Ear training tip..

frankencow150 · #1 01-21-2002, 05:26 PM

Mods, im not sure if this should be in general instruction or technique,but here it goes. Ok,this works best with very simple songs.It may already be used alot,but this helped me...

Say its a simple 4-note riff.Well if you wanna listen and play to it,hum it to yourself.Try finding the note until it perfectly sounds like your humming.It helps me alot,it's tougher for complex songs,but it works.

Have fun,and I want to know if anybody else does this.

Jeff Moote · #2 01-21-2002, 05:36 PM

My teacher taught me to do it a bit. You just have to make sure your humming is right on.

Good method, all should use if you aren't properly trained to recognise pitch yet.

**Pacman** · #3 01-21-2002, 05:41 PM

An excellent idea, one I use often. Off to General Instruction with you....

Angus · #4 01-25-2002, 08:35 PM

If you want to improve your ear, sing EVERYTHING, regardless of what it is. Sing with a vocal melody, sing a guitar riff or solo, a bass part, whatever...just sing or hum with it! If you want to get adventurous, harmonize with it.

You don't really hear it until you can sing it.

Bryan_G · #5 01-25-2002, 11:21 PM

I think there is alot of truth to what is being said here. I personaly have a big problem with this. My voice is lower than alot of peoples, and I don't have much singing practice. This makes it very hard for me to sing. I have contemplated taking singing lessons just to improve my bass playing. I have been doing some exersizes. I play a note and try to sing the note and work my way up through the scales. I think that if you want a good ear you need to be able to sing all of you basslines without a bass. Try it sometime.

fat-bottom · #6 02-01-2002, 04:44 AM

I have a bass voice and I just find the nearest octave when humming lines to figure them out. As long as I know the key sig, I haven't had a problem.

Lisa Weiss · #7 02-01-2002, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by frankencow150
Mods, im not sure if this should be in general instruction or technique,but here it goes. Ok,this works best with very simple songs.It may already be used alot,but this helped me...

Say its a simple 4-note riff.Well if you wanna listen and play to it,hum it to yourself.Try finding the note until it perfectly sounds like your humming.It helps me alot,it's tougher for complex songs,but it works.

Have fun,and I want to know if anybody else does this.

That would be great, assuming I could actually sing. I tend to sound like someone strangling a cat!

Any advise for those of us who are tonally challanged?

Lisa

**Chris A** · #8 02-01-2002, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lisa Weiss

That would be great, assuming I could actually sing. I tend to sound like someone strangling a cat!

Any advise for those of us who are tonally challanged?

Lisa

Imagine a drummer trying to sing...........

Chris A.

stephanie · #9 02-02-2002, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lisa Weiss

That would be great, assuming I could actually sing. I tend to sound like someone strangling a cat!

Any advise for those of us who are tonally challanged?

Lisa

Haha. I can't sing for the life of me!....or so I thought.

Until my teacher started me on ear-training by singing the notes I thought I couldn't really sing. I still can't really, but ,IMO, as your ear-training gets better so, in a sense, does your singing. Now, I don't mean like ppl who have had years of vocal lessons and have strengthened the muscles used to sing professionally, but just being able to sing the notes. It's because you are able to recognize those notes and your voice gets accustomed to those notes. Just takes time. Ugh I wouldn't wanna sing in public tho

. I barely like to talk in public! LL

Cheers,
Stephanie

The Mock Turtle Regulator · #10 02-02-2002, 11:32 AM

yeah, I haven't really thought about it, but I do hum a bassline between listening off a CD, as a guide or "temporary storage facility", and picking out the notes on bass.

I think that practising listening to records and picking out the melodies and chord changes and playing them helps a lot.
if you practice working out and playing whatever melody you hear, be it a bassline, guitarline, vocal melody or keyboard, saxophone etc. all the time (although this can be very annoying for anyone else around if you play along to stuff on the TV...

) it can do nothing but help enormously.

one thing I like doing is watching another band play, and try to remember a riff and play it later- it's great if you can remember it even in the right key.
watching a rival covers band play can be fun- pinching the odd fill the bass player puts in.....

re. singing, I've been told I have good voice, and I do a lot of backing vocals with the covers band, but I could benefit a lot from learning the way intervals sound with vocals the same way I've done with bass.

Lisa Weiss · #11 02-02-2002, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by stephanie

Haha. I can't sing for the life of me!....or so I thought.

Until my teacher started me on ear-training by singing the notes I thought I couldn't really sing. I still can't really, but ,IMO, as your ear-training gets better so, in a sense, does your singing. Now, I don't mean like ppl who have had years of vocal lessons and have strengthened the muscles used to sing professionally, but just being able to sing the notes. It's because you are able to recognize those notes and your voice gets accustomed to those notes. Just takes time. Ugh I wouldn't wanna sing in public tho . I barely like to talk in public! LL

Cheers,
Stephanie

Haha...I know what you mean, I *love* to sing...unfortunately, as I said, it sounds rather like someone trying to strangle a cat! Of course, that doesn't stop me from trying. I can usually get the rhythm of the bass line...just can't sing it accurately.

Lisa