When you play an instrument you figure out pretty soon that scales are one of the main ways to get better. All melodies are constructed from scales. There are different kinds of scales, but 99% of all the music ever played came from just a few scales. So at some point you have to commit to playing scales. You get a metronome and you start slowly, playing the same scale over and over in different positions. Over time something starts to happen. Your ear gets attuned to the sound of the scales on your instrument. You'll hear some guitar music and know instinctively where and how it's being played. You will think of a sound and know exactly where it is on your guitar. You can almost visualize it. Your ears have become attuned. Musicians call it your inner ear. "Man that guy has big ears" is one the higher compliments you can be paid. Could it be that meditation and chanting are like the scales of the instrument that is your Body/Mind? I'm looking to make my ears bigger.