Short & sweet lessons on what ear training is and isn’t and how to listen to and internalize music like a musician…
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
LOVE of music and the discipline to study and practice the right things the right way.
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What is Ear Training?
Ear Training is the process of connecting [right brain] experience with [left brain] knowledge.
Ear Training, properly studied and practiced…
… teaches you how music works.
… teaches you how to listen like a musician.
… is the process of connecting the way you think about the music with the way you hear and feel the music.
… enables you to play what you are hearing and feeling rather than what you are merely thinking.
… teaches you how to listen for meaning.
… internalizes musical sounds in your mind’s ear.
… teaches you how to read, write, hear, and speak the language of music.
The ultimate goal of ear training is to translate the sounds you are hearing in your mind’s ear directly to physical execution on the piano.
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The Physics of Sound
Show and sweet lessons in the physics of sound that will help us understand and hear how pitches work…
What is Sound?
Sources of musical sounds include:
- vibrating strings (guitar, violin)
- vibrating columns of air (clarinet, pipe organ)
- vibrating diaphragms (drums, timpani)
- virtual electronic vibrations played through a loudspeaker (electric piano, synthesizer)
Since an acoustic piano makes sound by vibrating strings, let’s use a vibrating string in our discussion on acoustics. If you pluck a string, it will vibrate back & forth like this…
As the string moves, it compresses the air around it, changing the air pressure from high to low to high to low every time the string goes back & forth & back & forth. This pressure change travels at the speed of sound in all directions until it reaches your ears, causing your ear drums to vibrate at the very same frequency (number of vibrations per unit time). This vibration of your ear drums is relayed to your brain via a bundle of nerve cells where it is perceived as the pitch of the vibrating string.
Pitch
The number of times a string or column of air naturally vibrates back and forth in a given unit of time is perceived by our ears/brains as the pitch of the note.
The more often the string or column of air vibrates back & forth, the higher the pitch; the less often the string or column of air vibrates back & forth, the lower the pitch.
Listen to a comparison of High and Low pitches…
The number of times the string or column or air vibrates back and forth per unit time is called its frequency. The usual way to measure frequency is in cycles per second, also named Hertz (Hz). So, “100 Hz” is the same as “100 cycles per second.”
By the way, concert pitch (the standard tuning for ensemble instruments) defines middle A as 440 Hz. In other words, the A above middle C is tuned such that it vibrates back and forth 440 times per second.
The pitch (frequency that the string vibrates back & forth) depends on three things:
- the length of the string.
- the weight of the string.
- the amount of force (tension) used to stretch the string.
Effect of String Length on Pitch
All else being equal, the shorter the string, the higher the pitch and vice versa.
This short string…
vibrates faster & sounds higher in pitch than this long string…
Effect of String Weight on Pitch
All else being equal, the lighter the string, the higher the pitch and vice versa.
This light string…
vibrates faster & sounds higher in pitch that this heavy string…
Effect of String Tension on Pitch
All else being equal, the tighter the string is stretched, the higher the pitch and vice versa.
This string, stretched with more tension,…
vibrates faster & sounds higher in pitch that this string, stretched with less tension…
Try it Yourself: You can try all the above yourself by simply stretching rubber bands of various lengths and thicknesses between your fingers and plucking away, noticing the effect that length, weight, and tension have on the pitch.
Loudness
The bigger the vibration (the more distance the string travels back and forth), the louder the sound. The smaller the vibration, the softer the sound.
And so, this vibration….
will sound louder than this vibration…
because the first vibration moves more air back and forth than the second vibration. The more air that is compressed, the higher the pressure, the more your ear drums move in response, and the louder your brain perceives the sound.
Harmonics
When you pluck a string, a very interesting thing happens. Not only does the string vibrate like this…
but it also vibrates like this…
and like this…
and so on in 4ths, 5ths, etc…
Notice that the “shape” of each vibration is found by dividing the length of the string into equal-length sections that are each whole number division of the total length of the string: 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, etc.
The first vibration is called the fundamental and is perceived by our brains as the pitch of the note.
The “extra” vibrations are called overtones or harmonics.
These overtones are typically of a smaller amplitude, and therefore are not as loud as the fundamental. They add harmonic “colors” to the fundamental pitch, which we perceive as something called Timbre.
Timbre
Instruments sound different because the relative strength (loudness) of their harmonics are different.
The relative loudness of the overtones depends on the materials, size, and shape of the instrument as well as the technique of the person playing it. Some overtones may not even have any loudness at all. The relative strengths of the harmonics also change vibrations decay and resonate with each other over time.
Each instrument has a unique harmonic signature based on its unique combination of overtones. Our brains perceive these harmonics in way that allows us to recognize the “voice” of the instrument (and human voices, too!). This perception is called timbre.
Such impressions may be described using adjectives such as warm, mellow, bright, velvety, nasal, brassy, tinny, tender, and countless others.
Furthermore, because their harmonic signatures can be different, even similar instruments can sound different. A spinet piano, for example, sounds quite different from a grand piano. Even grand pianos sound different from each other. In fact, two pianos that are the exact same model may not sound exactly alike.
The Physical Basis of Harmony
A fun look at the physical basic of harmony–based on the organic ways that physical objects naturally vibrate!
Overtones and the Major Triad (YouTube)
Any interest in a text summary of the highlights?
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Ear Training Micro-Lessons
Short & sweet insights to help you approach Ear Training like a human being, not like a computer…
Bridging the gap between music theory and music practice is about turning music knowledge into music skill, always allowing your mind’s ear to be the leader. Here are some fresh mindsets and attitude adjustments to help you get there. Lets’ go!
The goal of studying music theory
is to PERFORM BETTER,
not to get good grades
on a music theory test.
Music is not math…
Music is a LANGUAGE.
Music theory, properly studied,
teaches you how to read,
write, hear, and speak
the LANGUAGE of music.
If you LEARN TO READ music,
you can READ TO LEARN music.
Textbook knowledge is not enough…
You need to turn music THEORY
into music SKILL.
You’ve got to get the theory
into your ears, eyes, & muscles.
Music THEORY is valuable
only to the degree
that it illuminates Music PRACTICE.
The way your “left brain” thinks about the music
should match
the way your “right brain” experiences the music.
You can’t TRY to hear
and feel something.
You simply allow yourself
to hear and feel something.
An extremely effective way
to internalize
a musical sound-feeling
is to sing it out loud.
Musical comprehension
isn’t just about sounds,
but about feelings and functions.
It’s not enough to know
what a musical something is.
You must study the music
until you understand what
that musical something does.
Melody, harmony, scales,
chords, chord progressions,
meter, rhythm, phrasing, & form
need each other
in order to make musical sense.
You bridge the gap between
theory & practice by studying
scales, chords, chord progressions,
meter, rhythm, phrasing, and form
not as nouns, but as VERBS.
Your understanding of the music
will be heard and felt
in your EXPRESSION of the music.
Learning how to speak
the language of music
is the inevitable reward
for internalizing lots of
musically-useful patterns…
by ear, intellect, eye, & muscle.
Please let Frank know if you’d like to get this lesson (and other micro-lessons) as a PDF or set of MP3s.
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How to Listen
A major milestone in your musical development is learning how to listen to music like a musician…
So, how do you listen to music?
How should you listen to music?
What should you listen to?
What should you listen for?
Keys to Listening like a Musician
- Music is not just about sounds, but about feelings. For this reason, Piano-ology regularly uses the term sound-feeling to describe the experience of musical listening.
- Musical patterns perform musical functions. In other words, it’s not just about what a musical something is (a noun). It’s also about what that musical something does (a VERB).
- Successful listening isn’t achieved by “trying” to hear something. It’s about being receptive to the sound-feeling that you are experiencing.
- Ear Training isn’t just about the sounds. It’s also about the pulse, meter, rhythm, phrases, form and other aspects of musical time.
- Ear training isn’t just about pitches. It’s also about phrasing, dynamics, and articulations.
- The building blocks of music (meter, rhythm, scales, chords, chord progressions, etc.) should always be studied and practiced with your ears fully engaged. Not sometimes. Not most of the time. Always.
- The sound, feeling, and function of a musical pattern always depends on the context. For example, the note F# in the key of D Major has a totally different sound, feeling, and function than the note F# in the key of G Minor.
- The location of a note within the fabric of time (the form, meter, phrase, rhythm) has a huge impact on the way it sounds, feels, and functions.
- Melody, harmony, scales, chords, chord progressions, meter, rhythm, phrasing, & form need each other in order to make musical sense.
- You can’t hear what you don’t listen for, just as you can’t see something if your eyes are closed, are looking in the wrong direction, or are focused on the wrong thing.
- There are as many ways to listen as there are ways to direct your attention.
- You can focus on any aspects of the music: the pulse, tempo, meter, phrase length, form, tonality, melody, harmony, bass line, stylistic elements, dynamics, articulations, etc.
- The ultimate goal is to get the sound-feelings into your ears, brains, eyes, and muscles.
Can you think of some others?
Every Piano-ology lesson on scales, chords, and chord progressions always always always integrates theory and ear training.
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Absolute and Relative Pitch
What you need to know about the difference between Absolute Pitch and Relative Pitch…
Absolute Pitch Defined
Absolute Pitch (AP), often called perfect pitch, is the ability to identify a musical pitch in the absence of any other tonal points of reference.
Absolute Pitch is the ability to instantly recognize a pitch in any musical context–no matter the particular piece, no matter the key center, no matter the tonality, and no matter what melodic or harmonic function those notes perform. For those of us not so endowed, it’s a miraculous and humbling thing to witness.
And AP is a rare gift indeed. According to widely accepted studies, it’s estimated that AP is possessed by roughly one in every 10,000 people. But even then, AP occurs on a spectrum of degrees (If you ask, Frank would be happy to share his research on the subject).
FYI: Frank took a few ear training and improv classes at Berklee music school where he was pleasantly surprised to learn that most professional musicians don’t have perfect pitch.
Relative Pitch Defined
Relative pitch (RP) is the ability to hear how musical tones relate to other pitches within your field of perception.
For example, Relative Pitch is the ability to recognize the unique sound-feeling of the note E when played in the context of a C Major tonality.
RP is the way that almost all of us are naturally able to perceive and enjoy melodic and harmonic relationships between sounds.
There are two main types of relative pitch reference:
- With respect to the prevailing key center Do. This is the purview of Solfege ear training. An enduring sense of key center provides the harmonic “context”, a context that organizes all the sounds in functional terms relative to a single point of reference Do.
- With respect to any note currently in your field of perception. This is the purview of Interval ear training. This can be useful for hearing the local relationship between notes in a melody or chord progression, when the tonal center is ambiguous, or when there is a change of key center.
Interval ear training does not contradict Solfege. Interval ear training complements Solfege and adds another dimension to your relative pitch listening skills.
Can you Learn Absolute Pitch?
Is Absolute Pitch (perfect pitch) a learnable skill?
The long short answer is “It depends” and requires some explanation…
Frank’s Experiences Studying Absolute Pitch
Experience #1: I bought and tried “the” perfect pitch course. Despite a diligent, open-minded effort on my part, it did not work for me. I heard and felt nothing, not even the slightest hint of possibility that I already possessed or might develop the ability to hear pitches as effortlessly as I see colors. I spent dozens of hours over the course of several months giving it an honest hearing, but did not experience even the faintest glimmer of progress or hope.
Experience #2: Of the hundreds of musicians that I have met or played with over the decades, only four of them had perfect pitch to my knowledge. Two of them claim that they “taught themselves” perfect pitch and that I could, too. Both of them confidently, and independently, suggested the very same procedure: Go to the piano, play middle C, and listen, day after day until you “memorize” what it sounds like, then move on to the next note. I have been giving this an honest effort for several years now, but have yet to hear or feel anything. I don’t doubt their veracity. I suspect, though, that these “learners” of AP already possessed the predisposition for acquiring it without realizing how special they really are.
Experience #3: I took two relative pitch ear training classes at Berklee music school, where I asked three of my professors if AP was a learnable skill. They did not answer with a crisp yes or no. They each strongly suggested that my time (and anyone’s time) would be much better spent on relative pitch training.
Experience #4: I asked the same professors what percentage of faculty and students at Berklee and in the professional music business possessed AP. They said it was very few and emphasized that it is not as precious a gift as one might think. They reminded me that even the perfect pitchers need to master many other skills–reading, technique, rhythm, comping, soloing, performance, etc.–skills that we all need to master. One of those professors added that, of the perfect pitchers he’s known, many had issues with playing with “soul” and feeling.
Experience #5: As a serious student of psychology, I’ve read all the peer-reviewed AP papers I could find in reputable psychology journals. (I am happy to share them with anyone who is interested). That search yielded two important conclusions:
- AP is very difficult to study because of it’s rarity and the near impossibility of controlling the independent variables. That said, the general conclusion, based on a combination of anecdotal evidence and controlled experiments, is this: AP requires a rare combination of nature (genetic predisposition) and nurture (early musical exposure and training) to blossom. Even then, it develops only in varying degrees.
- I have yet to find any reputable research that demonstrates that perfect pitch can be learned after early childhood. Such widely-accepted, peer-reviewed research holds the most water in my book. If you know of any research to the contrary, please let me know. (Note: To date, nobody has come forward with such.)
Closing Thoughts about AP
My experiences above have convinced me that I do not have Absolute Pitch and that I am not capable of learning AP, but I would never discourage anyone else from taking the time to give AP an honest chance themselves. You might pleasantly discover that you have the gift.
And should you discover that you have AP, be grateful. It is a very rare and special gift indeed. That said, you still need to work on your relative pitch and associative listening! And if you do not have AP, do not despair. The majority of wonderful musicians do not have it. While it provides enormous advantages in certain situations to the select few who do possess it, such a gift by no means makes one musical.
Musicianship is much more than the ability to hear the color of every note that enters your ears. Just because you can recognize the colors of the rainbow doesn’t mean you are destined to become a great painter. Even those with AP have plenty of other musical challenges to overcome, just like the rest of us.
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Relative Pitch Generalization
A lesson in relative pitch generalization–the ability of almost all humans to recognize the harmonic relationships between pitches no matter the key…
The Phenomenon of Relative Pitch Generalization
Did you know that once you recognize a sequence of pitches in the form of a scale, melody, or chord progression in one key, you will instantly and effortlessly be able to recognize that scale, melody, or chord progression in any key, even if it’s not in concert pitch?
Let’s makes this clear by example:
First, listen to this…
(FYI, this is in the key of C)
Instant recognition, right?
Now listen to this…
(FYI, this is in the key of Eb)
Again, instant recognition!
Let’s do one more…
(FYI, this is in the key of A)
And again notice that you immediately and effortlessly recognize the song no matter the key.
In fact, we recognize (and can play and sing) “Old McDonald” in any key for two reasons: 1. Because the harmonic relationships between the notes and with respect to the key center remain the same no matter what key you are in, and 2) We are naturally wired to hear these harmonic relationships!
Takeaway: Relative Pitch Generalization is our innate ability to hear and feel the harmonic relationships between pitches rather than their specific frequencies. This realization is the basis for why we are going to study and practice scales, melodies, and chord progression in relative, not absolute melodic and harmonic terms. This will all become clear when we introduce the Solfege System and Number System for studying scales and the Roman Numeral System for studying chord progressions.
learn more… Solfege and the Notion of Keys
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The Importance of Singing Aloud
An extremely effective way to do ear training, in other words, to internalize a chunk of music in your mind’s ear is to sing it out loud…
… while associating it with a musical something you already know: a scale, Solfege syllable, chord, note in written music, or key on the keyboard.
Why Singing Aloud Works
Singing out loud is an extremely effective way to internalized music because…
… it’s an active, not a passive, process.
… it requires you to generate something, which is how you perform music.
… an it excites a variety of sensory, memory, and motor pathways in your brain.
How to Sing Aloud
For each pattern, play while singing, humming, or scatting using any syllables that feel most natural and comfortable for your voice.
Connect what you are singing to your knowledge of scales by analyzing the melody (or chord voices) using either the Solfege System or the Number System or both.
As you do so, record yourself, and listen to the playback immediately. The recording is like a good friend who will tell you if you are in or out of tune, if you are honest and humble enough to listen.
Ear training is not a race. For maximum learning, you must sing each tone long enough for its sound-feeling to make an impression on your mind’s ear. (see: How Your Brain Works: Soak Time)
If you get stuck, use what you already know. It’s ok, for example, to play and sing up or down the scale if you’re having a hard time finding a note.
If you’re out of tune, try adjusting your pitch up or down like turning a tuning knob. When you’re in tune, you’ll feel the pleasing resonance.
Fight for every note. If something feels off, find and fix the problem NOW. You’ll be glad you did. Every bit of progress helps to tune up your musical mind as if YOU are a musical instrument.
You’ll know when you’ve put music in because you’ll feel something “click” deep in your musical mind. That “click” is the sensation of the contents of your sensory register and short-term memory being attached to something you already know in your long-term memory: such as a scale, chord, chord progression, Solfege syllables, notes in written music, or keys on the keyboard.
Sing Out Loud every chance you get and enjoy the results!
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Commentary on Ear Training Apps
In Frank’s experience, most relative pitch ear training apps have very limited utility and can actually hinder your progress…
… for at least seven significant reasons:
- Most such apps typically present pitches without any meaningful musical context… that is, without any sense of meter, rhythm, tonality, harmony, or form.
- Even for apps that do present pitches in a musical context, the context is typically contrived and not like the real music you want to add to your repertoire.
- Such apps do not typically engage all four musical intelligences–ears, intellect, eyes, and muscles.
- Such apps do not typically require you to actively generate the music… whether by singing or playing.
- Such apps typically ignore the fact that the musical meaning of a pitch or chord is not just about its sound, but about how it feels and functions.
- The sound, feeling, and function of pitches, rhythms, scales, chords, and chord progressions can be internalized so much deeper and faster by using nothing more than your voice, the piano, and a rhythm track.
- Once you understand the basic concepts of how music works, your precious time and energy are infinitely better spent getting your ear training directly from the music that YOU want to play.
Sidebar: Frank has been approached several times over the years to “review” and receive compensation for promoting several widely touted ear training apps, all of which will remain nameless. In each and every case he’s graciously declined to do so for two important reasons: 1) They all fall short of what you can already more effectively accomplish using just your voice and the piano for free, and 2) Doing so would violate the Piano-ology ethics of maintaining totally independence from advertisers and of saving visitors from the distraction and annoyance of advertisements of any kind.
An Open Invitation
Frank is always open to learning about any innovative resource that understands the significance of doing ear training in a meaningful musical context and that appreciates the kinds of music that YOU want to play. If anyone knows of such, please share in the comments below. I would love to give them an honest try and share with subscribers.
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Associative Ear Training
The process of Associative Ear Training is utterly simple…
- Pay Attention (listen) to a chunk of music and be receptive to the overall sound-feeling.
- Associate (connect) that particular sound-feeling with knowledge already stored or able to be stored in your long-term memory.
Associative Ear Training in Action
Listen to Frank demonstrate how associative ear training works using a famous chunk of music…
Please let Frank know if you’d like to hear other examples of associative ear training.
How to Use Associative Ear Training to Build Your Repertoire
Associative ear training works just like learning new words and phrases in a second language.
And associative ear training turns music from something you merely recognize into something you can perform.
And the process goes like this: Take a musical chunk that you’d like to add to your repertoire (a melody, comping pattern, bass line, chord voicing, lick, riff, intro, ending, embellishment, etc.) and associate (connect) the sound-feeling of that musical chunk to something you already know about music. Of course, this requires that you understand the building blocks of music (meter, rhythm, form, scales, solfege, chords, chord progressions, roman numeral analysis, etc.), can map that musical understanding to the visuospatial layout and sequence of keys on the keyboard, and the physical choreography required to perform it.
If you commit yourself to making a few such connections every day you’ll quickly internalize tens, hundreds, thousands of such associations–by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle… each new association expanding your capacity to understand and speak the language of music!!!
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Comparative Ear Training
coming soon
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Music Theory Assisted Listening
coming soon
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Ear Training Recommendations
Every serious musician should be doing ear training as a matter of routine, but what does that actually mean in practice?
IMPORTANT: Frank takes his teaching practice very seriously and wants to be absolutely honest and clear about a subject that causes no shortage of confusion and frustration (mostly because it’s so horribly taught). To that end… comments, suggestions, and questions are more than welcome.
Ear Training Reminders
Music is a Language
Music isn’t like a language. Music is a language.
And so, ear training is about listening for and internalizing sounds, feelings, and meanings–just like learning any language!
Just like any other language, one goal is to understand what you are hearing (musical comprehension).
Just like any other language, one goal is to be able to communicate something (musical fluency).
Theory & Ear Training should be Inseparable
The way you think about the music should be aligned with the way you experience (hear & feel) the music.
Music theory and ear training should always be studied together. THIS is a central aspect of what it really means to know your scales, chords, and chord progressions.
Context Matters
The sound, feeling, and function of any pitch always depends on the musical context. Always.
Frank’s Ear Training Advice
Learn Commonly Used Scales
These include major, minor, major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, mixolydian, dorian, blues, etc.).
Sing each scale out loud using Solfege.
Do just enough Solfege Ear Training to get a feel for the mood of each scale type.
Do just enough Solfege Ear Training to get a feel for the ways that the notes in a scale sound, feel, and function with respect to a key center and to each other.
Learn Commonly used Chords
These include intervals, triads, seventh chords, suspensions.
Do just enough Interval Ear Training to get a feel for the ways that different Intervals sound, feel, and function.
Do just enough Triad Ear Training to get a feel for the ways that different Triads sound, feel, and function.
Do just enough 7th Chord Ear Training to get a feel for the ways that different 7th Chords sound, feel, and function.
Learn Commonly used Chord Progressions
These include Major I-V(7)-I, Minor i-V(7)-i, Major I-IV-I, minor i-iv-i, Mixolydian I-bVII-I, Dorian i-bVII-i.
Do just enough to get a feel for the ways that different chords sound, feel, and function. as part of a chord progression.
Get Your Ear Training from Real Music
Once you develop a basic understanding for how music works, get your ear training directly from the music you want to play!!!
Analyze the Melody using Solfege
Analyze and internalize the sound feeling, and function of the notes in the melody… recognizing that some notes define the key center, some define the tonality, some outline the harmony, some embellish chord tones, some establish the meter, some create the rhythm, some create harmonic tension, some release harmonic tension… and how all these conspire to create musical phrases and fit into the overall form of the piece.
Analyze the Harmony using Roman Numerals and Solfege
Analyze and internalize the sound, feeling, and function of the chords in the chord progression. You will likely discover that there are typically only a small number of chord progressions in common usage: Major I-V-I, minor i-V-i, major blues, minor blues, major I-IV-I, minor i-iv-i, major I-vi-IV-V, minor i-bVI-iv-V, minor i-bVII-bVI-V, Mixolydian I-bVII-I, Dorian i7-IV7-i7, Major IM7-vi7-ii7-V7, with a few variations using simple harmonic devices such as pedal points, suspensions, borrowed chords, secondary dominants, key changes and combinations of the above.
Once you understand the basics of scales, chords, and chord progressions and how meter, pitches, harmony, and form work together to create music, your ear training should be incidental to the specific kinds of music that YOU want to make! In other words, you don’t need to do special ear training exercises (just like you don’t need to to special finger training exercises!)
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