Contextualizing the Key for Ear Training

Q: I’ve been playing guitar for 25 years but embarrassingly still feel like a hack because I play mostly licks and patterns I’ve memorized. I’m 40 now and don’t know if it’s too late for me to develop my ears to the point where I can improvise freely without having to rely on scale positions. I have several hours available for practice every day but have doing the 10 – 20 min sessions you recommend in FAQ about 5 times a day. Ear Training One Note is pretty rough so far but I expected as much after reading about other peoples experiences with it. I am finding the Contextual Ear Training even harder. Is it to be performed in the same manner as Ear Training One Note in the beginning where you just sing the pitch by guessing? Is it ok to work through one key at a time or is the idea that the key should always be random? Do you think singing chromatic scales would be helpful? I’ll see if I can find more information in the FAQ. I might have missed something.

A: Thanks for the background information. First it’s never too late to develop any aspect of your musicianship. To develop to a point that you can improvise freely without having to rely on scale positions will take a combination of ear training and understanding a few improvisational techniques along with a better knowledge of the guitar fretboard. I could make some recommendations on what to work on for guitar studies but would need some background on your scale, fingerboard knowledge and the amount of music theory you have studied.
Ear Training One Note is not easy it really requires you to reprogram the way you hear sound. It will totally revolutionize your understanding of music and greatly change how you approach music but something that profound will take time to develop. Try to also use any available time you have during walks or commuting to listen to the one note ear training. Remember this is all about memory so the more you hear the notes the better. Contextualizing is usually the hardest for students I would just start with singing the root to every major and minor key and then expand from there as I recommend on my Blog. You could sing chromatic scales as long as you have a drone in the background to reinforce the key center. A good thing to use for drones is the MetroDrone which along with creating a good background for ear training can also be used with most technical studies you might be doing on the guitar. MetroDrone basically is a great way to help you do ear training as you practice anything on the guitar. You could also look into Fanatic’s Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing which will have many ideas for singing various groups of notes to help you memorize their sound.

Hope that helps. In general please stay in touch and let me know your progress or if you have any further questions.

Best Regards,

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.

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