Join the White Circle Music Club and never miss out on:
New Compositions For
Music Teachers & Students
Music Tips Advice for Parents
Cool Accessories
& Much More
MY 5 EAR TRAINING TIPS
Give Your Music Education A Boost
And Learn How To Play Music From The "Inside"
INTERVALS
Use scale knowledge to progress from the 7 "inside" intervals to the more tricky "outside" ones.
If you have followed my tip 2 advice on scales, this next step about intervals, especially the "inside" ones, should be like greeting an old friend.
So what are "inside" intervals? Simply all the intervals between the first note and all the others of a major scale. In the case of C-major:
C - D = Major Second
C - E = Major Third
C - F = Perfect Fourth
C - G = Perfect Fifth
C - A = Major Sixth
C - B = Major Seventh
C - C = Perfect Octave
All inside the (C) major scale (no flats, sharps or natural signs added)
Since I am advocating that you don't worry too much about key signatures and notation at this learning stage, pick a comfortable note in the low end of your register and sing a major scale. Now start jumping:
1st note to second note (nothing new about that, but that is your major second interval)
1st note to third note (you're singing a major third)
1st note to fourth note ( a fourth) and so on till you reach
1st note to eighth note ( a perfect octave)
It is possible that you may have trouble staying in pitch when the jumps get wider, therefore use the scale as an assistant till you can hit each jump dead center, like this:
Say you're having trouble singing a sixth from first to sixth note, sing the first note, sing (out loud) up the scale to the sixth note a few times, then do the jump: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 / breath / 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 / breath / 1 - 6
The next step after this: Sing the first note, then "sing" the in between scale notes in your mind only (no sound), sing the sixth note (or whatever) out loud: 1 - x - x - x - x - 6 / breath / 1 - x - x -x - x - 6 / breath / 1 - 6
With some practice you will be able to center those 7 Intervals like a champ.
Now to the "outside" Intervals:
What (chromatic) notes are missing between first and eighth note of the diatonic (inside) scale? Well simple:
Sharp 1 or flat 2
Sharp 2 or flat 3
Sharp 4 or flat 5
Sharp 5 or flat 6
Sharp 6 or flat 7
This is a simplistic way of looking at outside intervals and I'll get into trouble if I don't explain all these using their proper names. Let's again use the C-major scale as an example:
Sharp 1 = C# - official name: augmented unison | Flat 2 = Db - official name: minor second
Sharp 2 = D# - official name: augmented second | Flat 3 = Eb - official name: minor third
Sharp 4 = F# - official name: augmented fourth | Flat 5 = Gb - official name: diminished fifth (also called tri-tone)
Sharp 5 = G# - official name: augmented fifth | Flat 6 = Ab - official name: minor sixth
Sharp 6 = A# - official name: augmented sixth | Flat 7 = Bb - official name: minor seventh
As you can see, all the sharpened notes are called augmented and, except the fifth, all flattened notes are called minor.
That makes it a bit easier to remember. But don't fret about the names, focus on being able to sing them.
Again use the major scale as a helper. The more imaginative you become, the quicker you'll get the hang of these "outside" intervals.
Sing: 1 - 5 (C - G), then 1 - 5 - dim5 (C - G - Gb) or
1 - 5 (C - G), then 1 - 5 - aug5 (C - G - G#) and so on.
A more in depth study on why C# & Db have 2 names in musical theory is beyond the scope of my ear training tips. There are many websites out there explaining this traditional labeling system if you really need to know.
Remember: Just like with anything else: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
