know any good ear training resources?

There are free online ear-training sites, I would check this out before spending money. Try this site for starters.

http://www.good-ear.com/

And don't fall into the trap of thinking that this is something that will magically happen. Most people who are good at figuring out songs had to go at it the old fashioned way - lots of practice! :wink:

Not that books and other methods won't help, but the most important thing you can do to work on your ear training is to listen and then to fall flat on your face. If you can get a hold of a songbook of an album you like, listen to the album and then see how much of it you can get. Use the songbook to check yourself and also to gauge where you need help (can you tell a major from a minor? what voicing is being used? etc.,) so that you can create your own study program.

The more you rely on your ears instead of other learning material, the quicker it will come. Be patient and have fun!

Peace

This trainer is pretty good:
http://musictheory.net/trainers/html/id90_en.html

My question is although in an earlier post someone listed some good mnemonics, they only cover ascending intervals. I find it hard to hear the descending ones. Are there any good ones for descending intervals?

A google search found this site:
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1246934

I've reposted what they have below, although I'm not familiar with all their songs:

Interval | Ascending | Descending
----------------|------------------------------|----------------------------
| |
minor second | How Insensitive | Für Elise
| Theme from Jaws |
| |
major second | Happy Birthday | Eight Days A Week
| Major scale (ascending) |
| |
minor third | Happiness is a Warm Gun | Hey Jude
| |
major third | major triad | Summertime
| Oh When The Saints | Here Comes The Sun
| |
perfect fourth | The Wedding March | Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
| |
tritone | Maria (West Side Story) | Blue Seven
| |
perfect fifth | Twinkle Twinkle Little Star | Feelings
| I Can't Help Falling In Love |
| |
minor sixth | Because | Love Story
| |
major sixth | NBC | You're A Weaver Of Dreams
| |
minor seventh | Theme from Star Trek | Watermelon Man
| |
major seventh | Second part of Superman | I Love You (Cole Porter)
| |
octave | Somewhere Over The Rainbow | Willow Weep For Me


although I'm not familiar with all their songs
That's the problem I have. Slej posted a similar list recently (a couple of weeks ago?), that was the same thing with (I think) mostly different songs, but again I only knew some of them. I can see me ending up doing a list of my own, but then, that's probably a good exercise for me anyway :)

Thanks for posting.

Looking around last night, I found this PDF which has a lot more songs:

http://www.jazzbooks.com/jazzhandbook/22_interval_chart.pdf

Another tool that really helps me is a set of quality headphones used with a decent source. Shure E4c IEM's (in ear monitors) are great for clarity and instrument separation, although there are many other options. Just don't use poorly encoded/ripped mp3 files.

http://www.earmaster.com/

I've tried this thing and it seems pretty cool!

I'd like to add to what David said, the best thing you can do is listen.

I'm sure there are many others, but two guitarists who always impressed me were Jimi Hendrix and George Benson. Both loved to sing lead lines along with their guitar. An excellent example is the intro to Crosstown Traffic by Hendrix. Hendrix also sings along with the guitar on the solo in this song. I think the vocal melody came first.

I try to apply this to scales. I will play each tone and sing or hum the notes. Then I try to make up a little melody and judge the intervals. This is really great practice. With enough practice you will be able to play solos in your head (in that particular scale) almost naturally, just as you naturally sing a melody without thought. But you have to practice it all the time to be really good at it.

And this is what Hendrix and Benson do. You can tell they can easily play a melody in their head because they are so familiar with each note in the scales they use.

Hope that made sense. :D

http://www.earmaster.com/

I've tried this thing and it seems pretty cool!
I think I have recommended that one in tree or four other topics by now.

I say that the best way to learn "sight singing" is by experience. I have the ability to hear a song and know the rest but I never tried to learn that. Until recently I never even thought about it. I think by playing any instrument at a low age and listening alot to different kins of music you will naturally develop sight singing.
I'm not saying that it's not possible to develop sight singing by practice. It may just take some more time. By playing and listening to lots of music you will sooner or later develop some sense of the music progression. And training relative pitch might help.

Here are some free online ear training tools that include exercises for intervals, chords, random melodies, and playing simple songs by ear:

http://www.iwasdoingallright.com/tools/ear_training/

Wow RG is that you playing on those clips? How many years did you go without playing before you took it up again?

Hi Nick,

Except where noted otherwise, I'm playing on all of the clips on my site. I went 7 years without playing before returning to the trumpet. It's been a challenging but rewarding journey. Here's more info on the comeback if you're interested: http://www.iwasdoingallright.com/about_me/48/

-Rick

And this is what Hendrix and Benson do. You can tell they can easily play a melody in their head
I do the same thing and I've never played a guitar in my life. >__> I guess that's a good thing.

Yea, these sites seem great...I'll probably use them more often later on. Bookmark'd Good luck Dennett