DUEL Musicality Check-in
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DUEL Musicality Check-in

By Listen Play Grow

Doing

(hands-on playing skills)

Doing Icon

Understanding

(mental map & patterns)

Understanding Icon

Expressing

(confidence & creativity)

Expressing Icon

Listening

(ear & musical awareness)

Listening Icon

Glad to see you here.

(let’s get you ready!)

Before we begin, take a moment to relax and get into a musical mindset, you’ll rate yourself on four areas:

Doing, Understanding, Expressing, and Listening.

The scoring is from 1 to 10. (1 being the lowest, 10 the highest), there are no right or wrong answers, just your honest reflection.

1–2: Barely beginning: Just started exploring this; it feels new or unpredictable.

3–4: Occasional success: I can sometimes do this, especially in simple songs.

5–6: Developing consistency: I can do this in straightforward music and I’m getting more reliable.

7–8: Confident and responsive: I do this well most of the time and can adapt when things change.

9–10: Mastery in motion: This feels natural and expressive — though I’m always refining it.

Doing

(hands-on playing skills)

I can work out simple melodies or musical hooks on my instrument without written music.

I can accompany songs by ear (e.g. chords, bass lines, simple patterns).

I can create short musical ideas or variations with a steady (not just copy).

I can join in with unfamiliar music and adapt musically without much preparation.

Under-standing

(mental map & patterns)

I can hear and recognise common chord progressions (e.g. I–IV–V, I–V–vi–IV).

I can use solfa, numbers, or patterns to map melodies, bass lines, or chord movement.

I understand how chords, scales, and melodies fit together within a key.

I can connect what I hear to my understanding of harmony and music theory.

Expressing

(confidence & creativity)

I can play without notation and feel comfortable relying on my ear or memory.

I can play with expression and emotion, not just play the notes mechanically.

I feel free to improvise or experiment without worrying about mistakes.

I enjoy sharing my musical ideas with others.

Listening

(ear & musical awareness)

I can quickly find the Home Note (Do / 1) when I listen to a song.

I can pick out bass lines or chord roots in real music.

I can sing back simple musical phrases accurately.

I can sense tension and release in music when I listen.

Your Unique Shape

(Your 1-10 scores plotted for each of the 16 questions.)

Download

Well done!

ℹ️ 🔄

This is your musical shape today — a simple snapshot of where things are now

It’s completely normal for musicians to score lower than they expect on their first wheel.

This isn’t about good or bad — just awareness.

If you’d like, you can come back in a few weeks or months (three months works well) and take it again to see how things grow.

Now let’s look at what each area suggests…

All the best,

AndyP

-Listen Play Grow

If you’d like help understanding your wheel or building a plan for your next steps, you’re welcome to book a free 45-minute Breakthrough Coaching Session. We can look at your scores together, talk through the areas that matter most to you, and map out your next stage of growth

Prefer to explore on your own first? You’re welcome to visit the Garden Gate Growth Hub — a free collection of lessons, tips, and musical tools you can use at your own pace.

Book Your Breakthrough Session

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    6.

On iPhone and iPad

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    5.

Detailed Analysis

Doing

If your score here is on the lower side (1–4):

  1. Start small and musical.
  2. Pick a simple song you love and try working out one melody phrase or one short bass movement by ear.
  3. Keep the pulse steady — even if the notes wobble a bit.
  4. Little, repeated attempts are what grow your reflexes.
    5.

If you’re in the middle range (5–7):

  1. You’re getting comfortable — now focus on repetition with variation.
  2. Take a short idea and try changing the rhythm, phrasing, or note order.
  3. This builds confidence and helps you move from copying to creating.
    4.

If your score is on the higher side (8–10):

  1. Challenge yourself to join unfamiliar songs.
  2. Listen for the bass movement, latch onto the groove, and respond in real time.
  3. This is where your musical reflexes really flourish.
    4.

Understanding

If your score is on the lower side (1–4):

  1. Focus on hearing common progressions (I–IV–V, I–V–vi–IV) in songs you already know.
  2. Even recognising one pattern in one song this week is a big step forward.
    3.

If you’re in the middle range (5–7):

  1. Start mapping melodies or bass lines with solfa or numbers.
  2. Even simple patterns like Do–Re–Mi or Do–Mi–Sol help you link your ear to your inner map.
    3.

If your score is on the higher side (8–10):

  1. Work on real-time connection — listening to a song and noticing how chords, scales, and melodies fit together as they happen.
  2. This is the bridge from knowledge to instinct.
    3.

Expressing

If your score is on the lower side (1–4):

  1. Let go of “getting it right.”
  2. Try playing a simple idea twice: once normally, and once with more shape — softer, louder, longer, shorter.
  3. Expression grows from tiny experiments.
    4.

If you’re in the middle range (5–7):

  1. Explore phrasing and feel.
  2. Repeat a musical idea and change one detail each time — the attack, the length, the volume, the space.
  3. You’re building your musical personality here.
    4.

If your score is on the higher side (8–10):

  1. Lean into storytelling.
  2. Use expression to guide the listener’s ear — create tension, release, contrast, and shape.
  3. Your sound can carry a moment all on its own.
    4.

Listening

If your score is on the lower side (1–4):

  1. Start with the Home Note: listen to a song and hum what feels like “home.”
  2. Then try following the bass line shape — even if you only catch one movement.
    3.

If you’re in the middle range (5–7):

  1. Sing back short musical phrases — hooks, riffs, little lines.
  2. Then notice where the music feels stable or unstable (tension and release).
  3. This deepens your musical sensitivity.
    4.

If your score is on the higher side (8–10):

  1. Listen for subtle details — changes in groove, chord colour, or direction.
  2. The more you notice, the more musically responsive you’ll become.
    3.