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The Ear Training Guide PDF
The Ear Training Guide PDF
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THE EAR TRAINING GUIDE
ESSENTIAL EAR TRAINING EXERCISES
www.eartrainanywhere.com
PREFACE
This .PDF book provides you with a collection of essential ear training ex-
ercises that develop the skill sets required for obtaining musical fluency.
These ear training exercises were hand picked, based on skill sets that have
been continuously demanded from me as a professional bass player, stu-
dio musician, producer, and composer.
Some of these ear training exercises tackle skill sets required for improvi-
sational music. Other ear training exercises develop your ear for hearing
those “sweet notes” that enhance the melodies and chord progressions of
your compositions.
Each ear training exercise focuses on a specific skill set. Included with each
ear training exercise are descriptions of basic real-world musical situations
where a mastery of that specific skill set is necessary.
The ultimate goal of this .PDF book, is to teach you how to equip your ear
with the necessary skill sets required for developing musical fluency, so
that you can play what you hear, and hear it before you play it!
Goal(s): Be able to recognize and name intervals when you hear it. Be able
to play those intervals on your instrument when you hear it. Be able to
sing intervals before playing it on your instrument.
Real-World Musical Situation(s): You are at a gig and are asked to play
the melody of a song. You’ve heard it before, but you never played it be-
fore with your instrument. Knowing your intervals will allow you to figure
out each note of the melody in real-time.
If you can, have someone play an interval. Name that interval. Next, have
that person play the same interval. Then, play the same notes of that in-
terval on your instrument. Do this daily for a few minutes, until this skill is
mastered.
If you are not able to get someone to play intervals for you, ear training
interval mp3’s can help. Create a playlist to focus on a set of melodic inter-
vals. Set your playlist for random playback. When each interval is played,
name that interval out loud, then immediately play the notes of that inter-
val on your instrument melodically.
Another option is to use ear training software, such as EarMaster. This ear
training software has the ability to quiz you on melodic intervals and keep
track of your progress.
This method, however does work well in isolated situations. ie: You might
hear a doorbell ring, and you want to figure out which interval you just
heard.
Listen to each note being played. When your ear is able to hear each note,
sing each note that you are hearing. Then, have that person play each
note individually to make sure you are singing the correct note.
Have this person play those intervals again harmonically. Then, name
those intervals and play those notes on your instrument harmonically.
If you are not able to get someone to play harmonic intervals for you, ear
training interval mp3’s can help. Create a playlist to focus on a set of har-
monic intervals. Set your playlist for random playback. When each interval
is played, name that interval out loud, then immediately play the notes of
that interval on your instrument harmonically.
Another option is to use ear training software, such as EarMaster. This ear
training software has the ability to quiz you on harmonic intervals and
Play a note on your instrument. Name an interval out loud. Sing that in-
terval. Then play that interval on your instrument to make sure you heard
and sang the interval correctly.
Real-World Musical Situation(s): You are at jam session and the soloist
plays a cool melody. You want to respond to that soloist by repeating the
same melody they just played. Being able to recognize a string of intervals
will allow you to quickly react and respond melodically on your instru-
ment.
Play a note on your instrument. Then, name 2 other notes within a major
scale. Say and sing each interval (use the previous note to determine the
next interval).
ie: Play the note C on your instrument. Then, say, “Perfect Fourth - F”. Sing
an F. Then, say, “Major Third - A”. Sing an A. Then, play C, F, A on your in-
strument to check to see if you sang the correct string of notes.
Quick Tip: Start out this exercise only focusing on a small string of notes
within a major scale. Increase the string of notes as you improve your abil-
ity in this skill set. Explore adding notes outside of a major scale as you
improve your ability in this skill set.
Work on this skill set until you are at a point where you can accurately
name, sing, and play a random string of notes from the chromatic scale.
Mastering this skill set will help you be able to hear and recognize large
fragments of melodies, which is helpful in improvisational music situations.
Real-World Musical Situation(s): You are asked to play a solo over a set
of basic chord changes. Being able to hear and play melodies derived from
basic triads for each chord in a chord progression will establish a strong
melodic foundation for your solo. As you improve your ability to hear basic
triads, you will then be able to combine triads for other melodic options
(this will be explored in a later exercise).
Play a note on your instrument. Sing a major triad in root position. Name
the notes in that major triad in root position. Play those notes on your in-
strument in root position.
Play the same first note on your instrument. Sing a minor triad in root po-
sition. Name the notes in that minor triad in root position. Play those notes
on your instrument in root position.
Play the same first note on your instrument. Sing an augmented triad in
root position. Name the notes in that augmented triad in root position.
Play the same first note on your instrument. Sing a diminished triad in root
position. Name the notes in that diminished triad in root position. Play
those notes on your instrument in root position.
Real-World Musical Situation(s): You are at a jam session and the pianist
is playing a set of chord changes that never heard or played before. Being
able to hear chord scale degrees will allow you to quickly figure out the
chord progression being played. This exercise teaches you how to hear the
function of a chord.
Basic Explanation of Chord Scale Degrees: The label for chord scale de-
grees are derived from a major scale. If you replace the letter names of a
major scale with numbers, you get 1, 2 ,3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Using Chord Scale Degree Ear Training MP3’s, create a playlist focusing
on a set of chord scale degrees in a key. Set your playlist for random play-
back.
Practice hearing and feeling how each chord scale degree feels in relation
Chord Scale Degree Ear Training MP3’s can be found here: http://www.
eartrainanywhere.com/store/products/chord-scale-degrees-ear-training-
mp3s/
Goal(s): Similar to the previous skill set, only that you are learning to be
able to hear, recognize, and name scale degrees.
If you can, have someone play a major chord on the piano. Then, have that
person immediately play a note in the major scale that belongs to that
major chord that was just played. Learn to notice the distance of that note
from the original tonic major chord. Name the correct scale degree.
If you are unable to have someone assist you with this exercise, a good ear
training software that accomplishes this exercise is Functional Ear Trainer.
This ear training software can establish the key center, then play a random
note. You can practice quizzing your ability to recognize and label the cor-
rect scale degree with this ear training software.
MILESTONE 1
The next exercises will focus on more advanced ear training, providing you
with the skill sets to prepare you for more improvisational musical situa-
tions.
Real-World Musical Situation(s): You need to write out a chord chart for
your band mates. Being able to hear and recognize 7th chords will allow
you to correctly label the chord qualities of each chord on the chord pro-
gression. This skill set will also help you tremendously when it comes to
soloing over jazz chords and voice-leading.
Play a note. Sing a major 7th arpeggio in root position based on that note
(1, 3, 5, 7). ie: Play the note C. Sing C, E, G, B.
Play a note. Sing a major 7th arpeggio in first inversion based on that note
(3, 5, 7, 1). ie: Play the note C. Sing E, G, B, C.
Play a note. Sing a major 7th arpeggio in second inversion based on that
note (5, 7, 1, 3). ie: Play the note C. Sing G, B, C, E.
Play a note. Sing a major 7th arpeggio in third inversion based on that
note (7, 1, 3, 5). ie: Play the note C. Sing B, C, E, G.
Play a note. Sing a minor 7th arpeggio in root position based on that note
(1, b3, 5, b7). ie: Play the note C. Sing C, Eb, G, Bb.
Play a note. Sing a minor 7th arpeggio in first inversion based on that note
(b3, 5, b7, 1). ie: Play the note C. Sing Eb, G, Bb, C.
Play a note. Sing a minor 7th arpeggio in second inversion based on that
note (5, b7, 1, b3). ie: Play the note C. Sing G, Bb, C, Eb.
Play a note. Sing a minor 7th arpeggio in third inversion based on that
note (b7, 1, b3, 5). ie: Play the note C. Sing bB, C, bE, G.
Play a note. Sing a dominant 7th arpeggio in root position based on that
note (1, 3, 5, b7). ie: Play the note C. Sing C, E, G, Bb.
Play a note. Sing a dominant 7th arpeggio in first inversion based on that
note (3, 5, b7, 1). ie: Play the note C. Sing E, G, Bb, C.
Play a note. Sing a minor 7th arpeggio in third inversion based on that
note (b7, 1, 3, 5). ie: Play the note C. Sing bB, C, E, G.
Play a note. Sing a diminished 7th arpeggio in root position based on that
note (1, b3, b5, bb7). ie: Play the note C. Sing C, Eb, Gb, Bbb. *Note: Due
Goal(s): Be able to hear and sing major scales, harmonic minor scales, me-
lodic minor scales, whole tone scales, diminished scales, major pentatonic
scales and minor pentatonic scales.
Sustain a major chord on a piano. Sing the major scale that belongs to
that chord. Play the major scale on the piano to make sure you are singing
the correct notes. Sing a melody based on the notes of the major scale.
Name those notes. Play those notes on the piano to make sure you sang
the correct notes.
You will need a harmonic instrument for this exercise. Play 2 notes har-
monically. Listen and try to hear and isolate each note. Sing each note
that you are hearing, starting from the lowest note to the highest note.
Play those 2 notes melodically to check if you heard and sang the correct
notes. Continue working on this exercise, each time increasing the amount
of notes that you are listening to harmonically.
A good online ear training resource that describes this method is The “1-
10” Ear Training Test.
You can find The “1-10” Ear Training Test here: http://www.hearchords.
com/ear-training-test/
You can download Hear Notes In Chords - Ear Training MP3’s here:
http://www.eartrainanywhere.com/store/products/hear-notes-in-chords-
ear-training-mp3s/
Turn on the radio, or play music on your computer. Sing along to the mu-
sic, focusing on the bass line of the song. If you developed the previous
skill set of hearing notes in chords, being able to isolate and hear the bass
line of a song will not be to difficult.
Real-World Musical Situation(s): You want to play a solo, using just your
ears (no music theory). The arpeggios of chords hold the “sweet notes” for
your melodies. Being able to hear these notes, will make your solos sound
very melodic.
Turn on the radio, or play music on your computer. Sing each arpeggio for
each chord of the song, while the song is playing. This will put your ears to
the test and teach you to hear in-time.
Start out simple, by singing along to songs with only 3 chords. Then move
onto songs with more involved chord progressions.
MILESTONE 2
When you breakthrough this huge milestone, I recommend that you con-
tinue to spend a lot of time listening to different kinds of music and tran-
scribing that music. Transcribing music is the best way to apply all these
exercises to a musical context.
Thank you for downloading The Ear Training Guide: Essential Ear Training
Exercises.