MY 5 EAR TRAINING TIPS
Give Your Music Education A Boost
And Learn How To Play Music From The "Inside"
TEST
The easiest way to find out where to start your ear training studies is to be absolutely sure that you know where your musical hearing is at right now.
If you have never tested your hearing or you don't know what you can and can't do hearing wise, you must first go through the following steps:
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Ask your music teacher, parent, friend or anybody else who can hear pitches easily and knows when somebody is out of tune, to play a note on a keyboard (preferably) or any other instrument. (The chosen pitch should be around middle C for kids and women / F or G below middle C for men)
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You sing the pitch you hear. Don't try to get it, let it come out. Don't worry if you haven't sung before or if you are embarrassed about it. JUST DO IT.
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a) If you hit the pitch in tune, you've done great. Try a few other notes to double check.
b) If you needed a few tries but eventually sung the note, you're doing well. Keep practicing singing pitches till you can hit them on the first try. You can also play a note on your instrument and then sing it without the assistance of a second person.
c) If you cannot sing the note in tune (even after many tries) you probably belong into one of these groups:
I. You're slightly high or low every time (a second to a fourth)
II. You're more than slightly high or low every time (a fifth to an octave)
III. You're pitching is all over the place.
My suggestion for I. II. and III. is:
Get your pitch testing partner to play 2 notes, 1 low and 1 high (2-3 octaves apart) then check if you can hear which note is the high one and which is the low one.
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If you can't tell the difference you need to start right at the beginning and have regular (daily) ear training sessions.
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If you can tell the high and low notes apart easily you also need to work with patience on getting your ears tuned till you can comfortably say that you belong into group 3a (above).
There is very little point in going on to scales, intervals and harmony training till you can sing a given note in tune.
Before you take the next step, it is also a good idea to find your vocal range, your comfortable lowest and highest note.
Remember: It's not about becoming a cool singer, it's about being able to internalize a given pitch.
To go to TIP 2, click HERE
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