How do you guys recognize notes so easily?

[Taser9090]

I don't want to sound like a moron, but how do guys do it? You guys can just listen to an excerpt of a simple piece of music and write it down.

Everything was going great in music theory until we got to ear training. So far, I can only recognize major/perfect intervals in C major.

It's upsetting; I really want to recognize notes, but it's just really difficult. I can't even recognize a note that's played by itself.
The only note that I can probably notice is C3, since that's the octave I imagine C in my head. If I heard a C4 I'd probably understand it also, but other Cs are lost to me.

Yeah, this just shows how much I suck. Did you guys have problems with recognizing notes when you first started? How'd you overcome it?

[Bubbles]

If I hear a note played, unless I have a piano or another tuned instrument right next to me I dont know which note it is. If thats what youre learning how to do, then I cant help you there  . Mainly what I do is find the first note in a set of notes and hum it, then find the key that matches the note Im humming on the piano. Once you have the first note its fairly easier to fins out the rest, but it does help to pause the song and single out the notes one by one. This probably isnt too helpful, and more experienced arrangers could probably give you a better explanation.

Is it bad that I dont even know the difference between c4, c3, or even just plain c? :/

[Nebbles]

It comes with practice, really. I'm slowly learning to recognize notes, but what bubbles said is true too - humming out the notes and matching them. I'm no expert at all so my advice is lame sorry yeah

[TheZeldaPianist275]

Yeah, this just shows how much I suck. Did you guys have problems with recognizing notes when you first started? How'd you overcome it?

It shows no such thing.  I originally lurked on NSM to request things, but then I'm like, "Hey, why not try to make a sheet or two myself?" And it all went from there.  I've had trouble.  But any of the older members will say- and I agree with them- Practice.  Lots of practice.  It's a lot of ear training.

EDIT:  Pfff, ninja'd by Nebbles.

[Taser9090]

Since I just started ear training I suppose I shouldn't be worry about it much then, huh.

I'm just a total noob at this. I just thought you had to be super good at recognizing notes to start arranging. :p

[Nebbles]

There's that too, yeah, but being able to know what note is which helps a lot.

[JDMEK5]

I'm building my ability to recognize a note by the sound... It's taken me 10 years to even be able to start doing that though...
It's really just practice. I hear a note and I try and think about a piece in which I can unmistakably hear that same note.
It's a simple matter of comparison, but sometimes takes time...

[BlackDragonSlayer]

It comes with practice, really. I'm slowly learning to recognize notes, but what bubbles said is true too - humming out the notes and matching them. I'm no expert at all so my advice is lame sorry yeah

I'm trying to write down the Trololo song by ear... it involves rushing back and forth between my computer and my piano, with the notes lingering in my head.

[Bespinben]

I hear a note and I try and think about a piece in which I can unmistakably hear that same note.

I use that same strategy too for building perfect pitch. For C, I think of "Heart and Soul" - for D, I think of "Phantom of the Opera".

[MaestroUGC]

I'm trying to write down the Trololo song by ear... it involves rushing back and forth between my computer and my piano, with the notes lingering in my head.

You mean this?

[BlackDragonSlayer]

You mean this?

Uh... I guess that will make things much easier...
Thank you!

[Mashi]

Don't worry about absolute pitch too much, a majority of it is based on critical period.  Based on scientific research, it'll be nearly impossible to develop absolute pitch to the degree that those who developed it at an early age.  I think that most musically inclined often are able to think of one note's pitch in their head and then find other notes using relative pitch, anyhow.  With that remark, relative pitch is generally more important than absolute pitch anyway.

In most cases, you just need to find the starting note and use relative pitch the find other notes in a piece of music.  You could even write as you hear it and if your absolute pitch was off, you could simply transpose afterwards.  I think that the best way to be able to improve relative pitch is to associate intervals or whatever with songs you know.  To improve listening to scales, listen for Whole Steps and Half Steps.  Listen to a few Whole Tone and Chromatic Scales to fully grasp the Steps and then move on to other scales.  Major is W W h W W W h and Natural Minor is W h W W h W W.  To differentiate the Minors, the Harmonic Minor sounds like a Natural Minor, with the exception of the Step between the 7th and 8th Notes being Half (if you listen to Whole Tone and Chromatic a bit, noticing this should be easier).  As for Melodic Minor, the beginning sounds like any typical Minor Scale, but its last 3 notes sound like a Major Scale when ascending.  If the scale is being played ascending and descending though, Melodic Scale is much simpler, since you simply need to hear for a change of the 6th and 7th notes on the way down.

[SlowPokemon]

@Taser - Hm well I mean regardless of the note itself, you can't identify for instance a perfect 5th? How long have you been studying music? (I'm not being mean, I'm just curious) With a bit of practice that much should come relatively easily :/ I'm not sure which notes I could identify off the top of my head, but the intervals that you mentioned aren't overtly difficult. What are you having trouble with in particular?

[Shadoninja]

Being able to sing/hum notes helps me a lot

[Taser9090]

I've always thought it would be easy to just absorb music into your mind and take it apart. I can handle relative pitch

@Taser - Hm well I mean regardless of the note itself, you can't identify for instance a perfect 5th? How long have you been studying music? (I'm not being mean, I'm just curious) With a bit of practice that much should come relatively easily :/ I'm not sure which notes I could identify off the top of my head, but the intervals that you mentioned aren't overtly difficult. What are you having trouble with in particular?

When I said I was a total noob at all of this, I really meant that I was a total noob at all of this xD
We just started ear training two weeks ago. Since my music theory class is full of choir students, they seemed to recognize notes easily. I can recognize major chords and perfects, besides with sometimes getting confused with tritones-M7 and P4-P5.

Of the four years I've been visiting NSM, I've always thought the users here had perfect pitch and that's why they could arrange so easily. I've always thought perfect pitch was required to learn in music classes. Just until now I know that it's as hard as it looks, and it simply needs lots of practice.