Renowned guitarist and composer Steve Vai is well-known for his virtuosity as well as his perceptive ideas about music education. He highlights in one of his lessons that musicians are always practicing their "ears," even if they aren't aware of it.

Consider the ear to be the sixth sense of a musician. To develop their musical intuition, musicians pay close attention to sounds and melodies, much like painters do by continuously observing colors and shapes. This listening process occurs whenever a musician is exposed to music and is not restricted to official practice sessions.

An example of ear training is when someone listens to a song they like and tries to sing along or play along on an instrument. The rhythm, melody, harmony, and other components of the music are all being understood and replicated by the musician's brain. The ability of musicians to identify musical nuances and patterns is enhanced by this active interaction with sound.

Steve Vai emphasizes that anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of music can benefit from this type of listening, which is not limited to professionals. In the same way that a chef tastes ingredients to determine how they will blend together, musicians can learn the language of music in its purest form by actively interacting with sounds through analysis and imitation.

Steve Vai essentially exhorts all those involved in the music industry to listen with awareness. By doing this, one can continuously hone their creative instincts and musical intuition without even noticing it.