[getafix]

I am an adult beginner who has been taking lessons for a year and a half. My teacher has recommended Rubank's Elementary method book and that includes memorizing scales going round the circle of fifths. The discussion on how to learn scales and the importance of scales has brought up a new question. Could you please describe and recommend some basic (by basic I mean simple-for beginners) ear training methods/exercises that would complement the scale memorizing that I am doing.

Thank you all very much

 

[Square]

I'm interested as well.

 

[florian]

For beginners two methods seem to work pretty well:

1. the note for note method:
start singing the first two notes and repeat them for several times until you can hear and sing them in your head without singing them aloud.
The continue with three notes, with 4 and so on.

e.g.
c, d c,d,c d,c d,c,d
c,d,e c,d,e,d,c e,d,c e,d,c,d,e
and so on with 4, 5, 6 notes until you have the full scale
or (adds the diatonic intervalls):
c,d,e c,d,e,c e,d,c e,d,c,e
c,e c,e,d,c e,c e,c,d,e

go slowly and check the correct pitch on an instrument. It does not have to be in time, so don't use a metronome. You could also try to practise singing an improvisation only with the first 2 or 3 notes until you feel comfortable with them e.g. c, c, c, d, d, c, c, d,c d,c,d,d,c,d,d,d,c ...............
2. The Tetrachord method:
each scale consists (there is always an exception to everything) of two tetrachords (4 notes of the scale).
the c majore scale consists of the tetrachords c,d,e,f and g,a,h,c.
Both have the same intervalconstruct. There are several different tetrachords with different intervalconstructs which if put together form different scales (you should find 4 different constructs of tetrachords regarding only the scale system derived from major).
Learn to sing, hear and to use them in each direction.

 

[Rackety Sax]

Transcribe songs, i.e., take a song and try to write it down using an instrument only to check your work. Relate the pitches of the song to the major scale, using solfege syllables (do-re-mi) if you like. Start simple, perhaps with children's songs. Mary Had a Little Lamb, Three Blind Mice, The Birthday Song, etc. First step is to figure out which degree of the scale the song starts on.

 

[getafix]

florian and Rackety Sax, thank you very much for the suggestions.
Rackety Sax, did you mean hearing the song and matching it to the notes on the instrument and writing down the notes. Or, did you mean writing down the notes by ear and then checking them with the instrument.

 

[Rackety Sax]

florian and Rackety Sax, thank you very much for the suggestions.
Rackety Sax, did you mean hearing the song and matching it to the notes on the instrument and writing down the notes. Or, did you mean writing down the notes by ear and then checking them with the instrument.

I meant the latter, but it is also valuable to pick out tunes on your instrument without necessarily ever writing them down. The point of either exercise is learn to hear a melody in your head and know what notes make it up.

 

[ismail]

http://www.earmaster.com/

The trial version is for free, great program!

 

[getafix]

Ismail, Thank you very much. I looked at the website and there is 7 day trial download which I will get. Do you know if, for a beginner, any particular version is more suitable than the others.

Edit: It seems I can download any one of the 3 versions.

 

[saxmaam]

I vote for EarMaster Pro.

 

[florian]

http://www.earmaster.com/

The trial version is for free, great program!

Software as an additional help can sometimes be ok but when i studied music i knew so many musicians/students who nailed all lessons in various eartrainingprogramms 100 % but had really big problems with transcriptions and dealing with live music. Most of them did not really benefit from computer generated lessons.
It is so important to learn to sing and hear/sing internally music.
Using software can get you to the point where you can hear whether the scale played up or down is dorian or not, but will it teach you to recognise melodies built on it? Will you be able to sing the scale and use it for building melodies? In my opinion and i've done some research regarding eartraining, no. To me the time using a software for eartraining is wasted and you can do more for your ears using a keyboard or piano.

 

[Nefertiti]

A couple of years ago after I put my Aebersolds on my iPod, I would put on Vol 24 in my car and practice singing certain notes over the grooves. One day I would practice singing the 3rds. One day the 6ths. One day the 9ths.............then the different tensions over the chords. It was really hard for me but it helped me a ton.

 

[lutemann]

I've said this before, but it is worth repating. The best way to start ear training, IMHO, is by singing number patterns in the Major mode.
121, 12321, 1231, 1321, 1235, 5321, etc. There is a sight singing book by Leibermann (sp?) which has tons of these patterns. When iI was in music school, I could sing all his patterns in about six of seven modes. This book may be bought used at your favorite online bookstore for three or four dollars.

 

[Dave Dolson]

All good suggestions . . . I like the numbers-for-notes approach. Meaning, each scale note is given a number and regardless of what key you may be "hearing", each scale note is a number rather than a note. And as far as writing things down, I'd think that what you eventually want to do is to get away from written music.

So, teach yourself the scales (all of them) by ear - you can hear this!! Once you know your scales by ear, then sound out simple melodies in each key. For instance, WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN . . . the melody starts on 1, the tonic (F in the key of F) . . . "Oh when the saints . . ." . . . 1-3-4-5, 1-3-4-5, etc. DAVE

 

[getafix]

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. Until now, I have been focusing on learning the most basic aspects of playing the horn and hoping that practicing exercises and scales would suffice. However, even though the training methods may differ, the general consensus seems to be that it is never too early to begin ear training.