Musical Ear/Mixolydian mode?

[Kareir]

Hey,

Decided to crush these two topics into one, means i wont push anyone else out :P

1) Is there any good way to improve my musical ear? My and many of my friends teachers can play songs by ear, and i was wondering if you could suggest good ways to learn this? or at least speed up the process?

2) The myxolydian mode.. is it basically a major scale with flattened 7th? if so, what's the point?

Thanks a lot,
_Kar.

[DreadRaver]

Originally Posted by Kareir

The myxolydian mode.. is it basically a major scale with flattened 7th?

Yup.

Originally Posted by Kareir

if so, what's the point?

Tension.

[mambo4]

sounds like you need to explore chord progressions and harmony...

1.) improving your ear
first, search TB, or scroll down to Fassa's thread for a lot of pointers. My advice is always to learn a lot of 'typical' bass lines and analyze how they relate to the chords. Eventually you will be recognizing common progressions and be able to zero in on what the bass is doing more quickly.

2.) the point of mixolydian

Mixolydian is the scale based on the V chord of the major scale (or the chord is based on the scale, it goes both ways) and is generally used to play against a Dominant 7 chord or to get a slightly more rock and roll feel to a major scale phrase. With the flat 7th, the harmonic sound is unstable and wants to move to another chord, preferably the chord a fifth below. Try making up a phrase in C mixolydian and ending a fifth below, on F. F is where the tension of C mixolydian wants to resolve.

and now, If you're lucky you'll get 3-4 pages of us theory geeks debating terminology and minutia that will only confuse you

[slybass3000]

Yes, exactly, the mixo mode is the major scale with the flat seven in construction but in use it is the fifth mode of the Major scale which wants to resolve to the I chord.

BUT like you said if you think the mixo mode is the Major scale with the b7 then you will understand where the BLUES comes from because it is exactly that: a Major chord with the sound of a dominant V7 chord but still function as a I Major. Welcome to Blues harmony which is the best thing that ever happen to the Music !!!

Sly

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Kareir

1) Is there any good way to improve my musical ear? My and many of my friends teachers can play songs by ear, and i was wondering if you could suggest good ways to learn this? or at least speed up the process?

Speed up the process by comparison to which specific techniques that you've been using already? Since you didn't provide much sense of context, one can only guess about what you've tried and what you haven't.

But what worked well for me (back in the day) was to simply keep the radio on for like 12 hours a day, and play along with whatever came up in the rotation. Sure, I was hunting around for the right key much of the time and trying to learn the changes as they were happening. But over time I developed the ability to quickly find the harmonic center of the tune, pick up on the changes by the second or third verse, play appropriately to the particular musical genre/idiom - and even groove on my own improvisations!

It works...

MM

[Thunderthumbs73]

Originally Posted by Kareir

Hey,

Decided to crush these two topics into one, means i wont push anyone else out :P

1) Is there any good way to improve my musical ear? My and many of my friends teachers can play songs by ear, and i was wondering if you could suggest good ways to learn this? or at least speed up the process?

2) The myxolydian mode.. is it basically a major scale with flattened 7th? if so, what's the point?

Thanks a lot,
_Kar.

In response to item number one, I have a few suggestions, and these things worked for me.
1.) Play along to every CD you own, every track, and make a conscious effort to learn the bass parts as close to the record as possible.
2.) Listen to random radio stations (Last Fm.com, Pandora, etc...) and play along or try. Don't just "jam" really listen.
3.) Play with as many different musicians as you can, even if it's a genre you're not completely crazy about but can "stand" or bear.
4.) Go to jam sessions and get up on the bandstand and play.

Developing the ear may happen more or less quickly and more or less easily, but it takes time no matter your ability. There were days where I had the bass in my hands for 10 hours. I guess I loved to play. Your practice schedule need not be so dramatic, but it takes time no matter which way you cut it.

[Kareir]

Hey, thanks for the replies.

Before i try to play along to a song, should i be able to recognise the note by listening, or just try and find the note that sounds right?

Not done a lot of by ear stuff at all, really.

_KAr.

Check this out it's a chart

http://www.apassion4jazz.net/jazz-chords-scales.html

You can see that different scales will fit different chords, because they share some of the same notes. The mixolydian fits a V7 chord and a few others (see under dominant chords). When you start to encounter these chords the Mixolydian will be useful because it will quickly allow you to improvise whilst staying in harmony (rather than creating dissonance).

V7 chords occur quite a lot so the Mixolydian is quite useful for this. If you play a major scale over a V7 chord, then the major seven will clash with the minor seven of the chord, so it would probably be better to play mixolydian instead. It's that simple.

The second use of the Mixolydian is just for it's sound. Different modes have different sounds or moods, that's the point of using them. To me, the mixolydian sounds quite bouncy, 'cheeky' and very good for punchy rhythm. That's just my take on it but essentially different modes have different moods so the easiest way to find out what it means to you is to improvise with it and see how that flat 7 works for you.


To improve your ear, I think the best way is just to play things back. Start simple and go from there. Don't be afraid to use Tab sites and song sheets and things like that to get a bit of assistance at first because this will help you to get a feel for common patterns and progressions quicker. Start by finding the root note, but if you have trouble identifying that, then seriously just cheat at first and look the song up online to get the chords. This will help you to hear the root note and you'll be more able to look for it next time round. There's always opportunities to do it without assistance in the future but get your bearings at first.

Also you can download programs that train your ear to hear intervals, or 'interval training' which is very very useful for quickly identifying jumps in pitch. Have a look at www.download.com and type in ear trainer or similar. Those things really help.