Carl Palmer on Listening

The Quieter You Are, the More You Will Hear

Carl Palmer is one of the most respected rock drummers to emerge from Great Britain in the 1960s. He is a veteran of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Asia.

Listening is what the world is all about. We listen to people cry out for help, to people wanting things. Listening is a vital part of communication. We took some time to find out the views of Carl Palmer on Listening.

Music is all about–nothing else but–listening. That’s how it’s made. You listen onstage to learn, to see if it’s right, to play; you listen to musicians, to people, to advice. Listening is vital in all walks of life, in all professional aspects. If you listen, you can play well. If you don’t listen, you can’t play. If you don’t listen, you don’t understand. I listen for a living. I play, but unless I can hear well, I can’t create.

If you’re listening to music, to see if it’s right or wrong (the sound, the reverb, the echoes, the repeats, the portamentos), that’s a different form of professional listening. You can’t categorize listening all same. There are different ways to listen, just like there are different ways to talk to people.

People have very short attention spans, which means that their listening is not as dedicated and as focused as it should be. People only listen to a certain amount of what is said to them. Things do get missed. Unless you are very specific and accurate in what you’re saying, a lot of things can be misconstrued and misunderstood. It’s not just listening. It’s explaining in the correct way so people do understand. It’s not just failure to listen, but also failure to understand what’s being said. Those two things to run hand-in-glove. It’s very difficult to separate them. Mistakes are made when people have understood completely what has been said and went on to do something that’s not suited to the situation.

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If you enjoyed reading about “Carl Palmer on Listening” please take a moment to click through our other musician interviews on the subject:

Guitarist Steve Morse on Listening – IC Interview

Kasim Sultan: One Word – Focus – IC Interview

Arnold McCuller – Listening for the Spirit – IC Interview

Rod Morgenstein – Listening: One Cohesive Unit – IC Interview

Jordan Rudess — Listening with Focus – IC Interview

Nick Beggs — Listening means Understanding Relationships – IC Interview

Simon Phillips — Listening Outside Yourself – IC Interview

Pat Mastelotto— Listening Requires Concentration – IC Interview

Mark Egan – Listen and Be In the Moment – IC Interview

How Listening to Others Can Make You a Better Person