The goal of session #1 is to give you a step-by-step plan to building your ear-skills. The ultimate goal is to be able to determine and recognize melodic and harmonic intervals as well as the interval between chords in progressions.
Understanding scales and how they help you to play by ear
12 major scales:
i. C maj – C D E F G A B C
ii. F maj – F G A Bb C D E F
iii. Bb maj – Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
iv. Eb maj – Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb
v. Ab maj – Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab
vi. Db maj – Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db
vii. Gb maj – Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb
viii. B maj – B C# D# E F# G# A# B
ix. E maj – E F# G# A B C# D# E
x. A maj – A B C# D E F# G# A
xi. D maj – D E F# G A B C# D
xii. G maj – G A B C D E F# G
Convert each scale to numbers
i. Example: C major = C1 D2 E3 F4 G5 A6 B7 C8 (or C1)
These numbers have multiple uses:
i. They establish a universal language outside of a particular major key. (Example: “the third of a key” can be applied to ANY key, not just one key like saying “E” is the third of C major). In ear-training, learning the “big” picture like this is more advantageous because if you learn to recognize how a major third interval sounds, you should then be able to apply that understanding to ANY key (whether you’re playing the major third of Ab or the major third of C major).
ii. They define harmonic intervals. For example, when you play the 1st tone of any major key and any other key above it, the highest key establishes what type of interval you’re playing. In C major, if I hold down C and play an E, since E is the 3rd tone in the C major scale, I am playing a major third interval. On the other hand, if I hold down a C and play the “A” above it, I’m playing a major sixth interval. So numbers are important in that regard.
iii. They define chord progressions like “2-5-1” and “1-4” and “1-5”. When someone says, “play a 2-5-1,” that means play the “2” chord of a key (usually minor) to a “5” chord (usually dominant) to a “1” chord (usually major). By knowing numbers, you can apply this to any key. So it’s better to understand the “big picture” as applying a “2-5-1” to any key will be very simple if:
1. You know your major scales
2. You know the “2”, “5”, and “1” of any key
3. You know the chords involved (like all 12 major chords, all 12 minor chords, all 12 dominant chords, all 12 _______ chord).
Intervals:
Distance between two notes
i. From 1 to 1: Perfect unison
ii. From 1 to 2: Major second
iii. From 1 to 3: Major third
iv. From 1 to 4: Perfect fourth
v. From 1 to 5: Perfect fifth
vi. From 1 to 6: Major sixth
vii. From 1 to 7: Major seventh
viii. From 1 to b2: Minor second
ix. From 1 to b3: Minor third
x. From 1 to b5: Diminished fifth
xi. 1 to b6: Minor sixth
xii. 1 to b7: Minor seventh
Goal: To be able to recognize these intervals in melodies (when notes are played separately one after the other) and chords (harmonic intervals; notes played together at the same time)
Since intervals create chords, being able to recognize intervals is very important
i. Focus on:
1. Major third
2. Minor third
3. Major seventh
4. Minor seventh
5. These intervals create major triads / minor triads / major seventh / minor seventh / dominant seventh chords.
ii. Two main goals:
1. You want to be able to recognize what type of chord is being played (major, minor, diminished, etc)
2. You want to be able to recognize the keynote of the chord (keynote is the note the chord is based on… for example: the key note of a Cmaj chord is “C”).
Recognizing distances between chords
i. Primary chords
1. I — IV — V
a. Recognizing the distance between 1-4 and 1-5 is the easiest.
b. Example: The 1st tone of the C major scale is C. The 4th tone is F. The 5th tone is G.
c. A 1-4 progression is: Cmaj to Fmaj
d. A 1-5 progression is: Cmaj to Gmaj
i. BOTH ARE VERY COMMON (though the chord may be more complexed like Fmaj7 or Fmaj9, etc).
ii. Other chords
1. These are common progressions in songs:
a. 2-5-1
b. 1-6-2-5
c. 2-5
d. 3-6-2-5-1
iii. Building your relative pitch will allow you to hear when a “Cmaj” chord, for example, is going to an “Amin” chord. Since C is the 1st tone of the C major scale and A is the 6th tone of the scale, this relationship is known as a 1-6 progression.
Circle of Fifths / Circle of Fourths
i. Depending on how you look at the circle, it can be labeled as “circle of fourths” or “circle of fifths”.
1. Many progressions move in fourth and fifth intervals:
a. 2-5-1 in C major is: “D” to “G” to “C” (notice that the relationship between D and G is a fourth interval and the relationship between G and C is a fourth interval).
b. Notice, also, that D – G – C are neighbors on the circle of fifths chart. Most progression move in this same way.
Exercises to build ear-skills
i. Playing the first note of a major scale and singing any other note of the scale without using the piano.
ii. Playing any note on the piano and singing the note right above it.
iii. Having someone else play the first note of a major scale and any other note from that scale (C major is easiest because you can have a son or daughter play any white note and that note will be a part of the scale).
Phone exercises
i. I’ll play the first note of a scale and any random second note and the participant will try to determine the note.
ii. I will play the first note of a scale followed by two notes, one after the other and the participant will try to determine the two notes.
iii. Using only major and minor chords, I will play the first major chord of the scale (C maj) and another chord, and the participant will try to determine the second chord.
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