A FANATIC'S GUIDE TO EAR TRAINING AND SIGHT SINGING

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Q What is the difference between the 'Ear Training' and 'Fanatic's Guide' books?
A Ear Training One Note books are for listening and identifying pitches within a key center. Fanatic's Guide is a sight singing book in which you will sing various exercises along with a CD. I recommend you work out of both books to progress at the fastest rate.
 
Q In the fanatics guide (using the book and the downloaded lesson plans from the member's area) you suggest learning to sing (for example) C,C#,D, slowly and separately so as to avoid melody memorization, over the drone of the C. That is clear to me. You also recommend doing this in each key. My question is this: Do you recommend I sing C,C#,D in each key as well as the 1,#1,2 in each key? What might be confusing me is the terms Do,ra,me etc.... Are these relative terms that change depending on the key I am in? (Like 1st, shapr 1st, 2nd...) or absolute terms like c, c#, d?
A Yes you should practice singing Do Raw Ra in all keys so in the key of Ab you would sing Ab, A, Bb

You could also sing C, C#, D which would be Me, Fa, Fi in Ab or any other key if you want but first I'd make sure you can sing Do Raw Ra in any key.
 
Q I am very interested in your material. I have been playing guitar and mandolin for 30+ years and am interested in a wide variety of music so I'm sure I'm not totally tone deaf but I do feel I am being held back by my inability to hear better. I cannot sing on pitch and I have a terrible time tuning anything without using an electronic tuner, so I know that is the main area I need to work on. I am interested in getting the Fanatic book and the Ear Training One Note book but there is one thing I don't understand. How do I get feedback to know when I do the exercises correctly? I mean, I am assuming there will be exercises to sing along with or repeat back, if I am singing off pitch and can't accurately tell, how will I get better.
A Thanks for contacting me. Many students that have similar problems as you have been helped by my ear training method. Although your problems could come from a few different sources, one of the main problems is your mind's interpretation of what it is listening for when it hears a pitch or tries to sing a pitch. Usually when people have problems like this it takes awhile to reeducate your ear/mind to perceive pitch in another way. So you must be patient with yourself as you start to work on these weaknesses because it will take dedication and time for you to change it.
As far as feedback on whether you are doing the exercises right the Ear Training One Note book tells you the correct answer so you won't have a problem there. Fanatic's Guide will require you to check that you are singing the right note using an instrument. As long as you can tell most of the time if the note you are singing is the note you are playing you shouldn't have a problem.
 
Q I wanted to ask your opinion about solfege techniques for hearing Jazz that someone like Thom Mason teaches from his book "The art of hearing." Or what they use to teach at dick grove school of music.I have been playing Jazz for years and have been looking for a practical way to develop my hearing and have been working with the solfege technique lately.I am wondering how your system compares and what the differences are..Am I wasting my time again in trying to learn the solfege technique? What's your experience with all this.
A When you say "solfege technique" this is simply the act of using solfege syllables to sing an exercise, i.e. Do, Me, So. Many times this general idea of singing melodies and exercises using solfege is referred to as "Sight Singing." I think the question you need answered is what kind of ear training courses are there available and which will work. There are basically two systems available for "relative pitch" ear training. One uses the idea of learning the distance between every note (intervals) and one uses the idea of memorizing the sound of each note within a key center (contextual). Most schools and universities use the interval method. My method is the contextual method which I have found from personal experience and 25 years of teaching to be the only method that truly brings a students ear up to the ability to hear sounds and instantly know what they are. This is crucial for an improvising musician and my method is one that is used extensively by many jazz musicians. Though I haven't seen the methods you have mentioned I would be very surprised if they weren't interval based systems, therefore, I personally wouldn't recommend them especially for a jazz musician.

One thing both systems have in common is that they recommend singing and listening. This is the best way to improve at your maximum rate. If you would like to use my ear training system I would recommend you get two books:

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

These two books with give you the foundation you need to work on both sight singing using solfege and listening CDs to improve your note recognition. Overall it's important to realize that doing the wrong system of ear training can have devastating consequences on your development. Please choose wisely because unlearning the wrong method can take years.
 
Q I have started a serious practice regimen focusing on one of my weak points: ear training. I have had absolutely no previous ear triaining lessons so I don't have any bad habits to break, but I also have to start from scratch. I have completed my first week of ear training with 3-5 short sessions per day. Since listening to the complete beginner's CD was a bit too much for my ears I have made some subset CDs with 3, 4, 5 and 7 notes to work on before returning to the complete chromatic CD. I'm currently working on 4 notes and getting 50-60% correct. When listening I either recognize a note immediately (or think I recognize it) or have to guess. Some notes I get always right (hurray!). Yesterday I started the Fanatic's Guide and had a fairly easy time getting the tonic in the various keys (actually I had to concentrate for a few drone chords before "hearing" and being able to sing "one" on the tonic). Now for my question: as I progress from the tonic to the 3rd, 5th etc should I keep singing respectively "three", "five" etc. or should I be singing the "Mi and Sol" in the key of C and "La and Do" in the key of F. Should I be advancing randomly through the various keys or is it ok to follow straight through the CD?
A Thanks for contacting me. It's OK to make subsets but also listen to the CD with all notes. Maybe do 4 times with your subset and once with all notes everyday.

With the Fanatic's Guide you want to sing let's say the 3rd in every key. So if it is the key of C you will sing E and call it "me." If you are in the key of F you will sing an "A" and call it "me" also. You can either skip around on the CD or go straight through for now it doesn't matter. Just make sure as you progress to singing other notes than the root that you don't first sing or think the tonic in your mind and then think up or down to the note. You want to just hear the cadence and sing "pre-hear" the note in question. This is much harder but you need instant recognition in order for this ear training to be useful, so even though it's harder it will be more beneficial in the long run.

You are tackling some hard stuff but if you stick with it over the next few years you will see amazing things happening.
 
Q I am studying your "Ear Training: One Note Complete" and "Fanatic's Guide". I am up to the advanced level cd. What aspect of these materials leads to improved "key retention"? I notice that the longer the string of notes I sing, the more difficult it becomes towards the end. It is as though the notes sung prior to the last notes in the sequence cloud my sense of key. Is this normal?
A To improve your key retention you need to sing melodies without a droning one chord. You do want to first give yourself a cadence in the key that you want to sing in but then stop the chord and continue singing the notes. You may find that you have to replay the one chord from time to time to reinforce the key. Try to do this less and less.

I would first use the Fanatic's Guide for this type of key retention building and later move on to Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One (although this book is for guitarists it's a excellent source for improving your key retention). If you get this book let me know and I'll give you some exercises.

To get you started, use the 6 note groupings in Fanatic's Guide. Give yourself a cadence in the key of C, stop the chord and try to sing as many examples as you can before having to reinforce the key by strumming the one chord. After that is working well, give yourself a cadence in the key of F and try and sing the same page in the same way (obviously now C will be the 5th and you will sing "So" for C and every other note will be in the key of F. Continue this process through all keys. Once you have done this to all 6 note grouping in all keys you can move on to Single String Studies.

It is important not to start singing melodies that modulate so only do this with the exercises that I recommended.
 
Q I am not sure how to use the Fanatic's CD, because it plays a chord a great number of times in the same key. I understand that I have to sing, for example, a 3rd in the key played. But when I sing that third, how am I sure that I'm singing it correctly? With an instrument? Also, when I read the book, I tought I would have used the CD switching a lot from key to key, to be able to sing 3rds in any key almost instantly. How should I use this book?
A In order to check if you are singing the correct note you will need to use an instrument or a pitch pipe. If you are singing notes in different keys you should switch to different tracks on the CD. Listen to the cadence and chord for a few seconds and then attempt to sing the note. You always want to let the "key" be firmly created in your ear before singing so don't look for speed with this particular exercise.
 
Q I have been very diligent with my ear training, but I am finding it a little harder to find the right moment for the Fanatics Guide singing exercises.

I have noticed a constant though slow progression in recognizing the notes since starting the course.

I'm currently able to recognize the "C" notes in all there octaves wtihout any problems, but have trouble putting the other notes "sound" in my long term memory. I seem to get the low octave notes correct and recognize them from day to day much more easily than the middle and higher notes.

I was hoping that once I could recognize a note in one octave, I would be able to do the same in all the others. It almost seems that I have to memorize the sound of every note in every octave even though, when I listen for example to a series of G's in different octaves, I "hear" them as having the same sound against the I-IV-V-I cadence.
A Well it sounds like your progressing at a normal rate. The Fanatic's Guide would certainly help you progress quicker. Try to slow building up the amount you work out of that book.

It is common to hear notes well in a couple of octaves but have more problems in others. It will take your ear/mind awhile to figure out what the unique sound of each note is in each octave. "Me" is the same sound in all octaves but it will take your mind awhile to focus in on that unique sound. That's why it's important to do the notes in all octaves because even though it's harder it helps you narrow down what each note sounds like over time.

You should try to think of ear training as a life long pursuit. You will find over the next months that your ear will improve dramatically but don't look at this like there is an end. It's a life long process of challenging your mind/ear to hear more and more.
 
Q I've been working as much as I could for the past month on Ear Training and the Fanatic's book and am now at the point of getting an 80% average of diatonic notes with the ear training CD.

My practice regime has been the following:
2-3 times a day the Diatonic notes, (80% correct)
Once a day the Complete Beginning CD (50-60% correct)
3 times a day singing Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol (and now also La and Si).

For C, and to a certain extent G and also E, I recognize the notes just by the way they sound whatever octave I hear.

For the other notes I recognize them mostly by having memorized the way they sound in each octave. I think that with some more listening I should start to start to hear them the way I hear C.

For the singing excersises this past week I have been singing Do, Re, Mi, and Sol once a day and Fa, La and Si 3-4 times a day. I've had a difficult time singing Fa and have been working on it for over 3 weeks, but have picked up La and Si easily.

I'm realizing more and more how each note has its own distinct sound (especially when I sing the note) and can't wait to advance to the next level.

Any guidance or comments on how to proceed at this point would be highly welcome.
A Seems like you are making pretty good progress. I want you to change the singing exercises slightly. First you need to sing more each day. I would say 3 times for 10 minutes will make a world of difference in your progress. Each week I want you to take page 12 and sing all the examples in a different key. Therefore week one the first example Do Di Re would be sung over a C major chord vamp along with the rest of the examples. Next week I want you to sing the C C# D example in F major. So you will play an F major Chord and sing the C C# D which will be So Si La do this for the rest of the example changing the syllables to match the key. The next week you go to Bb major and sing C C# D over a Bb major chord. The solfeggio will be Re Ri Me. Continue this around the cycle 5 for the next 3 to 4 months.
 
Q The question I have is about the singing exercises. When I try to sing one of the notes in solfeggio, sometimes I sing a note but then instantly recognize the sound to be a different note. (Ex: I may sing "SO" but then hear that is actually "ME".) Is it okay that I recognize that the quality is "ME" and then just change what I am singing to "ME"? Also, sometimes I hear "So, Me, Do" arpeggiated in my head, and in that way I know which of those notes I am going to sing. So, I find the note through hearing a progression of notes (a melody). Should I try to avoid this? I am guessing the answer is yes, but I am wondering if you have a way to counteract that tendency. I am really excited about this method and am at last beginning to "listen" to music.

Also, I was wondering if there is any way to apply singing exercises without any instrument to check the note being sung, or listening exercises (for example: I am driving home from work listening to the radio. Can I guess the notes that I am listening to without being able to know the answer? just to practice the PROCESS of listening for those notes? instead of listening passively?) Would this help in any way to quicken my progress?
A Sounds like your doing well with the ear training. It's OK if you sing "SO" and then recognize it is "ME," Just change the syllable and overtime you will get more accurate.

Definitely do not arpeggiate in your head or use a melody. When you work on this ear training you really need to try and stop these bad habits. This is one of the reasons why I recommend just doing the ear training for 10 minutes 5 times a day. This way you can concentrate hard and stay away from your bad habits.

It's OK to start applying this ear training to real music as you're driving in a car. There really is no practical way to check your accuracy while driving but it is important to start to apply this ear training to real music as soon as possible.
 
Q I've been doing the One Note system for a few months. At this point I can identify the pitches with 100 percent accuracy, but I can't play a key center and then sing the pitches on my own. How is it possible that my mind can recognize pitches but not be able to sing them independently, and what can I do to correct this?
A Well I know it seems weird but it's not uncommon for someone to be able hear all the pitches but not be able to sing them. I've also seen situations where the student can sing all the pitches but has a problem hearing them in the context of real music or even the One Note CDs. Without getting into too much detail, let me just say that your memory of the notes isn't universal in your mind therefore you are finding your recognition skills are so far just working in one area. This is not unlike someone who can understand a foreign language but can't speak or write it. What you need to do is work out of the "Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training." I would do singing exercises from this book 4 to 5 times a day in 10 minute intervals. If you can get 90% to 100% accuracy on the Ear Training One Note Advanced CD then you should get Key Note Recognition to continue improving your listen skills.
 
Q I've been working with 1 note and fanatics guide for 2 months. Both programs have revealed obvious problems in both my training and my approach to 'hearing' music. They have also instructed me as to one of the problems to becoming the musician i want to be. Two specific realizations have occured in the task of instantaneously recognizing the signature 'tension" of notes relatively. One is the development of my inner ear through the use of short and long term memory. Two is the necessary establishment of what one might call "tonal center or tonic recognition" by the use of a drone (repeated tonic triad). These two apparati are unique in your method of teaching. Developing the inner ear is a constantly surprising experience. First , the distinction you draw between one's ability to remember a tune and remember its signature tension and name is profound. The accepted approach was to trigger the tune memory and connect it to a pitch nomenclature, ie. using songs to memorize intervals or scale memory to learn scale degrees. My experience has revealed that the neural actions of the "tune method" are entirely different from the use of short term memory repetition and long term memory employed in your method. This neural activity is at best only apprehensible but I'd be interested to find out anything you know about the production of these memories neurologically. The experience of forming these memories is both frustrating and illuminating. I'm amazed at my resistance to the simple guess and play method you suggest. My own desire to get the answer makes me resort to all kinds of tricks, all of them trying to relate my "tune -scale memory" to this problem, all of them fail to produce the recognition of notes by their tension. Forming a memory of tone signatures is an entirely different experience.

The problem now is that in singing them it takes time to remember the pitch, especially non- diatonic tones. They are not available at command. I assume the reason each level of the One Note CDs advances in speed is to increase the availability of these memories at greater speeds. I am wondering why this process ends at the advanced level. I am considering making tapes which will increase the speed notes are produced for recognition. Perhaps using just a drone after a single 1-4-5 progression without repetition and the presentation of a number of tones without the answer will do the trick. I wonder what you think of this. Another problem occurs when my students play notes for me to identify without a drone. I'm great diatonically, but the minute the wise guys play 2 black notes in a row I lose my center and I can't identify the notes (often to their great amusement). This brings out the great controversy of ear training programs: How do you deal with tonal shifts and modulations? Interval method advocates make a good argument here. The reason, of course, being that as a modulation occurs the signature tensions shift.and at least one interval must be used to in this transfer. For example, as a song in C major moves to G major an F# sounds like #4 until G is established as tonal center, rather than its signature function as 7, the leading tone. The F# , according to interval advocates, cannot be recognized as "7" and therefore must be determined either by interval or by anticipating the modulation and simultaneously hearing #4 of the new key. Although you haven't made mention of this problem in one note or fanatics guide, I assume there is a retention of the first key and a realization of these notes by their 'non-diatonic' signature at least until the new key is established. Do I have this right?
A Nice to hear from you again. First let me say that it's never too late to develop good musicianship and most musicians don't care how old you are when you are on stage with them they just want you to have great ears, creativity and be musical.

For your questions about memory I would suggest you read:

Memory: From Mind to Molecules
by Larry R. Squire, Eric R. Kandel

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0716760371/qid=1046073543/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-8820594-5627927?v=glance&s=books

Eric Kandel won a Nobel prize for his work with memory. He also did a Charlie Rose interview which is well worth getting a copy of via PBS (Channel 13 in the New York Area).

On the subject of ear training your idea of doing a I IV V I then playing more than one note in a melodic sequence is fine but could run into some problems once a melody gets long enough to make you possibly modulate. I am currently developing a method for this. I think your time would be better spent by working on Key Note Recognition which will help you to hear one note ear training from a different perspective along with preparing you for two note ear training which is where you learn to modulate. It is also important to remember that over time you will be building up what I call your "Key Retention" so you will find for example when you hear a I IV V I and then two notes out of the key center you will tend to hear these in relationship to the original key rather than modulate. If you do modulate you will use the method presented in the 2 note books. As for your example of the the F# being introduced and then modulating into G from C. The F# would be heard as #4. If let's say you modulated when the next tone G was played you would hear G as the 5th of C and then also hear it change to "do" which would signal the key change. No interval is needed or desired in this process. Once again I would first recommend you work through the previously mentioned books so you understand modulation before you attempt this type of multiple melodic note ear training.

I appreciate your rather long explanation of the processes and concerns you have. Your explanations really help me to know that you are understanding what to do and how to think about things. I believe you are on track with your understanding of the ear training method and I think it's great that you are being creative with your approach, but you should also be careful because you don't want to go off on another approach until you fully understand all aspects of relative pitch ear training.
 
Q I am making headway with the one note method, but one puzzling thing keeps occuring with pre-hearing a scale degree (tension signature) and singing it over a key drone.......it takes time to hear it! I wonder how much time should be allowed from cadence hearing to forming the inner pitch and reproducing this pre-heard tone vocally. I am afraid that a lot of time only encourages cheating (ie. relating the tone being practiced to a better known one - my favorite cheating device), but too little time denies the proper building and forming of a long-term memory. What is your experience with this and is there a set time inteval I should aim for to pre-hear notes?

I also took your advice and started "Key Note Recognition." I am sorry to say that while the major keys Have been learned fairly easily, the minor keys are a disaster. I simply do not have the immediate recognition I get with the majors. Is this common?

Also, I wonder if you could clarify what exactly you mean when you ntalk about the problem of using "vocal tension" when singing the same scale degrees in each key.
A While waiting too long to pre-hear a note does encourage improper behavior I think a better way to approach this is memory reinforcement of the pitch you are trying to memorize. For example if you are trying to hear F# against a C tonal center. First create the key of C through a cadence or vamp and then try to hear F# if you can't hear it play the F#. Now try again and see if you can hear the F# after you establish the key center again. You will find that students will be able to pre-hear the F# if you continue this for a number of repetitions.

Next try bouncing between a couple of notes. Work back and forth between let's say F# and G#. Always give the pitch if the student can't get it right away. Soon you will see they can remember two notes. Keep adding additional notes if possible. Usually a student's memory burns out after about 10 or 15 minutes of this, but if this can be done 2 to 3 times a day you will see that students will start to remember the notes and therefore be able to pre-hear them with no difficulty.

Hearing all 12 notes against a minor tonality will seem strange at the beginning. Overtime you will hear the distinctive characteristics of each note but this usually takes some time. An analogy to this would be if you have a red piece of paper with yellow lettering inside of it at first glance the yellow lettering can look like it's actually white. Only after close examination do you notice that the lettering is actually yellow. Contextualizing all 12 pitches against various types of tonalities is an important part of developing this ear training method. I think at the beginning it's best to stick to I IV V I or simple drones. After a student can do one note ear training with the simple method then it is time to introduce various vamps and cadences that create alternate tonal environments.

Vocal tension is when a students uses the tension of their vocal cords to find a pitch. Very common with singers but also a habit that other students almost subconsciously develop. One common indicator is when a student sings slightly out of tune but of course this can also be caused by lack of air support or just guessing at the pitch.
 
Q I am a music theory professor in a small liberal arts college, and I am quite intrigued by your various methods of ear training. I have recently examined "One-Note Complete Method" and "Fanatic's Guide." Since this method is very unlike most methods used in colleges and universities, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on how this method best works in a classroom setting.

How, for instance, do you evaluate student progress? My ear training classes are lab sections of my theory classes, so I have many students with a wide range of abilities. It seems that your CDs would work wonderfully for individuals, but I'm trying to figure out how to give quizzes and tests fairly and still push the more advanced students. Any thoughts?

Also, does it make sense to supplement your books with any of the more traditional graduated solfege books (Ottman, Benjamin, etc.)? Do you work on rhythm exercises? What about harmonic and melodic dictation? Is is best for instance to focus solely on the one-note method and the "Fanatics Guide" first before tackling melodic and harmonic dictation or solfege?

I appreciate your thoughts.
A Thanks for contacting me. As we both know it doesn't matter what ear training method you use; a class setting is always dicey. There's always that student who is slow and possibly hasn't even thought about trying to "hear" music and on the other end you have a student who progresses at amazing speed. This is complicated by the usual coupling of Ear Training Exercises within a music theory course environment. So once again you have some students who are great with music theory and have little ear training skill and visa versa.

Given the aforementioned parameters I would say that my "contextual" ear training would work as well as a pure interval approach. Many of the same exercises that most teachers use in "interval" based ear training can also be used; you just need to establish a key center first. For instance using "Ottman's" book for sight singing or melodic dictation would be fine as long as you give a key center before you play the example. I don't think I would start week one with Ottman's book. I'd give the students 3 or 4 weeks of listening and working within the class with listen/answer quizzes using the method on the "One Note" CDs first. You could also use the Ottman book for assigning singing examples in major keys. Just make sure that they sing these examples over the CD that accompanies the Fanatic's Guide book so they have the key sounding at all times.

For the "One Note" CDs I'd recommend to the students that they use Discman CD players and listen between classes. If they actually do that you should find most of your class will be around 50% accuracy with the note identification within 3 to 4 weeks. If they are like most students they won't do this religiously so you'll probably end up with 20 to 30% correct answers. Students progress will of course be helped immensely if you also have them working out of the Fanatic's Guide and have them doing the "one note" singing exercise from the Fanatic's Guide book at home. (Once again 4 to 5 times a day for 5 minutes).

For testing you can go around the class each meeting and have the students do the "One Note" Fanatic's exercise where they attempt to sing various pitches in various keys. If you have more advanced students you can have them sing harder notes like b6 or #4.

For evaluation of students I think the best method is always based on personal achievement rather than a set bar that everyone has to reach. This is not always possible in a school situation but I think any teacher would agree it's the correct way to judge progress. The best method of course would be if you have 3 sections of Music Theory/Ear Training and could divide them up based on music theory knowledge and ear training ability. Of course the way music departments are organized this isn't always possible.

Overall if both the students and you know that you are basing their grade on personal improvement everyone will immediately think that's fair and realize that they have to improve to get a good grade. There of course have to be guide lines and I would say a student should have one note ability after their first year of school. If not if should be made quite clear that they are falling behind and need to do summer school work at home or in a classroom to improve their skills.

I would quiz students the first week by playing them examples like the "One Note" CD and have the students write down what they think the note is. Do this every week or at least every other week. You could even have the students correct each other's quiz during class to save you the time of doing the corrections (Of course you would want to look at the quiz to see how each student is doing).

There are many other exercises you could do using the Fanatic's Guide book --or as students improve, use the LINES book or once again have them do dictation based on Ottman or other texts. The important thing is to get them to hear "contextually." You will find that once students begin to "get" this method not only will their note recognition improve but their musicality will change dramatically. Once a student can recognize a sound instantly by hearing it (not unlike just seeing a color and instantly knowing what it is) their mind's ability to memorize, categorize and basically understand music goes to a much deeper level. Every great musician I've ever played with has this ability.
 
Q I'm 58 years old with some musical training a very long time ago: I took piano lessons for 8 years as a child & played oboe for 3 years in high school. Despite all those years of lessons, I can hardly play piano now.

Recently my son's school started a parent chorus (12 other amateurs led by the head of the music department-no auditions were required! -it's really great to sing in a group!).

I bought Fanatic's Guide and Ear Training One Note (complete). I am progressing slowly. I can reliably sing "do" and now I'm working on "mi". As far as recognizing the notes, I'm pretty poor, although occasionally I feel completely certain of a note and when that happens, I'm almost always right. Even though I do not feel I've made much progress, I find that once I've learned a harmony part, I can sing it in tune and not be influenced by hearing the other parts. I could not do this before I started practicing with your CDs. (I practice the harmony part with your Fanatic's CD playing the drone in the key of the piece-if this is not a good idea, please tell me!)

My goal is to be able to improvise harmony in social singing, e.g. around a campfire, also to sight read well enough to sing the alto/second soprano parts.

Now I feel the need for better rhythm skills, both reading & feeling it. Syncopation is very hard for me (although I can get it if I practice enough). I also feel that I do not have much of a sense of rhythm.

Which of your books do you recommend for a complete beginner? I prefer something that already has the CD with it, although I think my son could make a CD from something downloaded.
A Thanks for contacting me. Sounds like your just getting started with the Ear Training. Just keep in mind that changing your perception of sound can take time. So try to practice each day and you will see improvement over time.

It's fine if you want to sing melodies or harmonies over the chord vamps just remember that over time you want to get to the point where you can hear the relationship of the notes you are singing against the key.

I have a whole course in rhythm. These books do not come with CDs but they do have midifiles which can be downloaded on-line. These files will allow you to hear each rhythm exercise. These files of course help students studying on their own and check each exercise against the audio file.

I would suggest you start with the book Rhythm Primer. This book has a whole practice schedule laid out at the beginning of the book. If you need more direction let me know and I'll help you out.
 
Q Hello. I am 14 years old and live in Japan. Now I am learning Chopin's Ballade No. 1. In Western music, the tonic has a special meaning. It makes a home base in music, and then the music is developed from this point. Pianists give a special touch to the tonic on piano. But sometimes, pianists give a special touch on the dominant. Could you eplain the reason for these differences?
A Thanks for contacting me. You are correct that musicians give special emphasis to various tonal centers that exist in music. You can not always tell the tonal center by looking at a piece of music or analyzing it with music theory. In some cases it will be clearly defined what the key center is and at other times it will be up to the individual performer's aural perception to tell them what the key center is. In order to develop your aural perception you first will have to understand each notes distinctive sound against a key center. I would recommend you purchase Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training in order to develop your skills in this area. Currently (3/28/03) we are not distributed in Japan. I would suggest you either use amazon.com or possibly the www.muse-eek.com to obtain these books.
 
Q I'm working with your book "A FANATIC'S GUIDE TO EAR TRAINING AND SIGHT SINGING". I'm to the point where I can sing all the notes with the key centers on the CD. I've been working on singing all notes along with the Jamey Abersold Major and Minor CD set, Volume 24. This ups the ante on difficulty because there is more going on than a drone chord. Is this a good idea or will it interfere with the program as you have structured it? Also, is it necessary to use solfege syllables? I have been using numbers, 1 #9, #4, #11, b5, etc... That's the way I think about scale degrees and chord names.
A There are a few problems with me making comments on your extra practicing tool for ear training. First music and certainly tonality can't be described in words. Second I don't know your aural perception level nor do I know how deeply you understand this ear training method Therefore I will make no comment on whether you are hurting yourself with what you are doing with the Abersold CD. One would think that the prudent course would be to at least get half way through my ear training course before deciding to go off in other directions.

For your question about Solfege you need to know both Solfege and scale degrees in order to complete the ear training studies I have compiled.
 
Q I'm working on the 2 note exercises in the Fanatics book. Are we to sing them rhythmically or make sure we are just singing the notes? The reason I ask this seemingly stupid question is because if I prehear and sing the first note, then prehear and sing the second note the exercise doesn't come out correct rhythmically.
A Actually that is a good question. Overtime you want to slowly speed up your "prehearing." So for now I would just let it take as long as it takes but overtime you want to force yourself to "prehear" quicker. As you improve you can even start using a metronome. You will notice when using a metronome that you can tell which notes are weak by the fact that you can't "prehear" the note without messing up rhythmically. This will help you analyze which notes need more work.
 
Q I am moving on to singing two notes against the drone and am having fun singing them against various progressions as you suggest in "Fanatics Guide." I want to make sure i have the right idea. If I take the 2 note exercise c to f# and sing it to a 12 bar blues progression in C, the solfege would run do-fi over the I chord, fa-ti over IV, and sol-di over the V chord. Of course the metronome must be going. How would you suggest the metronome be incorporated. Also, is one key sufficient in this process before moving on or should the example be sung in all keys or at least a few keys before a new 2 note exercise is employed.

Also I have found this type of singing is really helpful in learning new tunes. I make it a point to sing through each layer of the basic voicing of the chord changes when learning a new tune and then trying a couple of 2 note exercises through the tune. It really is amazing what I am hearing when I improvise on this tune afterward (very slowly of course). Are there any other exercises like this you might suggest to aid in hearing and working out a new tune at my level.

I would also like to get a hold of your time books. They sound fascinating. Can you give me a couple of examples of how the time series would be applied in my practice sessions?

I'm still working on key recognition. The minor keys are a little better but I notice I am memorizing the register of the 2-5 progression and have inadvertently started to cheat on my key recognition. Any suggestions?
A The metronome should be incorporated just as a time keeper to make sure you are able to sing each 2 note group and not lose your time. If you are weak with certain notes you will tend to take more time and thus lose time. You can set the metronome up many ways. You can try the typical beats on 2 and 4. You might also try singing in a few keys maybe 4 keys moving in minor 3rds.. This will help to make sure you are not using vocal tension for any notes.

Singing over tunes can get very dicey and I would recommend you have Key Note Recognition totally down and are working on 2 note ear training before singing over actual tunes. This is mostly because tunes can modulate and it's important to have the skills you learn in the previous mentioned books before attempting tunes. Also remember that the tempo of a tune can drastically change the way you hear a tune. Once you start singing over tunes there are a lot of ways to progress. Here are a couple of possibilities:

1. Sing melody play chords
2. Sing arpeggios over a one chord drone
3. Part sing chords (Check out the book LINES)

For time books I would suggest starting with the Big Metronome. There are many concepts at work within these time books. One of the major concepts is to "feel" time rather than "count" time. You will see after working with the examples in the books that you will gain a new confidence about time. Also keep in mind that you could spend the rest of your life working on the examples in this book.

I don't have a solution for your problem with Key Note Recognition except to make your own CD with progressions in different registers.
 
Q I have a quick question on the "Ear Training One Note Study." Since I am completely new to ear training when I listen to the cd I'm a bit overwhelmed, the only tone I can really recognize is the low E - probably because it's the first note I hear when I tune my guitar! So, if I were to make a selection of tones to start with, should I just select random notes from the scale or should I do them in a sequence of some kind? And should I listen to the smaller selection and get some kind of accuracy with that first or should I continue to listen to all the tones alternately with the smaller selection - say twice a day for the selection and once a day for all tones?

I also have the "Fanatics Guide," which I haven't even opened yet. I need a little direction I think. I have a guitar teacher who is great and would help me with this, but I try to devote that 1/2 hour per week with him to the "Berklee Method I" and my slowly growing repertoire!
A If you are being overwhelmed by using all 12 pitches on the CD I would recommend limiting you notes to C,D,E,F,G,A,B. You might want to limit the octave too. If that is still to much try just C,E and G. Whatever combination that you use make sure to listen to the full CD for at least 10 minutes a day. You don't want to get lopsided in your aural recognition skills. If you could do your limited set 2 to 3 times a day for 10 minutes that would be great.

With Fanatic's Guide I would start with the first One Note exercise and sing it in all keys starting with the root of each key. Try to do this exercises a couple times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. The singing will help you a lot. As you perfect the ability to sing any degree in any key you will see that your CD recognition will improve.
 
Q I purchased the "One Note Complete Method," and have been working with it for about a month by limiting the exercises to only the diatonic major scale. I have never seriously done ear training before, and have been pleased with my progress in note recognition in a relatively short time. The root, second and seventh in particular have characteristic sounds that I can detect, while the middle intervals are still a little hard to distinguish for me. I was considering also doing some interval training at the same time, particularly harmonic interval training; however, I am a little concerned about this, having read that you essentially had to unlearn interval training for the one-note method to take seed. How does interval training interfere with this method? Can it not simply be turned on and off? What about harmonic interval recognition? Is this what is addressed in the Two-Note and higher methods?
A I wouldn't recommend working on more than one ear training technique at once. It is my belief that once you are able to do my ear training technique you will not be in need of any other. If you are concerned about improving quickly I would recommend you work from the "Ear Training One Note Complete" and "Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training" 10 time a day for each book for 10 minutes.
 
Q I just bought and started working with "A Fanatic's Guide To Ear Training and Sight Singing." I've followed the instructions; ie. sing the sound of c against the c major progression or cadence. My first question is: do I repeat singing the c agaist the recurring cadence all the way through the first track. Also, when i sound c on my tenor saxaphone (I have it set up so the mouthpiece is tuned to c on the keyboard (Bb) on my instrument) it sounds way off against the recurring c being sounded on the first track of the cd. Do i need to play the recording on a variable pitch recorder or re-tune my tenor to the recording on the cd.
A The CD for Fanatic's Guide was recorded at standard pitch but many CD players do not play at the correct speed so you may find the CD to be slightly sharp or flat depending on the CD player you are using.

The length of each track on the Fanatic's Guide was made so someone could practice many exercises over one chord without having to restart the track. I would suggest with any exercises you are attempting to sing the desired note until you can check with your saxophone or another instrument to see if you are correct. When you know you are correct you should move on to another note or exercise.
 
Q I've completed my first series of 3 note singing exercises from the Fantatic's book.

I've been singing the exercise from page 19 and 20 of the Fanatic's Guide in all 12 keys (Do, Di, Re up to Do Di Si (Ti)), one key each week for 10 minutes three times a day.

Should I now continue directly with the 4 note examples on page 26? Should I start with the first examples: Do, Di, Re, Ri, etc in all 12 keys like I did for the 3 note exercises. Should I sing the examples up and down?

In addition to what you assign me I was thinking of singing once a day for a week the first note of the example cycle 5. The first week I'd sing Do, the second Sol, the third Re etc. in order to help reinforce each note in my memory.

I'm continuing of course with the Intermediate Ear Training CD. I'm currently doing 6-8 10 minute sessions per day.
A Yep, this sounds good. Move on to the 4 note exercises on page 26 and start with the first example. I would sing all the exercises up and down. You might also try starting on the last note of each exercise and singing down and then up. This is much harder but a good exercise. Your idea of singing C cycle 5 through all keys in also a good thing to do. Make sure to give yourself a full key cadence before singing the C in each key.
 
Q I'm 42 and just picked up playing guitar again after a break of more than 25 years. I never had any ear training and don't have a natural sense of pitch - I even find tuning the instrument correctly to be a challenge - so I bought the Ear Training One Note Complete book to get started. I believe that getting a better 'ear' is critical for what I want to achieve musically. How do you suggest that I approach the training? As a working professional with kids, my time is somewhat limited and I can't do 5 brief sessions a day as it is suggested in the book. Any suggestions highly appreciated.
A Thanks for contacting me. To learn ear training effectively you need to apply yourself to the task. Really, ear training is just memory training and in order to effectively memorize anything you need to reinforce the information as often as possible. Most people find that they can do a 5 minute session in the morning, at lunch time, when they get home and before they go to bed. I would recommend you start with this. If you find that the Beginning CD of the Ear Training One Note method is too hard try using the intermediate. Even though this CD is faster, some students find it easier because there is less of a silent space between the chord progression and the note you are guessing. I realize that you have very little time but I should also point out that working with Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training will greatly increase you success with this method.
 
Q I'm not sure how to gauge my progress in 2-note singing from "Fanatics Guide." I've been strictly following the 4 step regimen you prescribe in the book and have been singing the exercises with a metronome through 5 different progressions and interval chains. My question is: when should I progress to a new interval? I can slowly prehear and sing 2nds, 3rds, and 4th in any of my chosen progressions, and can build up the speed usually to 120 for a quarter note pretty accurately. However the time it takes to initially get the correct scale can only be accomplished at 60 or slower. Can you give me a good 'mm' to shoot for and perhaps supplement this regimen with a couple of exercises that might help.
A I would say that you want to shoot for mastering each exercise in Fanatic's Guide at mm=60. Even if you don't master a particular exercise I wouldn't stay on it for more than a week before moving on. This is mostly because people start to use tricks after awhile to get through a tough situation, so you should just move on. By the time you get through the entire book many of these problems will go away. You also should keep in mind that this whole process is going to take a few years before you naturally just hear and sing things correctly. You are really totally reprogramming the way you hear music, so give yourself a break - this will all take time.
 
Q I have been working with your Ear Training One Note Beginner for about two months now and I believe it's working well. However, I would like to describe to you my practice regimen and see if you think its okay or if I should alter it in any way. Here it is: I have made a subset cd consisting of every C, E, and G in every octave. I try to listen to this two or three times a day for ten minutes at a time, but usually I only do it once. I also try to listen to the main cd with every note once a day for ten minutes, although often I don't get around to it. Then I also do the Fanatics singing cd for about twelve minutes a day (this I do every day). I'm being honest about the actual work that I've been doing because maybe it'll help you advise me. Hopefully I will be able to increase to what I know I should be doing soon. With the Fanatic's CD on track one I'll sing an E for about a minute and then go to track two where I'll either switch to G or sing another E just like I did on track one. In this way I'll alternate between E, and G for the whole cd which lasts about twelve minutes because I'm doing one minute on each track. In the beginning I was singing only C, but after I got that perfect I moved onto E, and then G and once I got each of those perfect I combined them. So that is where I am now. With both the Fanatics Guide CD and the One note subset CD that I made of just C, E, ang G I am now getting close to 100%. However when I listen to the full CD with all 12 notes I can only get C and thats only if its in the middle octaves.

My plan is to now make a subset that now includes D, in addition to C, E, and G and work on getting those all correct and then move onto include F and so on in the order that you recommend working through in the Fanatics Guide book. In terms of the Sight Singing work that I'm doing I plan on now trying to sing D.

So, a few questions:

1) Do you think this is a good practice plan? Should I be focusing this much on the subset CD that I made or should I be spending more time listening just to the main CD with all 12 notes?

2) How do you recommend I practice my Sight Singing? The thing that troubles me is that as I move onto singing a new note I feel I neglect the ones I already have practiced and learned and that I forget them. This is why I am now alternating between E, and G within the same practice time. But once I move onto more notes, I won't have time to be focusing on all of them. Should I just periodically review the previous notes?

3) Is it okay to be doing only one session of Sight Singing per day with three or four sessions of One Note listening or should I be doing an equal amount of each?
A Thanks for your detailed explanation of your practice regimen. My main question is about your work with the Fanatic's Guide CD. Just checking but you do realize that if you sing E with the first track you are listening for how a 3rd sounds against the key of C and when you switch to the second track which is in the key of F and you continue to sing an E you are now singing the 7th of the key and that is how you are hearing the E in the key of F. If this is not what you are doing then this is VERY wrong. Remember you are trying to hear what each note sounds like against a key center and when the key center changes each of the 12 notes will sound differently.

It is OK to make CD with fewer notes BUT make sure to always listen to the CD with all the notes each day. In some cases using a smaller group of notes can help people remember the sound of each note but in other cases people just get a false sense that they are memorizing sound. Remember it's sometimes hard for your brain to memorize something when it doesn't have the complete picture of all the components involved. This is why listening to all the notes is an important step each day.

Overall it sounds like your on the right track as far a your practice habits go. It is very important with this ear training that you do it every day and never miss a day.

I would get your response up to around 90% for each note before moving on to the next with the Fanatic's Guide. I usually have students work through the notes in the following sequence C,E,G,B,D,F,A,C#,Eb,G#,Bb,F#. The more practicing you can do out of both the One Note and Fanatic's Guide the better. You should at least spend 1/2 hour on both books each day. Of course you want to break this up in the short sessions. Remember you are dealing with your memory with these books so you need to reinforce the information often.
 
Q On page 6 in the Fanatic's Guide it clearly tells you how to proceed with the singing of each note against each key. Please reread this and if you still have problems let me know.
A In the Fanatic's Guide book, when learning each pitch within a key center, do you recomend going key by key, or singing all twelve tones in C for a few days, then F, and so on and so forth. Or would you recommend practicing singing the root in each key, then the thrid, then the 5th, and so on and so forth. Before i move on to the actual excercises in the book, I need to gain a stronger foundation in this basic area first.
 
Q There's a free software called 'Functional Ear Trainer' and it is taught this way: Hear the chord progression and resolve the note to the tonic whether up or down. For the diatonic notes, the bottom 4 notes resolve downward and for the top 4, the notes resolve upward. After a period of time your mind is supposed to be able to eliminate these steps and hear the note instantaneously. The software even has a random key selection and works in all octaves. Is it possible to learn the notes in this order?
A I wouldn't recommend resolving notes to the tonic up or down even as a intial step. Hopefully you have my 'Ear Training One Note' and 'Fanatic's Guide' books so you can understand exactly what you are supposed to be doing and how. These books and the www.muse-eek.com website will also contain information on common problems and misunderstandings people have. Once you understand this information you could use the Functional Ear Trainer if it gives you similiar types of exercises. Since ear training is probably the single most important thing you can do as a musician, I suggest that you make sure you are investing your time and/or money with something that will be worth your time and effort. If you find an ear training program that just says "do this" with no indepth explanation I would be very wary that you are being directed in the proper way.
 
Q I'm trying to improve at jazz/blues piano and I'm currently using your One Note Complete Method. Even though I'm improving at the tests on the CD it still hasn't gotten any easier for me to recognize chords and modulations (which is what I really need). I need to develop my relative pitch skills more than my single tone recognition. Can I jump to your relative pitch book or is completing the one note method still an absolute pre-requisite?

Also, I'm finding it difficult to de-couple tones. The resolution tendencies are so stuck in my head that when I try to answer very quickly I can still feel my head working out the note (some notes more than others) via its resolution tendency. Is there any particular exercise or drill that I can use to train myself not to do this?
A Thanks for contacting me. To answer your question about jumping ahead in the ear training program you need to realize that if you can't hear one note against a key center how are you going to hear multiple notes? I know it is frustrating, but it takes time and concentration on your part to improve at your premium rate. One thing that you can do is also work out of the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. This book will seriously improve your rate of progress when used in combination with the One Note Complete Method.

In regards to the resolution tendency habit, you need to break it. Some things I recommend are guessing the note very quickly or doing singing exercises from the Fanatic's Guide, but all of this is in vain if you don't try as hard as you can to control your mind's impulse from using a method that will only cause you heartache later. Remember that doing ear training is like spending 10 years in psychotherapy. You need to learn how to control wrong impulses and amplify the right impulses within your brain. This will come with practice, patience and personal self-control. Think about how long it took you to develop this habit of note tendency. It probably will take you just as long to break this habit. I have found with students and with myself that if you have done other Interval and resolution based ear training prior to using this method it will take much longer to progress. This is because you have to unlearn all of your bad habits and then relearn the right ones.
 
Q I have to tell you, I was flabbergasted when I read the instructions in Two Note. Hearing these modulations seems to employ a more reactive part of the mind than one note memorization. Obviously, I'm not to memorize the tension signature of two notes like I did one note. Although, it seems I should continue this in singing two notes, right? Instead, I am to learn the best way to react to what I am hearing. Is this correct?

I've been at it continually this week and am having great success with the 5ths. At least half of them modulate against my C freely, and the others are heard in C. Most of the high notes are also heard in C. I am going to order the next volume this week. Is there any work you can suggest to supplement these exercises with singing in the Fanatic's Guide, or more exercises like the octave displacement?
A Glad to hear your seeing the light. This ear training can be tricky and it's important for you to get a good hold on the 2 note method before branching out to other listening stuff. You can start another singing thing. I want you to get the book Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One. It may seem like a weird request but I use this book for guitarists and also for my ear training. After you get the book let me know and I'll give you an assignment. The most important thing that you can do now is stick with the 2 note CDs. You can work on as many of these as you like. The 5th are usually the easiest. Continue singing out of the Fanatic's guide. Try to break all this stuff up into many short sessions throughout the day and you will improve at the fastest rate.
 
Q I've been working diligently on the Intermediate One Note Ear Training CD and the 4 note exercises on page 26 of the Fanatic's book for the past 3 months. This is my last week (key of G) of the 4 note exercises. What will my next assignment be?

I've been doing 3 x 15' each day in the following manner: 4 note exercises up and down and then down and up, going down the page instead of across (Ri, Re, Di, Do down and up, Fi, Re, Di, Do, down and up etc...) and then C cycle 5 through all keys (one key a week).

I've improved a lot since starting the Fanatic's book and think the next 3-4 months should help consolidate my note recognition and singing. I've been listening 5-6 x 15' each day to the Intermediate CD and can now recognize the sound of the C and G notes. My correct answer average oscillates between 70- 90%. My progress is slow, but I'm getting better with note recognition and I'm getting more and more around 80% average. Hopefully I'll be able to recognize all 12 notes in the next 3-4 months.
A Sounds like your making good progress. I want you to continue on to the 5 note exercises, but now I want you to do it with a metronome. This will help you find the notes that you hesitate on and will point out which notes are weak. Start with the metronome very slow, like quarter equals 40, and make sure that you can sing up and down or down and up (start at the end of each measure and work your way backwards and then forwards). Slowly speed the metronome up as you go.

The two books that you are working on are sufficient for now. If you feel like you have an extra 10 to 20 minutes a day to add in a little more, the next book we are going to work out of is the Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One. May seem like a strange choice, but I use this book both for guitar players and for my ear training students. If you decide you want to start on that too, let me know when you get it and we will get started. Keep up the good work.
 
Q I am working on your single string studies book. I am just about finished with studying the key of C on each string. I spent about a 15 min. per session for 7 days on each string. I review each string from time to time, especially ones that seemed more difficult like the D string.

By going slowly, and visualizing (in my imagination) the string being studied, I am getting pretty accurate but still make mistakes. Especially going up high on the string from down low. I guess the smaller size of the frets makes it harder and I never have used the frets above 15 on strings E - D before. What should I do next?

I am also doing LOTS of ear training in the single string study book. I have only three more keys to go on the first study. My only comment is very challenging at 100 bpm!!!
A So next you will go back and read all the strings but in the key of F. You just continue this through all keys. After that you do the All String Exercises.

For singing, once you feel comfortable with the first page using a C chord vamp I want you to make an F chord vamp and sing the 1st page again. So now you will have a #4. Once you finish that, you need to go through all of the keys, so next would be Bb which will give you a #1 and a #4. As you can see it will get more and more difficult as you get into keys which contain very few notes that are in C major.
 
Q I received the Single String Studies for Guitar Vol 1 today. Please let me know how to start the singing exercises on it. It looks pretty intimidating.

I'm doing ok with the 5 note exercises with the metronome. I'm really trying to concentrate on pre-hearing the notes before singing them. In fact, the ones I can pre-hear I get right predictably. I was wondering if singing the notes in time doesn't increase the risk of singing the exercises as a melody? It doesn't seem to be happening to me so far.
A Singing the notes with a metronome does increase the likelihood of hearing a group of notes as a melody, but after this much time of you singing, thinking and pre-hearing the notes hopefully that habit is taking hold and that won't be a problem.

For the Single String Studies you want to take the 1st page and sing it over the C major vamp found on the Fanatic's Guide CD. If you need to adjust the octave of some notes based on your vocal range this is fine. You should use a metronome later after you feel more comfortable with the exercises. Once again this metronome should be very slow (quarter = 40 bpm). After you can sing the page at 40 bpm I want you to sing the same page but with the F major vamp from the Fanatic's Guide again working up to 40 bpm. You will then continue through all keys. Obviously as you change keys you change your solfeggio and certain notes will become non-diatonic so you will have to adjust the solfeggio. For example in the key of F you will sing the B as "fi".
 
Q I have been working with your eartraining books (One Note Intermediate and Fanatic's) for some months now. I am noticing improvements in my hearing.

But anyway, my questions are these:

1. In the One Note Intermediate I now have about 90-95% accuracy, but when I do make mistakes, it is usually in confusing a b5 with a 5, or a b6 with a b2. Once in a while I will mix up a b5 and a 4 or a b7 and 7. My question is, is this happening because I am
trying to use intervalic distance to get the notes right (meaning, I confuse the b5 and 4 because I am judging distance and am just missing the distance), or is it just because I don't completely know the sound of the note yet. It worried me because, the b5 and 4,
or the b7 and 7,or the b6 and b2 sound very different, so I wasn't sure if I was judging the distance between notes.

2. With the ear training, I find that my recognition of notes is much better than my ability to hear the notes in my head and sing them. Are there any other exercises you would recommend other than the ones mentioned in Fanatic's Guide that I should also do to better develop the ability to pre-hear notes and to accurately sing them.
A You probably still have some distance judging going on but the fact that you are mixing up b2 and b6 shows that you are also getting to know each note for it's original sound.

The exercises in the Fanatic's Guide should help you a lot to get closer to these notes. It's important that you do the Fanatic's Guide many times a day to reinforce your memory, which will help your pre-hearing. This whole process can take some time so be patient and be consistent. Missing a day is like missing 2 weeks in your current state so stick with it.
 
Q I've just received my copy of Ear Training One Note and Fanatic's Guide. I have two questions, I'll start with the easy one: in the ear training CD I can't help listening to the fundamental at the end of the cadence: the last chord is in root position, so the fundamental sounds longer, which makes it even harder. Is there any trick to correct this problem?

Now for the twisted question: in the Fanatic's Guide you teach the solfeggio syllables Do, Di, Ra, etc. To my understanding, these syllables are used to identify a relative pitch rather than a specific note, so if I asked you to sing 1 #1 2 in the key of Ab, you would sing "Do Di Ra", which would actually be Ab, A, Bb. However, I happen to be French. We don't use the letters C, D, E, F, G, A, B for the notes. We actually call them Do, Ré, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si. Which gives me almost the same syllables both for fixed note names and floating relative pitches, and a lot of headaches in prospect. I don't think I could unlearn the french syllables (they are very instictive), so what I would be inclined to do is transpose the solfeggio syllables, thus 1 #1 2 in Ab would be "Lay La Tay." Have you ever had French-speaking students in your classes? If so, how did they cope with this problem?
A You should be concentrating more on an overall sense of key rather than focusing on the root of the key. This will take time. What may be happening is you have weak key retention so you concentrate on the root to help you hold the key center. This is a natural reaction but over time you want to just have a sense of key rather than concentrating on one note. The Fanatic's Guide and singing exercises in general will help to develop your sense of key. Also keeping a steady practice schedule everyday will help. This is especially true if you can do the listening and singing multiple times throughout the day. This will really help to build key retention quickly. I guess with all things there are little tricks but really the majority of what is going on here is you changing your perception of sound which takes time. Sometimes you will feel like your getting nowhere and then other times you will have a breakthrough. The important thing is to police your mind and the process you are doing to make sure you aren't developing bad habits.

I have never had a French student that had any extreme problem changing there solfeggio. It's like learning anything new it will take time. Overall I think you need to develop some patience with yourself and believe that you have the capability to control your aural recognition destiny. You just need will power and concentration.
 
Q Thanks, for the response. I get your matrix idea. Upon closer analysis part of the problem is the frequency of review for the first exercise in the Fanatics book and being tactical about it.
I do a lot of the practice while driving so there are lots of distractions. The regime I'm now using to give each note the correct amount of practice is to have cards with each solfedge syllable written on one side and the other side numeric scale degree. I pick a card and sing that note against a key center and repeat this procedure through the deck. This way non-diatonic notes get twice as much attention as the diatonic. The cards are used in two ways: 1. One track per note. 2. One track all notes. As you have stated in your FAQ section to another student, and it's so true, you need to have the first exercise down 100% and each note equal in your pre-hearing. The bottom line is that each note in the "matrix" needs to be of equal strength in you mind. The problems that I have with singing two notes and hearing two notes goes back to how well do I have the first exercise in the Fanatics book down. I know this is something you say over and over, and I believe it, but the profoundness really hits you over the head at times. One thing that's amusing and a testament to the power of your method of ear training is the incidental scale degree identifications that happen. For example, when opening a door it makes one pitch and another when it closes and your mind says the second tone is a ME without consciously trying. I can't wait until that is an all the time thing when playing.
A Good to see your thinking about this and also noticing how your ear slowly educated itself. First it's doors closing and years from now it will be whole symphony orchestras. Just keep at it and be patient.
 
Q You are either going to make me a great musician or drive me absolutely nuts. Seriously, you have become a very important person in my life thru all the hard, voluminous work you've done. I now have a library wall filled with your stuff... its amazing and quite frankly humbling to view its onerous dimension as I select my work for the day. There is a great hazard to all this work however... Your voice keeps popping up in my sleep... can you imagine the nightmare created by your voice saying a# major and me waking up in terror screaming What the hell key is that?!!!!!

So I have all this stuff and a million questions as a result. Consequently, I have a favor to ask. Can you give me an idea of how many FAQs you answer a day? It will really help me gauge the types and forms of questions I will present. I know you really don't have the time to wax philosophic but some of the questions I have are seeking to find the principles, testimony and thinking behind the exercises. I'm a teacher by profession and naturally gravitate to your expertise as a teacher as well as musician. For example, one of the assignments you gave me was to read Mind to Molecules. I have several questions to ask concerning the learning foundations you use in relation to this fabulous book. I am not sure how to proceed in the most expeditious way with these questions unless I have some idea how to limit their scope to your schedule.

Here are a couple of questions... I have b2 paralysis!!! I cannot for the life of me hear c in a b min cadence as a flat 2 in key note... it always sounds like b7 or 4(?) I've been trying for about 4 months and cannot get it!!! I have even made tapes with the minor progression and tried to sing b2 against a c minor 7 chord... can't get it. What is wrong with my old brain? I think I have sensitized rather than habituated to b2... although its a piece of cake in One note. The same problem occurs in 2 note when I need to hear a b2 modulation ie against B and f# or B and D#... C modulates but not to b2. Otherwise the exercises are going fine... do you have any suggestions or drugs that can help me with my old brain.

Also, I have been working on the e string in c maj. exercise u assigned me... have got thru c, f, Bb, and Eb up to 80mm... great exercise. I noticed something interesting while working in this exercise... I can automatically sing them at extremely slow tempos... ie I will set metronome at 100 and am able to sing any exercise in any key correctly... (with pre-hearing) at about 3 clicks per note (33.3mm). It really proves your point... I do not have to rely on intervals, or essentially another note, to hear and sing notes... I can hear automatically!! Even if it is at impractically slow tempos. I am proceeding thru this exercise starting at 33 and slowly building up to 80 and beyond... it takes about a week, but its working... the problem is that sometimes my vocal chords get a little strained... especially with wider intervals. My mom, who is a singer, says You must sing into your mask... and she proceeds to grab my face and makes me hum... I have no idea what she is talking about!! Can you suggest anything to help my poor vocal cords?

I also bought Lines... It is great!!!!!! I am working thru the beginning level exercises that correspond to the key I work on in my string exer. The substitutions to rhythm changes are fantastic and it is very interesting to hear a single line with these substitutions in mind. I am singing these exercises both against a drone and while playing the changes. I am not paying attention to modulation while doing this... should I cease and desist because of this? Also bought your blues bass line construction book and am singing one or 2 a week... This is great stuff... the only thing is... I have stopped my work on fanatics exercises... please don't cringe... I like them but this stuff is too good to pass on... please give your blessings in this pursuit... but I will be obedient if you should break my heart and order Back to the Book Son.

Ok enough... I know I have exceeded my yearly allotment of Tome questions... so I will shorten these sessions in the future... however... just to give you fair warning, i also bought the big metronome and doing time with the blues as well as Blue Eleven (unbelievable... u r my idol) and have billions of questions... just be glad i can't type or my importuning might just lead you to having nightmares about me. thanks for everything.
A Got a kick out of your email. Thanks for your kind words. Just remember this whole process takes years of work be patient but also drive yourself to understand and improve.

The amount of FAQs really varies quite a bit. There is usually one a day sometimes five. Some take very little time to answer while others require a lot of back and forth to figure out the best course of action to help the student.

b2 paralysis is very common. It took me 6 months of banging my head up against the wall before I got b6. The best thing you can do is keep the sound in your short term memory as much as possible sooner or later your permanent memory will let it in and then you have it.

You need to get support from your diaphragm when you sing and always have enough air in your lungs. If you can push the air with your diaphragm rather than your throat it should help.

It's OK to work on singing out of the LINES or the Bass Lines book. Both books will work fine if you sing them over a drone.

I don't mind the questions. The most important thing for me is you do everything correctly. The basic directions are all in the books but it's easy to misinterpret or just become lazy when it comes to some aspect. I'm also fine with answering questions about the principles behind the methods I use. The fact that you're waking up with nightmares is good in that it means you care about getting this stuff right. Enjoy the moments when you become clear or better at something and keep striving for the next level. I'm hear to tell you it's all worth the effort. Keep in touch.

PS Not that I want you to jump off a cliff somewhere but you should also check out the recommended reading list at:

http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/further.html

I can recommend some places to start and ways to think about each book on a general and specific level.
 
Q When pre-hearing a note while doing fanatics guide, what is this note supposed to sound like in my head. I know this sounds like a seemingly stupid question. But should I be hearing a voice inside my head that goes Do or May or whatever note I'm trying to sing. Sometime I hear what sounds like a piano playing the desired note in my head. I feel as if when I do pre-hear that the sound inside my head feels as if it came from nowhere, and feels like a very abstract thing. Perhaps there is no right answer to this question, but I just thought it would be better to ask and find out.
A I think the sound, or image of a sound, people hear is different for each person. I think it would be similar to other types of sounds you try to hear in your head. Imagine words or sounds you know well and see what happens inside. This will give you a good idea of what the pitches will sound like.
 
Q I've been working for one and a half month with your ear training and sight singing methods. In my last message, I told you I couldn't help hearing the fundamental and applying an interval. As strange as it may seem, I've solved this problem by starting with the advanced CD. Then I've moved to intermediate and now I'm back to advanced. I also told you about my concern with solfeggio syllables and french note names; you were right about that, it's not so hard to deal with.

Today I feel confident about my progress : one note recognition is becoming more and more instinctive; as for singing, I don't know all the notes yet but it's only a matter of time.

I have two questions :
1. Do you have tricks to tell if a student is not using the right method? For example, I sometimes confuse F# and B, which might indicate that I rely on their strong tendency to resolve to the higher semi-tone (I hope to solve that when I cover those notes in my singing practice).
2. As beautiful as the I-V-IV cadence is, I'd like to start applying my new skills to real music :-) Sometimes I use a real CD (simple songs, no key changes) for my singing practice, although I find it much harder. I've also tried having my computer play random notes over a CD to work on ear training. Is this a good approach? I've noticed that pitch recognition is harder when the song is in a minor key, is it supposed to become easier over time?

PS : I've received my copy of Single String Studies today. I'm really happy to note that my ear training tremendously helps me to play the exercises without looking at my fretboard.
A Many students find if they start with the intermediate CD that it helps them. It takes less key retention to do the intermediate CD than compared to the beginning. Most students when they start out are weak in their key retention and this is why I recommend using the Fanatic's Guide to help build key retention and basic knowledge of the notes.

Glad to hear the solfeggio isn't causing you much trouble now.

There are many indications that I use when I teach to tell if a student isn't doing the ear training correct. Many of these can be found in the FAQs for the ear training books on the muse-eek.com website. Your example of mixing up F# and B is common. You could be using resolution tendencies. One way to counteract this is to guess the answer quickly which will stop your mind from thinking to much and it will just react based on memory.

Your examples of using a real a CD with simple songs, no key changes for my singing practice, or playing random notes over a CD to work on ear training is OK to do. Just be careful for now to just use music that has one chord change. After you work your way through Key Note Recognition and start 2 note ear training then we can talk more about other real music things you can do to improve.
 
Q Could you give me a practical scenario to help me understand how the 2 note workouts will be applied to real musical situations? How do you use this modulating, 'do' in the 'automatic' sense your method is aimed at in your present work and can you give a recent example from one of your gigs?

Finally, can you give me a brief history of how your hearing skills progressed as they correspond to each method you have developed to attain automatic hearing. The hard work would sure go a lot easier if I can get a handle on some of the improvements I can look forward to in my hearing and musicianship. Now I know this is a tough assignment and I know that your not getting paid... but I am sure everyone in the FAQ room will be tickled pink to hear your testimony!!!!! Besides I will gladly send you exotic food stuffs, my Mickey Mantle baseball cards... oh what the heck... my first born... just to get a little more insight. take your time... no rush on this one and I will be eternally grateful.
A With rhythm you need to first do the basic building blocks of counting and thinking the rhythm/time in order to learn what a rhythm sounds like. After that you should progress to more of a Big Metronome approach. So your method of learning is good as you stated.

The 2 note ear training teaches you to modulate and also helps you to gain more experience with the one note ear training but now you have to identify multiple notes. There are many applications of this two note method. One of the most common is a situation where you are playing one note on your instrument, let's say a C, and it sounds like the tonic and then it starts sounding like the 3rd then you have modulated to the key of Ab. Two note method also helps you the split up multiple notes in your mind and be able to identify them.

As far as my ear training history I don't think it is really that relevant because each person is different and I don't think my progression through these exercises will have any bearing on you or anyone else. I will give you a brief idea of my experience just to satisfy your interest. One of the reasons why I have so many methods to help you develop your ear training skills is because I have a lot of difficulty with learning ear training. I did the interval thing in college and always got an A in the class but found it didn't help me hear music in the real world. When I started the technique I teach now it took me a very long time to unlearn intervals and then relearn how to hear within a key. One Note Ear Training took me 1 and 1/2 years to get down. I had to do a lot of singing too to help my improvement. This is one of the reasons why the Fanatic's Guide has so many exercises in it. I had to go through that amount of singing before I could hear the one note ear training. Each of the other exercises i.e. Key Note Recognition and two + ear training exercises all took quite a bit of time for me to master.

The application of the ear training covers all aspects of music making. I use it to tell what key chord progressions are in by using the Key Note Recognition method. I can tell how a progression is modulating by using the two note method and I can hear individual notes by using the one note method. Probably the most profound effect this has upon your playing and music is you become much more musical in your playing and composing. Once you hear music correctly it makes all the difference in how you hear, what you hear and how you interact with other musicians. There isn't an end to the ear training process I still work at various aspects of ear training mostly applying it to the music I write. Many people also don't realize how hearing makes there physical ability on their instrument improve. Once you really hear what you are playing you play it much better and your able to play faster and with more accuracy. Ear Training is absolutely the most important thing you can do for yourself to improve your musical ability. You should look at it as a life long path that will always keep you as close to the essence of music at all times.
 
Q Are there books that train you to hear chord progressions?
A My ear training method prepares you step by step to hear more and more complicated aural situations. You can't learn to hear chord progressions before you can hear one note, two note, modulations etc. You have to build up to hear multiple notes that either modulate or don't. If you feel this makes sense to you I would start with Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatics Guide. Once you have finished those books write back and I'll give you the next group of books and exercises to do. You can also check the many FAQs and additional suggested materials posted on the muse-eek.com website for more information.
 
Q I have previously studied classical guitar, especially Spanish master's pieces by Tarrega, Torres and Segovia, and some Brazilians like Villalobos, obviously as an interpreter. Needless to say, in a pretty much mechanistic way since I feel my knowledge in music theory is rather too modest, not to say mediocre.

I've read outstanding reviews about your accomplished musicianship and teaching approaches and therefore I would like to get some advise from you; I am planning to purchase some of your publications and in face of your prolific editorial production I would like to count on your proficient advise to choose the right ones for me. As I said before, I have some background, I don't have huge playing limitations, in terms of my playing skills I would rank myself as an intermediate-to-advanced amateur player. I am looking forward to getting an in-depth understanding of basics in chord construction, classification and terminology, intervals and scales over chords concepts. Needless to say, exercises on modes and scales are always welcome as well as other concepts not mentioned above.
A I would recommend the following books for you.

Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two
Chord Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two
Ear Training One Note Complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training
Guitar Technique Ebook

If you let me know the amount of time you have to practice I will help you with a practice schedule. If you want me to do this also let me know when throughout the day you might have 10 to 15 minutes of down time that you could do ear training exercises with a discman.

You need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique book and be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play.

You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the book or create your own. Download the applying music theory article from the member's area this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales.

PS Guitar Clinic would also be a good book because the back of the book contains information on 3 very important concepts of improvisation.
 
Q I am a singer, wanting to improve my sight singing abilities (to improve my capabilities as a session singer). I am not quite sure about which of your books I should get. I have had some theory and can squeak by with sight reading... I think I would consider myself a beginner.
A I think the best course of study for you would be studying out of 3 books.

Ear Training One Note Complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training
Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments.

The two ear training books will get you going on a course of learning to reprogram your ears to hear correctly and therefore sing better. The theory book will help you develop your knowledge of music so it becomes more natural for you. If you feel like this is the course of study you want to do contact me after you get the books and I'll help you with a practice schedule.
 
Q Hello, I am a student at Harvard College, though I am taking this year off to pursue other interests. High on my list is Jazz guitar. The reason I'm contacting you is to ask your advice. I've been playing guitar for many years. I've also played bass and classical piano. I have a fairly strong background in music, that is, my ear, manual dexterity, and basic musical knowledge (with the addition of a few Music Theory courses) is present. Still with Jazz, it's spotty, as I've never had a teacher for guitar. I've learned what I could from books and listening, and I've come a long way in this respect. I've reached a point where I very much want to solidify my groundings in Jazz theory. I have the enthusiasm, passion, work-ethic and ambition, but I lack direction. Can you recommend a way that I can get to the level appropriate to show up to a jam session and be on the same page as other Jazz musicians? Should I go straight to lessons? Should I enroll in a jazz theory course? Or would I be wasting my time and money with both of these, when I could make a lot of progress on my own (following a book you might recommend, perhaps one of your books and your website)?
A I'm going to make a leap of faith here and figure that you have a decent knowledge of scales but probably haven't organized them well or know them like you need to know them in every key. Furthermore I'm figuring you know the name of any note on the guitar fretboard if I pointed to a note. I'm also figuring you know your basic barre chords with the root on the low E or A string. Let me know if I'm not correct.

Given that this information is close to correct I think we need to first completely organize your knowledge of the fretboard in regards to scales. To do this you to need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn/review these scales. Using the fingering suggested on the downloaded sheets I want you to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. I'd recommend you buy the Guitar Technique ebook and check out how I recommend you play the guitar.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006J9UF/museeekpublishin

Be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play.

You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to Music Theory Workbook Volume Two or make up your own. You can find the Music Theory Workbook files under the book title on the muse-eek.com website. Also download the applying music theory article from the member's area. This will give you other ideas on sequencing scales.

So to review: For scale study download the scales and get Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two and the Guitar Technique ebook.

Nothing you do on the guitar is going to be worth anything if you can't hear correctly so get the following books. Ear Training One Note Complete. Try to listen to the Ear Training One Note CD 5 to 10 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure to go to www.muse-eek.com and read all the FAQs. This can help you think of this practice correctly. Also get the book Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training and start working on the first assignment in the book. There are also a few suggested lessons in the muse-eek.com member's area for the Fanatic's Guide. You can join the member's are for free after buying the books.

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/members/members1.html

We are also going to review and apply all your chords with the root on the 5th and 6th string. I want you to start learning the chord progressions in the back of the book. Learn both versions of each progression. By this I mean learn the chords using the chord symbols but also look in the very back of the book and learn the progressions by just looking at the actual notes. If you find chords you don't know look them up in the book. You also need to read the section of Chord Reharmonization which precedes the chord progressions. This information is extremely important to help you understand how to analyze, create and alter chord progressions. We are also going to use this information to superimpose melodic lines later on. You should try to learn at least a couple of progressions per week. There are mp3 files up on the muse-eek.com website for these progressions. Look under the title and you will see a folder on the left side called mp3.
 
Q I have been working with one note and fanatics guide for several months now, and although slowly, I am progressing as time goes on. Even though I am at a VERY beginning level still, I have found a few days ago while listening to Ali Akbar Khan, I could assign scale degrees to most of what he was playing during the slow section with no percussion. My question is, do you think it would be wise at this time to start working on the rhythm aspect of ear training as well? If so, what books of yours would you suggest I pick up and start working on?
A You will need to get the following books:

Rhythm Primer
Rhythms Volume One
Rhythms Volume Two

Once you have the books get back to me and I'll give you an assignment.
 
Q I have obtained the following books:

Guitar technique (thanks for the email version)
Guitar clinic
Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol 2
ET one note complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training
Rhythm primer
Rhythms Vol 1
Single String Studies Vol 1
Chord Workbook Vol 1

Rhythm primer: started working assignments on page xxi. These are not difficult for me, but the faster tempos (whole note = much above 60) seem excessive in that by that point I think I have gotten what I need out of the exercise from a reading standpoint.

ET one note: I read through the book and understand what you are saying. I was on the road in the car a lot this week with the first CD on random play. What a blast! I get more than 80% right overall, but have particular problems with b5, b7 and the highest register for some unknown reason. I'm working on it.

Fanatic's guide: I can sing 1, 3 and 5 in all keys and am working on the other diatonic tones.

Let me also say that I am deeply impressed by your scholarship and dedication. I have been teaching and studying for years and have never seen such a comprehensive and well-thought-out method.

I could use some guidance through this vast forest of material. What next?
A The reason for the faster tempos in Rhythm Primer is to get your eye moving quickly across measures of music. Don't underestimate the importance of this. You should also check out the file on beat reading found in the member's area. This is closely related to training your eye to move ahead of the music which is key to sight reading.

As far as the other books first check out the modal sequencing information found in the Guitar Clinic and the Applying music theory in the member's area. As mentioned before I want you get all 19 scales listed on the www.arnoldjazz.com music workshop website down in all keys from every degree. Remember we are just doing an introduction to a