Following Chord Changes

**Matthew_84** · #1 08-08-2011, 07:35 PM

Hello guys,

So finally, I am consciously working on ear training. I have begun a Relative Pitch training course by David L. Burge with the intent on transcribing afterwards (I can transcribe stuff like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Happy Birthday, but I want to do more advanced music, I guess chordal music if you will).

But right now, as I work through this Relative Pitch training, I'm trying to really listen to music. You know, listening to a song, and listening for chord changes and things of that nature.

What I realized is that I'm really bad at hearing the chord changes. Granted, some songs are pretty straight forward, but I'd say that about 60% of the time I can't hear the new chords at all. I hear the notes changing, but I don't know when it's actually the beginning of a new chord, or just a note played within one.

Is there any tips to help me follow the chord changes?

I have songbooks by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Rush and The Real Book: Bass Clef Addition, and I was thinking of listening to the songs on them, making notes of where I think they are and then play it through while looking at the songbook and determining if I was right or not, but any other tips or exercises I could do to help me out would be a huge help.

Thanks,

Matt

MalcolmAmos · #2 08-09-2011, 06:31 AM

Yes, sounds like a good idea. IMHO it just takes time. I've been playing rhythm guitar for over 10 years - same basic 50 + songs and because of that - on a new song I can jamm with no sheet music and catch the chord changes if they stick to a I IV V ole time dirt simple Country progression, however, drag in some minor ii and vi and I'll probably miss that change. But, those minor chords are passing chords and do not add or subtract all that much from the over all major V-I tonal center. My point, in jamming I consider that close enough.

I'm now playing with a band that - still ole time Country, but, they bring in the ii's a lot. I'm catching that more and more. Time in the saddle........

bassbully · #3 08-09-2011, 07:34 AM

Train your ear and it comes in time. You will find most music follows alot of the same simple chord progressions one way or another. There is only so many roads you know.

MonetBass · #4 08-09-2011, 07:42 AM

Learn to play piano and/or guitar. This will help you to hear various voicings in different chords, which will in turn help you to recognize chords when you hear them. Play as much as you can, learning the various chords (7, dim, etc.) on all of the spots on the keyboard/fingerboard. Keep at it -- you will get there.

lwender · #5 08-09-2011, 08:09 AM

I agree with the last post re: playing a chordal instrument. The other thing that really helped me was singing. Singing scales and arpegios so you can really hear and feel the tonal changes in your head will help you remember them and recognize them easier.

tZer · #6 08-09-2011, 08:20 AM

+1 for piano - pretty much over any other instrument. If you sit at a keyboard and begin to flesh out the music, the chords, use of voice leading and so much more becomes very apparent. I am still re-training myself to deconstruct and transcribe music and I am consistently amazed what the piano shows me.

longfinger · #7 08-09-2011, 10:59 AM

Keep at the Relative Pitch course. It's very thorough.

One of the best ways to follow chord changes moving in real music is being able to hear scale degrees melodically as it happens in real time.

ie. bass line

8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 5 - 1

And then knowing the possible harmonizations that line can have from your theory knowledge, and then hearing what's actually happening from your chordal ear training.

1) I - V6 - Vi - PV64 - IV - I6 - ii - V - I
2) I - V43 of vi - vi - V43 of IV - IV - V43 of ii - ii - V7 - I
3) etc...

So start singing scale degrees of the major scale, then the minor scale with the needed alterations. That's in Level 3 of the RP course, but you can start that right away, and focus on singing/hearing moving melodic bass lines that define the harmonies.

**Matthew_84** · #8 08-09-2011, 11:50 AM

Thanks everyone for your input, I realized this morning on my long drive to work, that continuing with The Relative Pitch course will help a tremendous amount as it will allow me to hear changes, and understand them in a way that I haven't before.

I also had a pre-conceived notion to follow the bass line to help knowing the chordal change. Well, I realized this morning that that wasn't helpful, maybe the rhythm of the bass, as I found the chord changes usually happen on the 1st or 3rd beat in a measure and usually on a downbeat, and the bass would likely play on these downbeats. But a bassist could play the perfect fifth on the 3rd downbeat, and that may just be the harmonizing the bassist decided to do within that chord and not necessarily a change to the V chord.

I found it was actually easier to follow the chordal instruments, and once I had some sort of idea of the changes, when the melody looped, I would listen to what the bass did before the change, and that was helpful too (if the bassist lead up to the next chord).

I do have a keyboard, and at one point was really trying to take it very seriously, really for this reason, but decided I was spending too much time trying to become proficient at it and not enough time playing my bass. I hardly have the free time to play the bass as it is, so the keyboard's been collecting dust. Maybe I'll just pull it out to play some chords once in a while, and really get the different chords stuck in my head.

Thanks again guys

JimmyM · #9 08-10-2011, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew_84

I also had a pre-conceived notion to follow the bass line to help knowing the chordal change. Well, I realized this morning that that wasn't helpful, maybe the rhythm of the bass, as I found the chord changes usually happen on the 1st or 3rd beat in a measure and usually on a downbeat, and the bass would likely play on these downbeats. But a bassist could play the perfect fifth on the 3rd downbeat, and that may just be the harmonizing the bassist decided to do within that chord and not necessarily a change to the V chord.

I found it was actually easier to follow the chordal instruments, and once I had some sort of idea of the changes, when the melody looped, I would listen to what the bass did before the change, and that was helpful too (if the bassist lead up to the next chord).

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Those are the things you should be listening for. Bass is there to outline the chord changes but the chords are the chords regardless of what the bass is doing. But the bass will often telegraph the next chord so it does good to listen to it as well.

And yes, get out the keyboard. Even if all you can play is what's known as "arranger's piano," it's a great help.

**Matthew_84** · #10 08-10-2011, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

And yes, get out the keyboard. Even if all you can play is what's known as "arranger's piano," it's a great help.

Sorry Jimmy, what do you mean by "arranger's piano"?

I did a quick search in Google and it didn't find anything under that specific name, but I did find some other links referring to keyboards that can arrange and act as sequencers. Is this what you are referring to? I do have a sequencing program on my computer, and I was thinking of making a whole bunch of chord progressions on it, in different modes, and just jamming/improvising along to them.

tZer · #11 08-10-2011, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew_84

Sorry Jimmy, what do you mean by "arranger's piano"?

I did a quick search in Google and it didn't find anything under that specific name, but I did find some other links referring to keyboards that can arrange and act as sequencers. Is this what you are referring to? I do have a sequencing program on my computer, and I was thinking of making a whole bunch of chord progressions on it, in different modes, and just jamming/improvising along to them.

I never knew it had a name, but I know exactly what he means by "arranger's piano" - let me take a shot at a definition:

Arranger's Piano: Phrase describing how a person plays piano that implies a slow, methodical process of framing out chords and trying out various voicings to find new and interesting ways to compose chord progressions and songs.

It does not require a 'real' piano player's skill where a person can sit down and jam out demonstrating technical piano playing expertise. Rather it's an "out of time" method that puts one chord next to another and looks for both interesting ways to connect them as well as other ways to voice them that may bring the song to a new place.

An arranger will take a song and craft additional parts for it. Parts like backup vocals, strings, sound effects, counter melodies, etc. While one approach to working on a song includes playing it in time - arranging can be, and usually is a slower, out of time and more systematic/analytic process. You don't need to be a skilled pianist - or guitar player - or (insert instrument here) to write a part for that instrument. You can compose a trombone part for a trombone player on a piano (or even a trombone, if you have basic chops) and you can do so slowly to pick just the right notes and phrasing so that you can write it down and hand it off to the proper player.

Russell L · #12 08-10-2011, 08:06 AM

At the piano: go through the chords in the key of C (white notes only). Play the changes of a song. You will eventually begin to recognize chords within the context of the key. That is, when you hear a I vi ii V progression, you'l recognize it. Also take time to listen to inversions of chords (when the root of the chord is not the bass note, such as playing a C chord with an E in the bass---which, by the way, is a good way to lead you from the I-chord to the IV-chord). Inversions are great tools.

JimmyM · #13 08-10-2011, 01:09 PM

tZer has it right.

tZer · #14 08-10-2011, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

tZer has it right.

Thanks. Now I'm going to go find some 'non-theory' guys and do what I can to make them feel inferior. Don't want to lose my elite membership, ya know...