Ear Training

Anybody??

Learning all the major scales is unnecessary. They all sound the same.

Learning to recognise the intervals is the most important part of ear training.

First intervals of notes played one after the other.

Then intervals played simultaneously.

Move from there onto chords. First simple triad chords, major and minor.

Then sus4 and sus2 chords.

Then basic extended chords. Dom7, maj7, min7.

Then the sound of adding other extensions onto the major and minor chords, 6ths, 9ths and 11ths.

Ok, thanks. So, the trick is that I have to learn to recognise the Intervals within the scale?

Does this concept also apply to other Scales? Like Natural / Harmonic Minor? Sorry if I sounds so DUMB. :wink:

Ok, thanks. So, the trick is that I have to learn to recognise the Intervals within the scale?

Does this concept also apply to other Scales? Like Natural / Harmonic Minor? Sorry if I sounds so DUMB. :wink:

Yes.

There are 12 notes and thus 12 intervals. Learn to hear them and recognise them. It's not necessary to work on them all at once. Start from the basic and most important ones, the perfect 5th and 4th and the major and minor 3rd. Then add more. Here they are in a table:

# of semitones Interval name Aliases
0 Unison
1 Minor 2nd Flatted 2nd, b2
2 Major 2nd 2nd
3 Minor 3rd b3
4 Major 3rd
5 Perfect 4th
6 Diminished 5th Sharp 4, #4, b5
7 Perfect 5th
8 Augmented 5th Flat 6, Minor 6th, b6
9 Major 6th bb7
10 Dominant 7th Minor 7th, b7, 7(in chords)
11 Major 7th maj7
12 Octave

I hope this helps.

Somewhat off topic: Why is the Minor 7th so often referred to as the Dominant 7th? I don't really understand the use of the word "Dominant" in this context.

Is there any other context in which to use the word "Dominant"? Can you have a dominant 5th or a dominant 3rd? Dominant 9th or 13th?

The minor seventh interval is what makes a dominant seventh chord... the b7 tone is what creates tension.

Dominant always refers to a chord that includes the b7 scale tone. Any chord that's just called a 'seventh' (like E7) is a dominant seventh chord. 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths, imply the b7 tone in the chord, so an eleventh chord would be:

1-3-5-b7-9-11

When we talk about a minor seventh, there are two different meanings. A minor seventh interval contains two notes, the root and a flatted seventh above it:

1-b7

A minor seventh chord contains four notes:

1-b3-5-b7

The b3 is what makes it a 'minor' chord, and the b7 is what makes it a 'seventh' chord. If you want a minor seventh chord with a natural seventh note, that's called a minor/Major7th:

1-b3-5-7

but they don't appear nearly as often as dominant, major, or minor seventh chords.

And 1-3-5-7 is a major 7 chord, correct?

So 1-b3-5-b7 = Minor 7th chord

and 1-b3-5-7 is the minor/major 7th,

and whats 1-3-5-b7? Just "7"?

Yep, just '7'. Dominant chords are so common, we don't need to say 'G dominant 7', although you could if you wanted to.

And, to beat this twitching equine carcass a little further, it is not the b7 per se that causes "tension" on the V chord, it is the b5 interval (tritone) between the b7 and the 3 (A dom7 chord is 1-3-5-b7).

The b7 in a minor 7th chord causes no such tension as the distance between theb3 and the b7 is a sweet perfect 5th.

Ok, thanks. So, the trick is that I have to learn to recognise the Intervals within the scale?

Does this concept also apply to other Scales? Like Natural / Harmonic Minor? Sorry if I sounds so DUMB. :wink:

Yes.

There are 12 notes and thus 12 intervals. Learn to hear them and recognise them. It's not necessary to work on them all at once. Start from the basic and most important ones, the perfect 5th and 4th and the major and minor 3rd. Then add more. Here they are in a table:

# of semitones Interval name Aliases
0 Unison
1 Minor 2nd Flatted 2nd, b2
2 Major 2nd 2nd
3 Minor 3rd b3
4 Major 3rd
5 Perfect 4th
6 Diminished 5th Sharp 4, #4, b5
7 Perfect 5th
8 Augmented 5th Flat 6, Minor 6th, b6
9 Major 6th bb7
10 Dominant 7th Minor 7th, b7, 7(in chords)
11 Major 7th maj7
12 Octave

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the chart. It sure helps me. :D

Btw, I still want to know. The method that you guys use to recognise it. I want to get some sort of idea in doing it. Are you just play the note after note and hear the intervals between it? Or do you also hum or sing the note ?

Btw, I still want to know. The method that you guys use to recognise it. I want to get some sort of idea in doing it. Are you just play the note after note and hear the intervals between it? Or do you also hum or sing the note ?

I thought I already covered that:
First intervals of notes played one after the other.

Then intervals played simultaneously.

Move from there onto chords. First simple triad chords, major and minor.

Then sus4 and sus2 chords.

Then basic extended chords. Dom7, maj7, min7.

Then the sound of adding other extensions onto the major and minor chords, 6ths, 9ths and 11ths.

oh, ok thanks hbriem.

Sorry, if I sounded brusque.

There are lots of different ways to train your ears. Most people don't even do it deliberately, just practice playing. Your ears will improve gradually.

That said, there are many ways to do it more systematically. There are many different "ear trainers" on the net, software that plays notes either consecutively or simultaneously and you are asked to identify the interval or chord.

Try
http://www.good-ear.com/servlet/EarTrainer

http://www.ossmann.com/bigears/

http://www.musictheory.net/load.php?id=90

There are many others.

If you like, humming or singing along may be useful, especially if you would like to sing in the future.

Or you can just do it on your own, using a guitar or piano. The trouble with that method is that you cannot test yourself as you always know (or should know) what interval you are playing.

wow, nice links. I've been using good-ear.com for while. I like it. Thanks again for your advise and being patient with me.