

For example, starting on an A and ending on the F# above it is a major 6th interval. Intervals are what we call the space between two notes.

And of course, once you’ve had enough of the minor pentatonic scale, venture into the modes of the major scale, arpeggios, harmonic and melodic minor - the more scales you can sing, the better! 2. See if you can use your brain to come up with melodies that your fingers wouldn’t otherwise naturally be drawn to. Start by singing a few notes, then play them back on your instrument. Once you can sing a minor pentatonic scale while you play it, try testing yourself. Eventually, you’ll be able to time it so that as each note is played on your instrument, you’ll sing it at the exact same time. Do the same with the second, third, and so on until you’ve completed the scale (I would suggest doing at least two octaves worth). Start by playing the first note of the scale and then sing it to yourself. In order to do this, I would start with a minor pentatonic scale, as those are simple and easy for your ear to digest. + Read more on Flypaper: How Trailblazing Composer and Sound Artist Pauline Oliveros Made Me a Better Listener 1. Here are a few ways to strengthen your ear. So I continued to study methods of ear training, and pass my discoveries on to my students. I learned that there were people who wrote music without even touching a musical instrument - straight from thought to paper. I learned that there were people who could hear quartets and quintets and transcribe every single note that was performed by each instrument.

I learned that there were people who could listen to a song and tell you the chords without even touching an instrument. Over the years, I learned that what he could do was only the tip of the iceberg. So instead of being upset that I didn’t have as good of an ear as he did, I decided to work on it! But then I started thinking about how good he was, and realizing that he must have put time into practicing and learning to be able to achieve that ability. When I was younger, I remember being fascinated by a kid who could hear a song on the radio and play it instantly.

Yet sound in the form of music has the ability to stay with us psychologically for a lifetime. When we talk about our “ears” as musicians, we aren’t just talking about those goofy nubs on the side of your head, we’re talking about using your brain to decode sound on the fly.Įar training comes more naturally for some than for others. Sound is particularly fascinating because it only exists for the split second that it happens. Not only are you a miracle of evolution and natural selection, but you get to experience the vibration of air molecules and interpret them as different sounds! According to Ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus, “we have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.” If you’re one of the human beings on Earth born with two functional ears, you should consider yourself lucky. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. Short articles for beginning ear training students that can help you get started with BigEars.+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. The more vivid your aural imagination the more exciting your solos and compositions will be. This is a great video of noted jazz pianist Hal Galper explaining that we play exactly what our brain hears.
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Download BigEars Ear Training Software - Free Trial.The extensive sections on scales and modes and the altered and extended chords make BigEars a great study tool for jazz ear training. The program allows you to work at your own pace and focus on just the chords or scales you want to study. BigEars is free to download and try.īigEars was developed especially for the college-level music student, but any one serious about ear training can benefit from its use. Extended chords are played using shell voicings just as a jazz pianist would play them. Ear training drills include intervals, triads, scales and advanced ear training lessons on seventh chords, ninth chords and dominant chords, making it an excellent choice for the jazz student.
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BigEars is easy to use ear training software for the PC and Mac OS X.
