Listening to music is crucial

Listening to music is a foundational aspect of musicianship but often it isn't practised with the same rigour as other skills. Every time you play an instrument you practise the mechanical skills for that instrument and every time you read sheet music you increase your fluency with the written language of music. Listening, however, can often be a passive exercise. We just put some music on and then it's there in the background and we do nothing more - I would say that this is a missed opportunity.

If you can listen more actively it will allow you to understand what you appreciate in music. If you're listening to a particular piece, try and hear the nuance of the performer's playing - I promise you it won't have happened by accident! If a particular moment in the piece strikes you in a strong way, listen to it a few times and try to understand what the performer did, why you like how it sounds and how you might be able to replicate the effect. This can be even more effective when you compare two people playing the same piece as they will almost certainly have different approaches. This all sounds very involved and I think that is an important thing, a stark contrast to just putting the music on and sitting back and relaxing (although there certainly is a time for this too!).

Learning to listen will tremendously help you develop your playing and give depth to the music that you make

Listening should also take an active role when you are making music. If you're not really listening to the music that you're playing then you're missing out on a huge amount of feedback that is just waiting for you. Every time you play a piece of music you should be listening closely and questioning - "Did that phrasing sound balanced?", "Did I evoke the emotion of this moment?", "Was the contrast between these two sections apparent?". If you don't get in the habit of listening to yourself these details will be missed. Your ears are your primary way of gathering feedback about your own playing but you have to train them just as much as your hands. Learning to listen will tremendously help you develop your playing and give depth to the music that you make. Another useful exercise would be to record yourself and then listen back to your music so you can give 100% of your attention to the listening rather than having to worry about the playing at the same time too.

One last aspect of listening that is hugely important for any musician is to listen broadly. Listen to everything and anything, even if it's music that you think you don't like or that you think is irrelevant. Only by exposing ourselves to new music do we discover new pieces or songs, new sounds and techniques. It may be that you really don't like the new thing you listened to and that's ok, but equally you may be moved by it and intrigued by the world it opens up. Often a surge of motivation can occur when a new genre or composer is discovered and, from my perspective as a teacher, self motivation is the most important indicator of a musician's growth and success. So go and listen to some new music and find something that speaks to you!