Direct Application Ear Training Dorian CD

Q: Dear Bruce, I’m working on the Direct Applications Ear Training Series. I‘m finding Major tonality MP3s easier than the Dorian. In Dorian my ear seems to hear in C major and this is really getting me upset.

Any suggestions?

A: Thanks for getting back to me. It is not unusual for students to find any key center other than Major to be a problem. They also have difficulty if the one chords is Major but has many tensions attached. This is why I created four levels of Key Note Recognition. Key Note Recognition’s four levels add more and more tensions into the “one chord” which will build up your ability to hear more and more complicated key centers. I’ve also created the following courses which give you different types of key centers preparing you for real music situations where these key centers are commonly used.

All of these courses help you broaden your ability to hear different types of key centers. If you want to know what is going on with you, this is a good example: When humans learn, they learn in one context at a time. So One Note Ear Training with the I IV V I cadence followed by a note is one context. Students need to learn in many contexts in order to apply the ear training properly to real musical situations. If you have ever studied a foreign language, you had to go through the same thing. First you learned the language and then you applied it in real situations. This is one reason why it is recommended to go live in the country of the language you are trying to learn, to experience the many different “contexts” that present themselves as people speak the language there.

Let me know if you have further questions

Bruce

Q: Thanks Bruce, You are becoming a true inspiration for me, I started working on ear training some years ago developing your technique without being aware of it and now using your books is just what I need at this moment. I will continue to practice with the Fanatic’s Guide Volume 1 and then Volume 2

In which order should I work on the following books?

Thanks, for all your help!

A: Thanks I appreciate your kind words. If you have the time I would work with:

Extreme One Note Ear Training once or twice a day for 5 minutes.
Direct Applications Ear Training MP3s both Major and Dorian. If you aren’t having problems with the Direct Application Ear Training Major and Dorian MP3s, just skip those tracks and concentrate on the ones that are causing you problems. Pick a different track each time, rotating through them until you are getting 80% correct answers. Do this 3X a day, listening to a different track each time.
Key Note Recognition. Work on 1st level only. Do this 2X a day for 5 minutes.
“Scale Analysis” This course will take about 30 minutes a week. The “Scale Analysis” book will teach you how to intellectually understanding and then hear the chords and the scales for an entire chord progression. This is a super important concept to understand. Think of the “Scale Analysis” course as a music theory assignment at first, then as you get more competent with these other courses, you can start concentrating on the “ear training” side of the course.
Secondary Dominants. I would do this after you have finished with the Direct Applications CDs and the 1st level of Key Note Recognition. This course is great for helping you hear 7 different secondary dominants and understand how to think about the scales that go with those chords. I usually recommend this book right after you get 80% correct answers on the One Note Ear Training, but that is for students who are heavily into learning to improvise. The “Scale Analysis” and the “Secondary Dominants” books are very closely related. Think of the “Secondary Dominants” book as a course where you isolate a few common chord progressions, while the “Scale Analysis” book looks at complete chord progressions.
I know you are working on the Fanatic’s Guide Volume One too. Just remember that your current weakness is hearing key centers other than Major. You could take the alternate key center MP3s from Fanatic’s Guide Volume Two and sing the exercises in Fanatic’s Guide Volume One. I’d do this a couple of times a day for 5 minutes, concentrating on one key center type that is hard for you.

I know this is a lot of stuff to organize and do each day but if you have a bunch of these 5 minute intervals throughout the day when you are commuting or eating lunch etc… that is a perfect time to do all these different exercises. It’s really only about one hour of ear training a day, it is just broken up into bite-sized chunks. Many students find it is more engaging to work with a variety of exercises because they don’t get as bored as staying with the same exercise all the time.

Stay in touch, because ear training can be very tricky and sometimes what you think is the logical thing to do actually isn’t correct. It seems like you are doing well, so keep up the good work and keep working on those Direct Application Ear Training.

Don’t be afraid to let me know if you have further questions! Bruce

It is also recommended that you read Bruce Arnold’s Blog at his artist site. It contains more discussion of the musical topics found in these FAQs as well as other subjects of interest. You will also find the “Music Education Genealogy Chart” located here which shows you the historic significance of the music education products found on the Muse Eek Publishing Company Website.

Direct Application Ear Training

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