Help with ear training

[Wolf]

I say, if you want a perfect pitch, then you should learn how to play the piano. It worked for me.

[JDMEK5]

I say, if you want a perfect pitch, then you should learn how to play the piano. It worked for me.

*sarcastic smile*

[Ricky]

One of the hardest things for me is to figure out closely spaced chords, especially non usual ones (i.e. not triads or 7th chords I suppose). It is much easier to deal with more openly spaces chords where the parts can be dealt with as seperate voices more easily. On G Major Music Theory there's a piece called March on The Android Moon composed by the site owner Gilbert deBenedetti which I'm working on right now. A big part of the piece is relatively easy to figure out, in general the rhythm is easy (syncopations are common though), the bass has the same repeating pattern much of the time (A to E to A to E etc.) but there are some wierd harmonies in two instances.

In the first instance the chord contains (going upwards) A, B, C & E which can be interpreted as a A minor add 2 and then it moves on to another non standard chord (I guess) which I have much trouble figuring out, all I know is that it seems to contains D on the top. And then it moves back to the A minor add 2. In the second instance (going upwards) it starts with a B & E (a fourth), then it goes to A, B & E which is can be interpreted as the 2nd inversion of a Esus4 or simply an inversion of three fourths stacked on top, then it moves to A, B, D & E which if seen as a quartal harmony is another fourth added to the stack but inverted and finally it goes to A, B, D & F which is the 3rd inversion of a B half diminished 7th chord (which wasn't easy to figure out either). In general I've noticed that Gilbert uses chords with seconds (for example sus chords) often.


I had to make many guesses to figure out the chords and still haven't figured out one of the chords as I've mentioned. Basically, I wonder how you guys do when trying to find the right chords (especially non standard ones)? Right now it takes a long time for me and I have to guess alot. I know it's a matter of practice but maybe you guys have good ideas for practicing or quicker/better ways to find chords.

[Ricky]

I'm done with that piece now but I had some stuff wrong, including the A minor add 2 chord which turns out to be B, C & E (which could be for example interpreted as a C major 7th omit 5). Also the "chord" which I couldn't figure out was a dyad with D & E (major second) although I thought it was a dyad with E & D (minor 7th). Either way most of the piece was transcribed correctly but I still want your advice on chords.

[Ricky]

I guess it's time to give an update. Much has happened since last time I've replied here. I did complete transcribing of some more pieces by ear and wanted to start transcribing video game music by ear but I've realised that I needed to practice the basics more. I've slowly been increasing my dependence on my musical memory/analyzing melodic segments in my head and decreasing my need for repetitive listening. I've been getting more accurate with practice (as you would expect). I'm not sure if I've mentioned it but I've been using Theta Music Trainer for quite a while. It's a site with many ear training and music theory games. It's a fun way to do ear training pretty much. Either way there are currently 36 games and each game has 20 levels so in total there are 720 levels. I've got 708 levels completed and only need to complete 12 more levels on a game called "Vocal Steps (Repeat)" where you listen to a short melodic pattern you and have to repeat it by singing on pitch. It's one of the games I've been focusing on lately and the other is Speed Chords where you have to listen to chord inversions and choose the correct ones. So I've been getting practice in both singing and recognizing chord inversions. Recently I've also bought EarMaster Pro mainly to practice melodic dictation (but it has a few other types of ear training exercises).

So in short my focus right now is on melodic dictation (in general, understanding what I hear in my head and by learning basic singing).

[JDMEK5]

Heh, as far as chords go, I just go trial and error on it. I usually know what to try so I sorta know what I'm doing though.

[Brassman388]

Interval studies are you best friend. A pain in the ass at times, but your best friend.

[Ricky]

Interval studies are you best friend. A pain in the ass at times, but your best friend.

Yeah, many things in ear training revolve around intervals. But are you referring to studying pure intervals or intervals in a context (like melodic segments or chords)? I feel pretty secure when practicing with pure intervals but in a context it's harder ofc.

[JDMEK5]

In order to recognize intervals in context, first you have to be able to recognize them individually.
What I recommend is picking up a "Four Star" book. (Grade 7 or higher)
Because they not only have a section for practicing your sight-reading, but also clapback melodies, recognizing intervals, chords, playback melodies (the backbone of arranging by ear), and also cadences* by ear.
Thanks to arranging, I'm doomed to get a perfect score for my playback melody on my exam this April.

(*if the grade of book you got is high enough. You can get grade 8 just to be sure you get this feature)

[PokeBunny]

I can arrange. My age is 13. But I can't hear fast things properly. I can, but when there are 3rds...
Know how to help?

[MaestroUGC]

Practice. Start small and easy with slower pieces that use thirds. You can also slow music down. That's a common trick people use to make fast stuff more audible.

Keep at it. Don't quit.

[Ricky]

Use your internal ear to slow things down and try to figure them out.

[Winter]

http://www.virtualpiano.net/

Click away, if you don't have a keyboard already. slow it down a lot, and take it one note at a time.