme, Smokin' at the Half Note, Jazz Samba, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, and recordings by the Jazz Messengers offer excellent examples of memorable melodies, improvisation, and musical interaction.
Can guitar lessons help me develop my listening skills?
Yes. At Four on Six Music, lessons go beyond learning chords and scales. Students also develop ear training, musical listening, improvisation, music theory, and an understanding of the styles and artists that have shaped modern guitar playing.
Continue Your Musical Journey with Four on Six Music
At Four on Six Music, I believe learning guitar and bass should go beyond memorizing chords and scales. My lessons emphasize musicianship as a whole—developing your ear, understanding music theory, building strong technique, and discovering the music that inspires you to keep playing.
Whether you're picking up a guitar for the first time, returning after years away, or looking to expand your skills through jazz, rock, blues, classical, or metal, lessons are tailored to your goals and musical interests.
I offer personalized in-home guitar and bass lessons throughout Syracuse, Madison County, Oneida County, and Onondaga County, making it easy to receive professional instruction in the comfort of your own home. For students outside those areas, online lessons are also available.
If you're ready to become a more confident and well-rounded musician, I'd love to help you on your journey.
🎸 Book your lesson today: https://www.fouronsixmusic.com/booking-form
And if you enjoyed this article, be sure to explore more guitar lessons, ear training exercises, music theory guides, and album discussions here on the Four on Six Music blog.
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