EAR TRAINING LECTURE FOR BASS

EAR TRAINING:

learn to identify pitches, intervals, melody, chords, rhythms solely by hearing

FUNCTIONAL PITCH RECOGNITION

Can you hear the function of a single pitch in the context of an established tonic?

Let's say today our tonic is A flat (Ab):

- tonic1, supertonic2, mediant3, subdominant4, dominant5, submediant6, leading tone7, octave8

- large body of music is tonal, so widely applicable

- since function of pitch classes is a key element, the problem of compound intervals with interval recognition is not an
issue; it is irrelevant whether the notes are within or one octave

- changing the frame of reference to a new tonic requires an ongoing anticipatory analysis of music that is complicated
by key modulations.

Ex 1a: sing along with playing scale on bass

b: sing along with playing scale in intervals on bass (1-3-2-4; 1-4-2-5; 1-6-2-7; etc)

c: once you can do a+b, sing along with you improvising and nail every note when you sing.

PITCH RECOGNITION

- teach RELATIVE pitch by having students associate each possible interval with first 2 notes of a popular song, however,
most of these intervals are only applicable to specific scale-degrees found in each melody.

CHORD RECOGNITION

- ability to hear "natural" harmonic structures that support a melody without a reference

- practice to hear sounds/characteristics/colors/types of individual chords

- practice to hear harmonic progressions and their characteristics in movement, how are the relationships between
chords

RHYTHM RECOGNITION

- breaking down rhythmic phrases into smaller, more easily identifiable sub-patterns

- get used to hearing all combinations of 2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/etc-note groups in even/odd beat subdivisions

- after being able to hear and perform whole rhythmic patterns/phrases, trying to displace/re-organise them on a grid
with one subdivision or changing subdivisions.

- trying integrating (improvised) rhythmic variations in for example a groove

- metronome is functional to assist the student (and the teacher) in maintaining accurate tempo. practise one whole
exercise first slow + buildup tempo. or stay in original tempo and buildup step by step, by adding 1 small bit of an
exercises at a time.

- muscle memory is also important for hearing/memorizing rhythms: singing, tapping, clapping, tapping feet. later
stages may combine keeping time with hands, feet and voice simultaneously

--> solo paul desmond amsterdam?????

TIMBRE RECOGNITION: SOUND QUALITY

- what makes a particular music instrument/human voice have a different sound from another, even when they play the
same note, with the same volume?

- ability to recognize/memorize/distinguish different sounds (of the same instrument category), based on timbre, even
if the same pitch/loudness is played.

- balance in tonal (sine), noise/airlike character

- recognize time envelope aspects: attack, decay, sustain, release, formant, glide, micro-intonation

-effects: vibrato,

- music instruments categorized:

WOODWIND, BRASS, STRINGS, HUMAN VOICE, PITCHED/UNPITCHED PERCUSSION, KEYS

- recognize the sound quality of a specific instrument by focusing on the used technique (bowing, plucking, hammering,
tapping, blowing), acoustics (where its played), airyness

ex 1: listen to a different style that you're normally not listen to and try to hear the instrumentation, chords, scale, bass
lines. try to listen analytically.

ex 2: transcribe stuff of recordings that you like and work it out by ear. not only bass instruments but also other
instruments

listen to richard bona /janek gwizdala