Ear Training..!

[jj_villafane]

Here's the Scenario...

I'm a 23 years old guitar player from Venezuela. I'm barely getting to understand a little bit the language of jazz. I really used to think i played jazz until the first time i went to the PANAMA JAZZ FESTIVAL

That's when i first realized all the things I didn't knew, ignored or simply had a completely different idea from reality in my mind...

Past January i assisted to the PJF for the third year in a row (I've been working voluntarily as an interpreter for the clinics and master classes since the first time i attended), and finally decided to give it a shot at audiotioning for Berklee.

After my audition and all clinics, master classes and speakings in the festival i have como to the conclusion that there are a few things i need to work on inmediatly.... Among those the most important is THE EAR...

So i want your advices on ear training techniques, softwares, videos, books, cd's, websites,etc,etc that i coould use to help me improve on my relative ear...!

THANKS A LOT TO ANYONE WHO TAKES THE TIME TO RESPOND..!

[Baltar Hornbeek]

I'm sure about your english....when you say "ear" are you talking about this

or this?

[jj_villafane]

[oilywrag]

Hi jjvillafane,try these tw sites foe ear training WWW.Good-Ear.com or WWW.Pitchdrill.com both of which are good the first one starts at very simple intervals and gets more advanced. hope this helps


Cheers Tom

[Gilles]

Two great ways to train your ears :

1- Play in C major each string INDIVIDUALLY (up and down the same string). Improvise and make music. Repeat with the 7 modes of C major scale.

2- Play root C and "pre hear" (in your head) another note of the scale. Verify your accuracy by playing the other note. With time, you can hear any of the 12 notes relating to a tonal center.

(3- Harass me and ask me what Gary Peacock told me on the phone in November 2009. It was a "lesson" in itself. )

[jj_villafane]

Thanks Tom..!

[jj_villafane]

Originally Posted by Gilles

(3- Harass me and ask me what Gary Peacock told me on the phone in November 2009. It was a "lesson" in itself. )

You have to tell me or i'll send you some mp3's of me improvising over Giant Steps till you get sick and burn your ears out...!!!!!

Is that enough harass for you..?

[Ausjazz]

I'm trying to improve my ear as well. For me it's about making sure everything you play involves using your ear.

I do use some online trainers to develop so I can hear intervals, but I also solo and try and sing the lines. For me it is about getting the gap between your guitar and the melodies in your head to become smaller and smaller.

Another way to improve it is to transcribe. I suggest doing a bit of everything and over time you'll see some improvement.

[franco6719]

Transcribe solos but DON'T WRITE THEM DOWN. Memorize everything possible. Transcribe solos and DO write then down. Use ear training software. Play along with backing tracks without knowing or looking at the changes. Try all approaches.

[franco6719]

Originally Posted by Baltar Hornbeek

I'm sure about your english....when you say "ear" are you talking about this

or this?

THIS:


Primary auditory cortex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[mario.g]

ear master pro 5 just google it !

[doruondun]

Perfect Pitch Ear Training Supercourse

[doruondun]

Berklee Workshop - Harmonic Ear Training

[franco6719]

Originally Posted by mario.g

ear master pro 5 just google it !

Pretty good, I think. I like the random 5-6-7, etc.. note intervals function. It is hard, but I think it is helping very gradually.

[franco6719]

Originally Posted by doruondun

Perfect Pitch Ear Training Supercourse

FAIL!! Unless you start at about 18 months of age, this is nonsense and pointless anyway.

[franco6719]

Originally Posted by doruondun

Berklee Workshop - Harmonic Ear Training

I think this is good material from what I have seen on Youtube, but I always feel like I actually have to interact with the teacher.

[Lowsvoish]

Hi,I am new here..First post to just say hi to all community.Thanks

[jj_villafane]

Originally Posted by Gilles

Two great ways to train your ears :

1- Play in C major each string INDIVIDUALLY (up and down the same string). Improvise and make music. Repeat with the 7 modes of C major scale.

2- Play root C and "pre hear" (in your head) another note of the scale. Verify your accuracy by playing the other note. With time, you can hear any of the 12 notes relating to a tonal center.

(3- Harass me and ask me what Gary Peacock told me on the phone in November 2009. It was a "lesson" in itself. )

I think WE AAAALLLLL wanna know what he told you..!

[JohnW400]

Hola JJ

You should look up Fernando in the members list. He is also from Venezuela. He posts some very interesting stuff from time to time.

[Lowsvoish]

by the way.....

[jj_villafane]

Originally Posted by JohnW400

Hola JJ

You should look up Fernando in the members list. He is also from Venezuela. He posts some very interesting stuff from time to time.

Hi, thanks for the tip..! I checked him out and as I suspected it's great master Fernando Freitez . It's not wrong to say he is the most important jazz guitar player in Barquisimeto (we live in the same city).

I wish i had the luck and the oportunity to take some classes with him.

Si ve este post, saludos maestro Freitez, yo soy un estudiante guitarrista. Yo toque con Santiago Bosch en la flor de Hannover, con una Stratocaster. Usted tocó ese día..! Saludos..!

[JohnW400]

Originally Posted by jj_villafane

Hi, thanks for the tip..! I checked him out and as I suspected it's great master Fernando Freitez . It's not wrong to say he is the most important jazz guitar player in Barquisimeto (we live in the same city).

I wish i had the luck and the oportunity to take some classes with him.

Si ve este post, saludos maestro Freitez, yo soy un estudiante guitarrista. Yo toque con Santiago Bosch en la flor de Hannover, con una Stratocaster. Usted tocó ese día..! Saludos..!

There was also someone named Ernesto from Panama, but he hasn't posted in a while. He had an interesting web site.

[franco6719]

Ear-training exercise: 1) pick a random note on the fingerboard. 2) Sing up a major 3rd. 3) Verify. 4)Repeat from 1 to 3. 5) Pick a random note on the board. 6) Sing down a minor 6th (or whatever). 7) Repeat with new random note. Keep doing this for all intervals. Yes, I find it be an absolute pain in the tail to sing up a minor 6th for example. I gave up on it. THAT's when I knew it worked!!

If you have no trouble with that though: 1) pick a random note on the board. 2) sing two intervals, 3 intervals, etc.... Verify....

[Gilles]

good article :

Jazz Ear Training : How to improve everything else...

[Goofsus4]

Originally Posted by franco6719

Play along with backing tracks without knowing or looking at the changes. Try all approaches.

I have always done this partly because I am LAZY and often just want to make music more than study changes and actually learn a song sometimes. But it definitely works because over time I've gotten much better at it.

[Fernando]

Originally Posted by jj_villafane

Hi, thanks for the tip..! I checked him out and as I suspected it's great master Fernando Freitez . It's not wrong to say he is the most important jazz guitar player in Barquisimeto (we live in the same city).

I wish i had the luck and the oportunity to take some classes with him.

Si ve este post, saludos maestro Freitez, yo soy un estudiante guitarrista. Yo toque con Santiago Bosch en la flor de Hannover, con una Stratocaster. Usted tocó ese día..! Saludos..!

GRACIAS JUAN JOSE
UN GRAN ABRAZO PARA TI

fernando

[franco6719]

Originally Posted by Goofsus4

I have always done this partly because I am LAZY and often just want to make music more than study changes and actually learn a song sometimes. But it definitely works because over time I've gotten much better at it.

Same here!

[adamreir]

Originally Posted by franco6719

Same here!

Hm. Great tip really. Learning changes and thinking is important, but you got to hear it what ever you do. I think Mick Goodrick writes something about this in the advancing guitarist. He sometimes just playes random chords and gets a student to improvice over it.

A good friend of mine (and really greate guitarist) talked about learning to sing the scales without any instrument, or to a chord. Try to sing altered dom. over a 7#9 chord :s then try to do it in triads, try to improvice. Sing the dim. scale. It ain't easy at first, but it's sure helpful.

Learning changes and thinking is important, but you got to hear it what ever you do. I think Mick Goodrick writes something about this in the advancing guitarist. He sometimes just playes random chords and gets a student to improvice over it.

A good friend of mine (and really greate guitarist) talked about learning to sing the scales without any instrument, or to a chord. Try to sing altered dom. over a 7#9 chord :s then try to do it in triads, try to improvice. Sing the dim. scale. It ain't easy at first, but it's sure helpful.

Adam, I am going to +1 all of that. I started lessons w/ a sax player fairly recently and my first lesson was singing root movement of a standard and the diminished scale. Even after years of playing and studying, even at the university level, this was not easy to do cold. We still do some kind of singing/ear training every week. Nothing has improved my playing faster than focusing on my ear. Ever.

So, the lesson is many methods can work, I think. To improvise you have to be able to really hear the changes. Some are gifted and just hear them clearly, some aren't (me..). Just singing the root movement while playing is great practice. Then move to other intervals like 3rds, triads, etc. You are working on connecting your ears, hands, voice, mind, etc AND learning repertoire at the same time.

I'll throw out that I just picked up a set of mp3's called MasterKey Ear Training. I bought them because they are perfect for Ipods or other mp3 players and are priced well. I can't endorse fully them yet because I just got them, but they are nicely packaged and very professional.

Just tossing it out there.

[adamreir]

*Note to self.

I keep forgetting everyting I should work with, only becouse I never feel finish with a topiv, I just stay with that one. I do ear training regularely, but its been i while since i really thought about what to work with.

I just bought chord chemetry, and Ted Greene talks about ear training in a way I havent thaught about before. I really havent worked with air training on the guitar much at all, becouse i am used to thinking "listen to this, what chord am I playing", kind of ear training. Whitch is kind of stupid if you'r playing the chord yourself

*Sitting in my room with my guitar, playing an Dm6... -What am I playing?... Think it is a 7sus4b9, isn't is?

Ted greene recomends playing a voiceleading pattern

Like:

--Dm7--G7---Cmaj
E-----------------
B--6----6---5----
G--5----4---4---
D--7----5---5----
A--5----5---3-----
E-----------------


Only play the chord at once, not arpeggio style or raked.

-1-Try to hear the lowes A-string vioce, focus on it, try to sing it (sing out loud, not in your head!). Repeat with all voices.

-2- Hear it as a whole chord progression, not focusing on any voices.

-3- Try to listen to multiple vioces simuntaniuzly (try to hear every vioce at once!)

--------------

Allso, play a chord, what ever chord, and try to sing only the notes you are playing, in that octave. If you play 1, 5, 7, 3, Sing 1, 5, 7, 3, not 1,3,5,7

* Please, don't THINK 1,5,7,3, but sing what you hear.