This will come easily to those who are trained to play instruments. They have a head start when it comes to developing musical sensitivity. But that doesn’t mean you’re doomed if, for instance, don’t know how to read music and never learned how to play an instrument.
One of my favorite artist of all time, Oscar De Leon, was asked to share the story on how he manages to write such great melodies all the time. He said that in the beginning he would gather the members of the band together, point his finger to a particular instrument, and then make the sound for that instrument with the desired tempo.
The person who played the instrument would mimic his request to his liking. Once he was happy with it, a songwriter would write it for him. Oscar De Leon didn’t have proper training to do this.
So how do you hone on the musicality if you don’t have formal training?
With a little bit of natural intuition and a whole lot of practice. Spend some time listening to the genres of music you are using to perform or dance. You can even choose to “choreograph” music that challenges you. The by-product of doing this is exercising your brain’s musicality muscle.
Learning to differentiate between instruments will help you translate what you hear into movement, which will, in turn, give your dancing shade and texture.
Learn the difference between a clarinet and an oboe, a trumpet and a trombone, and a bass guitar and an upright bass. Another way to hone your ear is to listen to recordings of the band you’re performing to and identify the differences between them.
I saw a documentary about Michael Jackson. He was talking about finding a song you like and listen to it as you normally would. “Just take it in.
Then play it again, but listen only to the drum. Block out every other sound and follow the drum through the entire piece. Does it change? Does it stay the same?
Play the song a third time, focusing on another instrument, like the piano. Repeat this exercise until you’ve followed every instrument in the song.
You might have to listen ten times, depending on the complexity of the song. The last time you listen, take in the whole song again.
You’ll be able to hear both the instruments individually and the tune as a whole. And then you’ll be able to freestyle and dance to rhythms you never heard before.
It will change your life as a dancer.