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The Art of Hearing


thamiam

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Dr. Thom Mason, director of the Jazz Studies program at USC, wrote an absolutely amazing book called "The Art of Hearing".

 

It is a comprehensive method to build what he calls auditory skills, basically being able to hear what you are going to play befoe you play it. The book is directed towards jazz, but I would recommend it to anybody since I haven't seen anything of near the same quality for any other style.

 

These are the six skills that the book teaches.

 

1)Being able to look at written music and hear the rhythms

2)Being able to look at written music and hear the pitches

3)Being able to look at music and hear the chord changes

 

4)Being able to listen to music and transcribe the rhythms

5)Being able to listen to music and transcribe the pitches

6)Being able to listen to music and transcribe the chord changes

 

As you can see, it is in 2 sets, and really comes down to being able to hear anything you see before you play it, and being able to write anything you hear without playing along.

 

These may not be things you could ever see yourself wanting to actually do, but they all contribute to a mastery of knowing what each and every combination of rhythm, pitch and chord sounds like before you play it.

 

I haven't mastered these skills by far, but I would say they are the most usefool tools that any musician could have.

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yeah, i live on jupiter... maybe i should have it mailed to work?

 

its a flat add on fee that amazon said was required but didnt say why. the explaination page was for all charges of that type - like because it might be heavy.

 

where did you get it? was it heavy? :)

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Originally posted by outerbody

yeah, i live on jupiter... maybe i should have it mailed to work?


its a flat add on fee that amazon said was required but didnt say why. the explaination page was for all charges of that type - like because it might be heavy.


where did you get it? was it heavy?
:)

 

I bought it at a sheet music store in Seattle. They had to order it directly from the publisher, and it took a couple of weeks, but it was less than $20. Try contacting the publisher and ordering it directly.

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Most if not all of this is just mind training to recognize pitch. And that can for the most part be done at home for free with a guitar or piano and your own VOICE.

 

Play a note and say it out loud in a singing voice as what it is.

 

Like a "C" note would be played and you would sing "Ceeeeeeeeeee" along with the note.

 

You do this for majors and minors to teach your singing voice proper pitch (not perfect pitch which is a different thing).

 

Guitarists train their ears in the same way via playing scales over and over and over. The ear hears and remembers the sound of a minor, or a Major, or a 7th....

 

But being able to sing the notes accurately give an added bonus.

 

It allows you to be able to sing parts of harmony easier, and also aloows you to hear a song, sing the guitar part, and then write it down (if you know tab or notation) without HAVING a guitar around you to use as a reference.

 

The catch is this...

 

It takes years to master and isnt going to just happen overnight. Like anything involving the voice for a reference it requires mastery that cant be obtained in a couple weeks. The difference between singing for fun and signing for reference is that one can be off quite a bit and ya get by. Referencing notes from voice and memory takes alot more time to build up and get right.

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Originally posted by StratKat

Most if not all of this is just mind training to recognize pitch. And that can for the most part be done at home for free with a guitar or piano and your own VOICE.

 

Actually, that's only 1/6th of it (or if you really good, 1/3rd).

 

The other parts are just as important. It's being able to listen to a ligthning fast run and not only know the pitches, but also be able to say "That was three sixteenth note triplets, followed by a dotted quarter note, then four eigth notes, then thirteen sixteenth notes and a staccato quarter note, oh and the first part was an Aminor scale played over a D major chord, and the second part was a C blues scale".

 

Pitch is the most important part, but the reason I like this book is it addresses the whole package of music.

 

Not to beat a dead horse (*whack* ;)) but it's like the difference between tab and notation. Tab will give you the pitch, but you have to already know everything else already to get it right. Notation gives you pitch, rhythm, and context.

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Originally posted by thamiam



I bought it at a sheet music store in Seattle. They had to order it directly from the publisher, and it took a couple of weeks, but it was less than $20. Try contacting the publisher and ordering it directly.

 

 

Capitol Music by chance?

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Originally posted by thamiam



Actually, that's only 1/6th of it (or if you really good, 1/3rd).


The other parts are just as important. It's being able to listen to a ligthning fast run and not only know the pitches, but also be able to say "That was three sixteenth note triplets, followed by a dotted quarter note, then four eigth notes, then thirteen sixteenth notes and a staccato quarter note, oh and the first part was an Aminor scale played over a D major chord, and the second part was a C blues scale".


Pitch is the most important part, but the reason I like this book is it addresses the whole package of music.


Not to beat a dead horse (*whack*
;)
) but it's like the difference between tab and notation. Tab will give you the pitch, but you have to already know everything else already to get it right. Notation gives you pitch, rhythm, and context.

 

Yes, you are right there! I understand what you are saying now.

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