Ear Training programs, instruction audio cd ?

[billoetjen]

Hi Folks,
I need recommendations for ear training.
The more I try to play in sessions with other musicians, the more obvious becomes my biggest weakness as a musician.
I can't deny it any more. I have an untrained ear.
I was a music major in the late 70's and had other priorities than to work on my ear training.
Now I regret it.
Even the simplest of chord progressions are hard for me to pick out.
There it is, I've said it and I can move on now!
Ideally, I would love to have a set of CD's that I can throw into my car stereo and train myself while I drive ( > 1 hour a day) to work.

Can anyone recommend something?

Thanks, and thanks,
Bill
billoetjen@fastermac.net

[markjazzbassist]

instead of the CD sets that train you i would recommend this. it worked for me.


- listen to music at all possible times. if you can have it on and their is a stereo or cd player nearby, play music, something, anything

- try to learn basslines from cd's without tab or a transcription. start out with some easy rock tunes, and then move on up.

- sing along with music you listen to too. this helps.

[billoetjen]

Thanks, and I do mean thanks for the suggestion.
It's just that I am still *embarassed shrug* at a very rudimentary level.
Been listening to tunes for 40+ years and still no better at it.
I need some structure, a frame of reference, something for my ear to hang onto.

Help me out here people, I do believe that once I get that frame of reference, I'll progress like crazy.

Bill

[Eddard]

EarMaster Pro, grear soft to develope your ear.

[wingnut.supreme]

Go check out Jamey Aebersold's Jazz Ear Training.
Don't let the title fool you.
I think its exactly what you are looking for.
I bought it and I think its great. I used to do exactly what you were wanting to do. Listen in the car and wherever. I even have it on my IPOD.

(I have no affiliation to this site.)
http://aebersold.com/Merchant2/merch...Code=EARTRABOO

by Jamey Aebersold. 2 CDs with book. A no-nonsense approach consisting of two hours of recorded ear training exercises with aural instructions before each. Beginning to advanced. Starts very simply, with intervals gradually increases in difficulty until you are hearing chord changes and progressions. All answers are listed in book.

[DougP]

also check out musictheory.net

[Ed Fuqua]

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

instead of the CD sets that train you i would recommend this. it worked for me.

And you just came off the road with McCoy?

There are some media approaches out there and pretty much anything you do is going to be better than doing nothing. This is pretty slogging work and it needs to be done with no half stepping, I've had the best success working with my teacher. You could, too.

You'll need a piano or a keyboard.Start simply, intervals in the first ocatve, pick a "root" that you can sing in tune and then start playing intervals. If you start (for example) with C as a "root", then you'll want to sing
Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B. Out of order, random approach.
Play the root.
Sing the root
Play the interval note
Sing the interval note.
Be ruthless about any wavering/out of tune ness in your version of teh note and it's keyboard counterpart.
Then the exercise becomes
Play both the root note and the interval at the same time (a double stop). Let it ring and then take your hands off the key. Sing the Root note and play it. BE RUTHLESS. Then sing the interval and play it. BR. You can make a CD of you playing intervals (and the other exercises) and shuffle play it for practice away from the piano.
Then the exercise becomes as above but move the bass note around.

You do this through the second octave, then with closed position triads in all inversions, open position triads in all inversion all the way through open position 4 part chords with two tensions. You get through this program, you can hear pretty much anything.

But it all starts with small steps, with not pushing past becasue you "almost" got it or after the first time you get it. You're building a foundation here and, just like a foundaion for a building. you want it to be solid enough that it won't come crashing down on down the line.

[Peter_00]

Hey Ed, I really like that idea and have been working on something similar. I was wondering if there was any problem with using a piano though because there are some situations where bass players may have to use just intonation (double stops/chamber music) and does this present any problems after listening to a pianos maj/min 3rds which aren't right in tune? On the other hand, as bass players the situations where intonation comes under closest scrutiny is when playing with a piano so it could be best to match it!

[jadesmar]

My plan is to buy a chromatic tuner.. then just sit back, think of a note and then sing it into the tuner.

Then I can sing 3rd's, 5th's, 6ths .. up, down .. etc.. off of whatever base note I choose.

I'll let you know how it works out.

[predmachine]

You might want to try what I did. First, don't play scales. You need to know the notes in major, minor, mixolydian, pentatonic, etc., but you shouldn't practice them while trying to develop your ear. Instead, practice playing the notes in a cord. You'll soon learn what a third, a fifth, an octave, etc. sound like in relation to each other. Second, learn to remember sounds. There was an old Beatles cartoon back in the 60's that opened with the notes E, A, D, G. I've always tuned my bass to the sound I remembered from the cartoon. There are all kinds of tones out there in ads---like the three note NBC ad., and the old State Farm ad, the first three chords of the Friends theme, etc.

Good Luck. This takes time and plenty of effort. I work on it constantly.

[Correlli]

Sight Singing. It'll take the art of hearing to a whole new level.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...69088?v=glance

[WillPlay4Food]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kid

Sight Singing. It'll take the art of hearing to a whole new level.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...69088?v=glance

Your linky no worky, but this one does.