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Ear Training


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Posted

Can anyone reccomend a good ear training course? I'm looking for something I can try during lunch at work when I won't have a guitar or access to a musical instrument so something with CDs would be good? Can anyone reccomend anything?

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Posted

I don't have a course for you, but I do have a suggestion:

Buy a pitch pipe and practice singing arpeggios (start with triads). Try to visualize the fingerings and the note names / locations as you sing the arps. With practice this becomes an exercise you can do while driving, riding a train or bus or while waiting / taking a quick break from work.

cheers,

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Posted

As far as courses are concerned (or BOOKS, more specifically) There are quite a few put out bt the Berklee Press. You could get their 4 part Ear Training/Conducting series (textbooks for the school) or buy some of their books... Another great book is by Gary Willis, the bassist from Tribal Tech... I forget the name of it, but it is a great method he has cultivated.

Good luck finding the right one.

  • 4 weeks later...
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Posted

The best ear training IMO is lifting songs. However if you want to do it from work you could try good-ear.com. It's free and runs from the website. I used to use it back in the day.

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Posted

The best ear training IMO is lifting songs. However if you want to do it from work you could try good-ear.com. It's free and runs from the website. I used to use it back in the day.

 

 

This, OP, i'm in the same boat you are. My technique and theory is pretty good but I have an severely under developed ear.

 

Do this and it will develop.

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Posted

Any online resource?? I'm from south america (most specifically Chile) and we don't have that kind of book availability here. (I don't own a credit card so I can't buy online, despite buying online has like a 2 month delay here (and other custom and courier bull{censored})).

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Posted

Any online resource?? I'm from south america (most specifically Chile) and we don't have that kind of book availability here. (I don't own a credit card so I can't buy online, despite buying online has like a 2 month delay here (and other custom and courier bull{censored})).

 

 

Idk of any good ONLINE resources, but I can give you some tips on how to develop your ear.

 

1. Sing Intervals. So lets say you have the root note of the scale your in. We'll use C. Get your guitar and play a C. Then let's today you're training your ear to hear perfect 5ths. Play the C and then sing what the G would sound like. Then check yourself.

 

2. Sing intervals that sound similar. Most of the time I practice intervals such as a m3 and an M3 or a m2 and an M2. I feel this really clears up the confusion between the sounds.

 

3. Look at this chart

Perfect consonance: unisons and octaves

Mediocre consonance: fourths and fifths

Imperfect consonance: minor and major thirds

Perfect dissonance: minor seconds, tritonus, and major sevenths

Mediocre dissonance: major seconds and minor sixths

Imperfect dissonance: major sixths and minor sevenths

 

someone here might be able to expand more on it.

 

4. Do drones. To this get guitar pro or similar and pick a note. Let's say you pick C. Then take your guitar and proceed to play different notes but focus on the sound qualities they make. Also play octaves to see how Unisons and octaves up and below the reference note sound.

 

5. Lastly the most important excercise. Listen to all kinds of music and try to transcribe it. Now adays I practice it religiously and I'm getting better to the point where I can visualize in my head where something is being played.

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Posted

Dont know of a course to recommend but i will say this; most of us fail to really listen when we practice. You are so busy thinking about fingering and execution that you fail to truly HEAR what you are playing.

 

Firstly, Spend a lot of time figuring out melodies (really well known ones, Happy Birthday, Anthems, nursery rhymes, commercial jingles) WITHOUT the song playing. Just pull it from memory.

 

Secondly, put away ALL tabs and learn every new song using your ears and slow downer apps. Seriously do this. You dont need a course you need to start doing this every day. You will be surprised how quick it comes if you give it a decent honest effort.

 

You dont need other people to tell you how to hear things - YOU have to teach yourself how to hear them.

 

Aint nuttin to it but to do it I say.

 

Good luck!

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