Ear Training Transcription

Ear Training Transcription

Q: Can I use my guitar to help me when I transcribe? Also based on what I understand from reading the Ear Training One Note Complete book when I’m given the I IV V I cadence this gives my ear a sense of key. When I hear the note I am listening for what that particular note sounds like against the key center.  Ultimately I’m trying to memorize its sound in relationship to the key center.

A: You are correct that the cadence gives your ear a sense of key. Using your guitar isn’t a bad idea but you will need to improve your note recognition on the instrument before it will be of much use. To help improve your note recognition on the guitar I would recommend the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One in combination with the MetroDrone would be a great way to get your ear training and guitar playing synced.. I realize you have some Music Theory and Reading background but you need to transfer this information to the guitar fretboard and these books will do that for you.

Keep in mind that the ear training book’s exercises will take quite a bit of time before you are transcribing Chet Atkins chord solos. You will need to be very proficient with One Note Ear Training and certainly passed out of Ear Training One Note Extreme. In addition many people need to work with the Ear Training Melodic Series for a while. I would also recommend getting started on the Scale Analysis book because ultimately this will teach you how your hear scales and chord progressions in common situations. Working with the Four Levels of Key Note Recognition will also help develop your sense of key with other types of key center because not all music is in a simple major or minor triadic key center. Also your ear training ability will improve at a much faster rate if you do some singing exercises like those found in Contextual Ear Training or Fanatic’s Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing. I should also mention that many of the chords that Chet uses can be found in the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. You should at least learn and apply these chords to the guitar so when your transcription ability improves you will have the physical technique to play these sorts of chord melodies.

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.

Ear Training Transcription