An underlying principle of Talent Education is that students' musical education parallels the way they learn their mother tongue. A young child's rate of progress is directly dependent on the amount of listening.
Through listening to many repetitions, children can develop a high discriminating musical ear. Like practicing, listening should be established as a daily habit. But listening can be done along with other activities, such as eating, bathing, playing or riding in the car.
Advanced students should listen to recordings of the same work by different artists. Artists bring their own interpretation to their playing, and those interpretations may vary widely. By listening to different recordings, students can develop awareness of elements that make a superior performance. They can also develop greater musical sensitivity.