EAR TRAINING: ONE NOTE ADVANCED LEVEL

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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QI really enjoy the book. I've been moving lately and have put it down but will start again soon. I have been studying West African balafon for the last few years and I was so excited to hear about the proposed exercises that I sat right down and ordered it at my next internet session. I'm also strongly considering applying to Berklee. Do you have any tips? thanks again
AIt's hard to mention everything you might need to prepare for when entering Berklee College of Music or any college to study music. One big thing will apply at most music colleges: You will have very little time to actually play your instrument. This is because music colleges will initially try to improve your basic musicianship skills, like music theory, sight reading to develop your recognition and performance of rhythm and melody, and ear training. The colleges must bring the students up to a basic level of musicianship before anything further or more exciting is taught. So if you can get yourself up to that level BEFORE you go, you will really get a lot more out of the program, and you will get to play your instrument a lot more. I would recommend working through as many of my rhythm books as you can. i.e. "Rhythms 1-3", "Rhythm Primer", "Odd Meters", and "Contemporary Rhythms 1-2" and "Independence One". You should be able to read these books at the following tempos: "Rhythms One" at half note equals 120 (metronome on 1 and 3 and also 2 and 4) "Rhythms Two" at quarter equals 120 (metronome on every beat) "Rhythms Three" at quarter equals 50 (metronome on every beat) "Rhythms Primer" whole note equals 100 (metronome one beat per measure) "Contemporary Rhythms One" same as Rhythms One "Contemporary Rhythms Two" same as Rhythms Two "Independence One" various tempos depending on exercise For music theory I would work through "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume's One and Two". Even if you are not a guitar player you could work through the exercises because each problem requires that you answer it in traditional notation (guitarists are also required to place the notes on the fretboard.) If you can bring your music theory up to a level where it is a language you can speak fluently you will get a lot more out of music school For ear training I would recommend getting" Ear Training: One note" either Beginning or Intermediate level depending on your background (read more about the book at amazon or on muse-eek's website to make your choice) I would also purchase "A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing". If you can get your ear to the point that you understand what's going on by just hearing the notes you can process music and musical concepts much faster. I know this sounds like a lot of work but this can make a major difference in your success at college and in music in general.
 
QI need to decide between the Intermediate and Advanced Levels. I have already done some work with tonality-based ear training methods, and I am wondering what level of skill is required for the Advanced Level. Also, is the CD the same for both volumes? The series looks very intriguing, and I hope to hear from you soon.
A As far as what level to start with, all three levels of "Ear Training One Note" have the same type of exercises on the CD; it is the speed in which you are required to answer that gets shorter and shorter as you move through the 3 levels. If you have had some previous music training you might try "Ear Training: One Note Advanced." This is a good place for a person to start because you will have to have your answers up to 80% or 90% correct in this book before you could move on to Ear Training Two Note or the Key Note Recognition books. If you find that "Advanced" goes by too quickly for you then get either the Intermediate or Beginning level. I would also highly recommend you work with some sight singing along with the listening. "A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing" is an excellent companion book to this series.
 
QSince last typing at you I've been taking some musicianship, piano, compostition, and harmony classes at a local college and I'm loving the challenges...and the learning. I also recently puchased two of your one-note ear-training books. I believe I understand the basic approach; that is, this information needs to be automatic, like the vocabulary and grammar of any laguage one hopes to speak; and, the best way to make this information automatic is through repetitive drills, at (eventually) a fast pace.

Does that sound right? Now for my questions: If I can eventually hear and immediately identify all the twelve notes in various octaves agaist a c major tonic background, what happens when I'm not in c-major? Will I still know the notes by their actual pitches or will I hear only their relation to that new key? In the latter case, shouldn't I be learning them as 1-12 instead of c-b? And of course many pieces purposely modulate through several keys. How will I deal with this? My hope is that I'll know all the notes regardless of key, maybe I'll just need to hear the c to orient before starting out. Probably there's no easy answer to all this but time and persistence (if those could be called easy). If when you get some time you could offer some wisdom on this subject it would be greatly appreciated.
AYou are right about the correct approach to the ear training books. Of course it's difficult to tell a student all the different problems that one may run into when trying to perfect this type of ear training, but here are a couple of things to keep in mind.

1. You are trying to develop the right response method in your mind. This means that you should listen to the I IV V cadence, hear the note and immediately give a response even if you are just guessing. Over time you will guess less and less because you will remember the sound.

2. Never use the resolution tendency of a note to identify it. Students commonly will hear the following:

a. 7th moving to the root.
b. 4th moving to the 3rd.
c. flat 6th moving to the 5th
d. flat 2nd moving to the root

I believe most people have these tendencies and they are fine to have just don't use them to identify notes because in reality any of those notes could move anywhere. Also, it takes too much time, and you want to eventually KNOW what the note is, not its nearest neighbor.

3. I strongly recommend practicing this ear training in short periods many times throughout the day, as opposed to one or two long sessions This is best for both the singing and the listening. I find five 15 minute sessions to be a good amount. But even listening to two examples 20 times a day is excellent. Basically you want to keep these sounds in your short term memory until they move to your permanant memory.

4. Never ever sing the tonic of the key or the note you are trying to identify, you may think you are "grounding" yourself but like my caution regarding resolution tendencies, this will just slow you down and its a bad habit to get into.

These are some of the things to watch out for. I think you can see that you just have to memorize the sound over time and then speed up the response.

For your question about using this ear training in other keys. All keys have the same structure. Therefore if you heard E as the 3rd in C major when you are in the key of F# major you will hear A# as the 3rd. Some students prefer to give their response as degrees of a key rather than note names. I believe you should be able to do both. Obviously this will require you to learn your music theory quite well. But, on the other hand doing this ear training method over time will highly refine your music theory too. As far as your question goes you could learn the notes as degrees rather than note names but really you should be able to do both in any key. If you are a guitarist I would recommend working through the Music Theory Workbooks for Guitar Volume One and Two to develop your ability to think notes and degrees in any key.

To answer another question that comes up often. You don't need to do this ear training in all keys but you do need to get your music theory to a point where if you are in the key of A major and you hear the flat 6th you will know that is F. Also if you were playing in a band and you played an F and it sounded like the flat 6th you would instantly realize you where in the key of A. The book "Key Note Recognition" gives you exercises to further develop this skill.

As far as modulation goes that is covered in two note ear training. When you feel you are up to 80 to 90% on the one note advanced level, pick up the 1st volume of the two note method and that will explain the process. However, I highly recommend you work through "Key Note Recognition as a primer for the two note ear training series.
 
QI just bought your "One Note Beginning Level"book from Barnes and Noble. I understand the idea of relative pitch and I totally agree with your approach of staight memorization. However, I play trumpet and hadn't really thought about the fact that the book might not have a portion in Bb (spoiled by the Aebersold stuff I guess). This presents a real problem for me personally because I tried to teach myself trumet with a chromatic tuner and ended up learning (sort of) the fingerings in C and have finally purged most of that and relaced it with the Bb info. I'm afraid that using the CD as is might bring back old habits. I'm also afraid that transposing the answer key and looking it up each time wouldn't give me the immediate feedback I need. I was wondering if you had any suggestions. Also, is there a Bb version available/in the works/can I get one???

thanks for the excellent resource!
AI understand your dilemma, and I have a couple of concerns.

First if let's say there was a Bb version. You would hear the a cadence in C then let's say the 5th or G concert was played. You would like the answer to be A or the 6th. So then when you played A on the trumpet you would be playing a G concert. I'm wondering about the wisdom of learning ear training/music theory in this manner. Basically if you hear the 5th of a key sounded you think the sixth (or basically always thinking with transposition.) You would basically have to do this for all music theory and ear training knowledge you possess. I guess that is OK but from the trumpet players and woodwind players that I talked to they believe you should be able to do the ear training method both concert and transposed. I'm also wondering how you will deal with always transposing when you are reading nontransposed parts which happen quite a bit in the real world.

On the other hand I understand your need for instant ear to finger connection. One possible solution would be to listen to the Ear Training CD and pretend the cadence is in Bb; then when you hear to answer it will be transposed.

Another possibility would be to use your trumpet when you listen to the CD. You would hear the I IV V cadence and the when note in question would sound you would then play on the trumpet what note you think is correct. This way you wouldn't even have to listen to the answer because you would know if your trumpet note matches the sound on the CD.

A really no-nonsense answer to your quandary would be to say you should learn the ear-training "in concert" as originally intended, just to be an all around good musician, then go BACK over the exercises with your trumpet, until you are instantaneous in your responses. Tough to do, but that's another route.
 
Q What is your recommendation for combining the Ear Training and Fanatic's aural exercises? Do you alternate lessons from each book daily or do you have another method that will maximize results? Thanks for your time and I am looking forward to hearing better.
A Thanks for contacting me. I'm glad you have both the Fanatic's Guide and an Ear Training One Note book (I assume it's a one note book.) Working on both singing and listening is very important to fast progress. One of the key ingredients to improving at the fastest pace with this method is to practice several times throughout the day, as opposed to one long session. 15-20 twenty minute intervals would be ideal. During this practice time you should work in both books by listening to the CD for the One Note Book and then doing some of the singing exercises out of the Fanatic's Guide. Make sure you always use the Fanatic's Guide CD with any exercise you sing. It is important to always hear your voice in relation to a key center. Another main ingredient is your understanding of what you are trying to do inside your head with this ear training and how you deal with your own preconceptions and old habits. These questions are usually dealt with by me in a private lesson over a period of time. In this case we don't have that luxury. To deal with this problem I have written a 10 page article that is free for you because you own a muse-eek book. You can find this article in the "member's area" of the muse-eek.com website. This article will give you much more information on how to approach each book and the how's and why's of organizing your practice time. I think you would greatly benefit from reading this information before you start into this ear training method. It may also create some more specific questions relating to your take on the process. Remember you are trying to reprogram the way you hear music. If you start to think about that it's a pretty massive task. Luckily this method will do this for you BUT you need to be fully involved in monitoring and analyzing your practice habits and your perception of sound. It is important that you read the FAQs under all the ear training books on the muse-eek.com website. In theory this ear training method is simple, yet once your mind starts to process sound and you are in the middle of practicing you'd be surprised how many different right and wrong perceptions students have of what is the "right thing to do." Let me know if you have any more questions and I wish you good luck with your progress.
 
Q I understand that you feel the traditional interval-based ear training to be impractical. I've never done any extensive ear training before. After trying your method for about a month, I noticed that it actually worked, but in a very specific, limited way. When I listen to a piece of music, first I need to hear the key. Naturally, I don't need to identify what key it is, but I need to get a sense of the key, whatever it is. Based on your ear training, until I get a sense of the key, I cannot identify anything. The problem with this is that much of the modern music (pop, jazz, dance, electronic, rap, etc..) has very vague use of key. Even with very straight forward pop songs, many of them would not establish any key until the chorus section. Some songs don't at all for the entire song. Some songs are modal and get very confusing as to how to interpret the key. The keys for many pieces of music are a matter of interpretation. When I cannot establish a key in my mind, I find that I can't use what I've learned in your ear training. It only works with old classical music like Bach, or very elementary pop music like Britney Spears.
A Thanks for contacting me and asking such excellent questions. FIrst let me say that your progress is great for only working with one of the Ear Training One Note books for a month. It's great to see you applying your ear training to "real" music. First let me discuss some general topics so you can understand my overall beliefs concerning ear training.

I don't believe there is such a thing as "Atonal" music. All sound has a pitch and as sound groups together it forms a key. If your ears are good enough you will be able to distinguish this key center. Of course you will need a reference pitch which people usually get from the instrument they are playing. I should point out that many times in supposed "atanal" music the key centers are changing very quickly. These quickly changing keys require you to learn how to modulate which is what the Ear Training: Two Note Series starts to teach you. Anton Webern one of the fathers of this supposed "atonal" music explains in the book THE PATH TO THE NEW MUSIC, PUBLISHER (Bryn Mawr, Pa., T. Presser Co. [c1975]) that he doesn't believe that there is such a thing as "atonal" music. His reasoning falls along the same lines as mine. Arnold Schoenberg has also been quoted as believing that no music is "atonal" and hated the reference of "atonal" to his music and others. Both these composers felt that you could hear the key centers moving in highly chromatic music or even music created using 12 tone rows. I should interject at this point that getting to point where you hear for example Schoenberg's Funf Klavierstucke (Five Piano Pieces Opus 23) in a key or quickly moving keys will not happen in a month of ear training. It will happen though, after years of working with this method.

Your statement "The problem with this (the ear training method) is that much of the modern music (pop, jazz, dance, electronic, rap, etc..) has very vague use of key." I do agree that many styles of contemporary music have a vague sense of key when you compare it with Mozart. But, you will find that this ear training method over time will help you develop better skills in hearing keys in this type of music. Let's examine how you should proceed to reach this ability

There are two sides to practicing this ear training method. One is listening to the CDs the other is doing singing exercises. For the listening you should progress through the books in the following sequence:

1. Ear Training: Beginning to Intermediate to Advanced
2. Key Note Recognition
3. The Two Note Series.

Note: After the two notes series you need to move to 3, 4, 5 notes at a time. At this writing I haven't finished books for these levels though they are in the works (02/01/01)

For Singing I recommend starting with "The Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing" You would then continue with:

1. Lines: Sight Singing and Sight Reading Exercises
2. At this point I would recommend specific studies out of other books, like "Single String Studies Volumes One and Two"
3. Singing along with chord progression and melodies from modern repertory pieces like jazz standards, pop, jazz, dance, electronic, rap, etc..)

This should give you a general idea of the progression through this ear training method. Obviously you will need to interact with me so that I can lead you through all of this. But, in general I would follow the path I set out for you above. Of course if you have any questions please contact me. The worst thing you can do is work on any of this ear training the wrong way. I feel I have explained it pretty well in the books but if you're not sure please check with me first.

I should also mention that you could use your method of just transcribing melodies using only the interval relationship, but my abjections to this method are as follows.

1. This method obviously divorces you from what key these pitches are functioning in. It's a bit like "follow the dots." You may end up with an outline that looks like something, but there will not be any sense of the underlying form that holds it all together and gives it shape. When I store melodies in my memory, I store them as they relate to the key, not as how the individual notes relate to each other.

2. After working with intervals, most students have extreme difficulty developing the proper technique when doing the Ear Training Two Note (+) method.

3. In the improvisational/interactive setting of a band, if someone is playing constant sixteenth notes at quarter note equals 80. You are far better off knowing the key that these notes are functioning in than knowing the actual pitches. If you can hear the key you can interact in a creative way with the other musicians.

4. As you develop through the ear training method presented in my books you will find that your ability to transcribe anything will improve exponentially. Give it a chance and you will see.

Hope this helps you understand the method better.
 
Q I'm working with your ear training method. It's a very fun book to work with 'cause I had the cd always in the car and practice every day for about 20 minutes. I nearly get right about 80% of the notes but I'm not sure if I am doing this right or not.Sometimes I hear the note from the key chord but other times I know that I recognice the note by memory(a particular note relates to a particular tune for example). How do I know when I'm doing it the right way? (I started the book a week ago)
A I'm glad you have been working on the books. As far as the ear training goes, what you are aiming for is the ability to just hear a note and instantly recognize its sound. It's like when you see a person with a blue shirt on. You just instantly know it's blue you don't have to compare it to the sky to make sure. It is the same with the ear training.

You also mention that you recognize the note based on another common melody you know. I don't recommend that because if you have to take the time to relate the note you are hearing to a tune it just takes too much time. Remember you are trying to get to the point where you can do this ear training in real time as music is being played. In real time situations you won't have time to think of anything but what the note is.
 
Q I understand your approach to ear training and I believe it will work in my case. For example, I could never figure out how to superimpose the sound of a minor 3rd when trying to sing from a 3rd degree to a 5th degree in a key. I just knew the sound of the 5th degree and sang it regardless of what note I was coming from. Of course I always thought this approach must be wrong (i.e. not using the sound of the interval) and tried to resist it. Now that you've given me the okay to do it this way, my sight-singing has DRASTICALLY improved (in only a few short weeks).

Anyway, my question is at what point in this process will I begin to hear and understand (immediately) short melodies. After all, that is what the music is all about and what I'm ultimately trying to reproduce (either by singing or playing my instrument)?
A The ability to apply this ear training method in "real life" varies for each person. For me it took about 6 months before I first started to hear a few notes here and there. These were usually over a drone and at a very slow tempo. Of course this all depends on how quickly you develop with this ear training. I was very slow but then again, I've had many students get "one note" ear training in 2 weeks--then they start to apply it right away-- much quicker than my 6 months. To get a more drastic perspective, other students with a real weakness can take 4 years to just get "one note" ear training. Of course to some people that seems like "forever." But, I can tell you that all these students experience a profound difference in their musicianship after they start to hear correctly. They not only can hear what notes are played but they play so much more musically, that there is no comparison.

I've also noticed that some students can get "one note" ear training on the CDs OK but it takes them much longer to apply this to real life playing situations. I believe a lot of this depends on whether a person tries to apply it, or whether they compartmentalize the exercises into an isolated academic study. Again, for some musicians it takes time for them to integrate this new ear training technique into their everyday interaction with music.

From your description of how your are singing the notes it sounds like you are on the right track. I hope you are working with both a "one note" book and the Fanatic's Guide. By doing both singing and listening exercises you will improve at the fastest rate.
 
QI'm an advanced musician preparing for graduate school auditions. Initial rounds will emphasize non-tonal dictation. I'm training my ear independently and have devoted a great deal of thought to how I process pitch relationships. I'm fluent in tonal idioms and this is because I process the melodic progression, "G" followed by "C" as dominant followed by tonic for instance, not as a falling fifth or rising fourth. In other words, I've internalized the function of the fifth degree as it relates to the tonic instead of training my ear to always recognize the melodic skip of a fifth regardless of its function. So, in C Major, when I hear "A" falling to "D," I hear a pitch two degrees below "C" followed by a pitch one degree above "C," not an independent melodic progression. Unfortunately, my mind shuts down when a central key is avoided. My mind stalls with a melodic progression like "A up to Eb down to E natural down to F# up a ninth to G natural" and so on. Do you see what I mean? My problem isn't understanding the interval of a tritone or a descending major seventh or anything else, it's that the tritone doesn't resolve to a Tonic chord for instance. So I can notate something like Schoenberg's Transfigured Night by ear but not his Pierrot Lunaire. The former, while highly chromatic, always clearly defines a tonal center; the latter often avoids them altogether. Is this the opposition you refer to with the terms, "key-based" and "interval-based," respectively? Can your texts help me in this area? In your experience, do students who approach dictation in the above manner show rapid progress with your method? If so, which collection of texts do you suggest? Any insight is greatly appreciated.
AYes my system can help you a lot. There are a few problems you need to overcome. First you need a stronger key retention ability and second you need to learn to modulate better using key based ear training. Singing Schoenberg's is right up there in difficulty, I sang through his 5 movements for piano and it's very difficult to keep your key centers intact but it is possible and luckily gets easier over time. So the quick answer is yes my ear training will help you but where to start is a little more difficult to pinpoint. I think the best route would be to get the following books

Ear Training One Note Advanced
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training

I'm hoping that the Ear Training One Note Advanced is going to be easy for you but you need to understand this method from the ground up. All it takes is one little misunderstanding and you will mess up your progress. So read those books and work on the exercises then get back to me. Hopefully we can then quickly move on to exercises that directly attack your problems. I should mention in your case I will be giving you book assignments and other assignments not from books so it's important that you keep in touch and let me know your progress so I can help you attain your goals.