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Posted:February6,2014

Tips for Developing Your Ear

Haveyoueverenviedsomeonewhohastheabilitytolistentoapieceofmusiconceandthen
instantlyreplicatethetuneontheguitar?Haveyouevermarveledatsomeonewhocanplayjust
aboutanysongrequestedofthemwithoutbenefitofmusicalnotation?Haveyoueverwishedtobe
abletojotdownatunethatpopsintoyourheadwhileyou'reridingonabusorwaitingtomeet
someoneinarestaurant?Ifyoustrugglewiththingslikeimprovisingandsongwriting,takeheart.
Chancesareyourproblemsarenotduetoalackofcreativity,butratheranundevelopedear.
Asamusician,yourearsarethemostimportantpartofyouranatomy.Theabilityto"playbyear"
isoneofthemosthighlyprizedofallmusicalskills.Despitethepopularmisconceptionthatyou
havetobeborn"gifted"toplayintuitively,playingguitarbyearisamusicalskillthatcanbe
learnedifyouareagoodlistener.

Musicisanauralorhearingart.Assuch,theearactsastheintermediarybetweenyourmusical
ideasandtheexecutionoftheseideas.Playingmusicwithouthavingatrainedearisliketryingto
speakaforeignlanguagewithoutunderstandingthewords.Granted,youcouldlearnbyrote.Itis
indeedpossibletolearnhowtopresstherightfretsontherightstringsintherightsequencesimply
byrepetition,butifyoudon'tunderstandtheactual"words"thenotes,intervalsandharmonies
you'remerelyexercisingyourfingers.Yourfingersarelearning,butnotyourears.This"muscle
memory,"asitisknown,isinfamouslyunreliabletoo,especiallywhenitcomestoperforming.With
anxietyrunninghigh,there'sagoodchancethatyou'llblankoutrightwhenyoumostneedyour
memory.Withoutauralskills,you'llhavenoearstofallbackon.
Eartrainingisallaboutlearningtorecognizesoundsusingyourearsandfortifyingtheconnection
betweenyourheadandyourfingers.Itistheskillbywhichwelearntoidentifypitches,intervals,
melody,chords,rhythms,andotherbasicelementsofmusicsolelybyhearing.Awelltrainedear
allowsthemusicthatyouhearinyourheadtocomeoutthroughyourfingertips.Itgivesyouthe
sensitivityandabilitytoplaywhatyouhearandfeelwithouthavingtorelyonseeinganoteand
thenpressingthecorrespondingplaceonthefretboard,anddoingthisnotebynotebynote,which
cangiveyourplayingasomewhatmechanicalsound.Without"bigears,"eventhemostadept
playerismerelyatechnician.Withthem,however,thatplayertrulybecomesanartist.
Youraimthenistolearnto"hear"withyoureyesand"see"withyourears.Yourfingersmustbe
guidedatalltimesbyyourinnerear.Youshouldn'thearbecauseyouplay,ratheryouplaybecause
youhear.Inotherwords,youdon'thearanotesimplybecauseyouhappentohavestrucktheright
string,youstriketherightstringbecauseyouheartherightnoteinyourmind'sear.Thisisthe
essenceofgettingthemindaheadofthefingers,andthisistheultimategoalofeartraining.But
howexactlydoyoupracticeeartraining?Let'sbeginbytakingalookatsomekeyconceptsof
auraldevelopment.
Intervals
Intervalsarethebuildingblocksofmelodyandharmony.Theymeasurethedistancebetweenany
twopitches.Intervaltrainingisagreatwaytodevelopyoursenseofrelativepitch,whichallows
youtoimprovisefreely,playsongsbyear,andwriteyourownmusic.Itcanhelpyoulearnto
recognizeandreproduceintervals,andconnectthecharacteristicsoundswiththeircorresponding
names.Youcanimproveintervalrecognitionbydoingspecificintervaleartrainingexerciseswhere
youpracticehearingthedifferencebetweenonetypeofintervalandanother.Intervaltrainingwill
helpyoutoappreciateandunderstandharmonies,hearhowmelodiesareconstructed,playbyear
usingaheightenedsenseofpitchdistances,sightsingbyusingintervalstounderstandthesheet
music,anddistinguishmistakesorinaccuraciesinpitchandtuning.Intervaltrainingshouldbe
centraltoyoureartrainingpractice.
Chords
Chordsarehowmusicianstendtothinkaboutharmonyinmusic:multiplenotesplayedatonce.
Differentcombinationsofnoteswillhavedifferentcharacteristicsoundsbasedontherelativepitch

relationshipsbetweentheirnotes.Chordeartrainingexercisesteachyoutoidentifywhatmakes
thesecombinationsdistinctive.Youneedtounderstandthestructuresandfunctionsofchordsand
learntofeelthequalityofthem.Chordrecognitionisnotonlyusefulforplayingbyearandfor
writingmusic,butitalsoallowsyoutohearmoredetailinthemusicyoulistentoandplaymore
effectivelywithothermusiciansduringaperformance.
ChordProgressions
Achordprogressionisaseriesofchordsinmusic.Thisisanotherrelativepitchlisteningskill,as
yourecognizethesequenceofchordsbasedontherelationshipbetweeneachchordandthenext,
oreachchordandthekey'stonic.Youlistenfortheintervalbetweeneachtonicnote.Ifyou're
tryingtoworkouthowtoplaytheaccompanimentofasongbyear,chordprogressioneartraining
isthekey.
Scales
Ascaleissimplythepaletteofnotesyoudrawoninaparticularmusicalcontext.Connectthe
theoryofscaleswiththeiractualsoundthrougheartrainingandscalescanbecomeapowerfultool
inyourmusicalarsenal.Justlikewithchordsandintervals,therearedifferenttypesofscales,and
scaleeartrainingletsyoulearntorecognizethesebyear.Atfirstyouwilllearntorecognizethe
scalewhenplayedupanddowninsequencefromthetonic,butasyouimproveyourscale
recognitionskills,youcanlearntorecognizescaleswhenthey'reusedinmelodyandharmonytoo.
Usescaletrainingtobuildonyourfamiliaritywithmajorandminorscalesbyintroducingmore
advancedscaletypesandmoreversatilescalerecognition.
Rhythm
Rhythmisthebasisofallmusic.Countingbeatsisanessentialpartofbeingabletoreadandplay
music.Playingoutoftimeistheonethingthatlistenerswillnotforgive.Andifyouwanttoplay
withothersinaband,rhythmisimperativetostayinginsync.Agoodmusicaleardemandsthat
youdevelopanequallygoodunderstandingofrhythmicvariation.Rhythmdictation,rhythm
reading,rhythmimitation,andrhythmcorrectionaresomeoftheexercisesyouwanttoworkon.
Thegoalistounderstand,identify,andreproducerhythmicpatterns.
Melody
Oneofthemaingoalsofeartrainingistostrengthenyourpowersofvisualizationbeingableto
hearaphraseandimmediatelyvisualizehowitwilllookandfeelwhenplayedonyourinstrument.
Melodicdictationiscloselytiedtovisualization,andisaskillthatmostexperiencedimprovisers
andcomposershavedevelopedtoahighdegree.Tobeginbuildingthisimportantskill,startwith
veryshortfragments(threeorfournotes)ofasimplemelody.Trytosingthephraseandconvert
thetonesofthemelodytoscalenumbers.Visualizehowthemelodywilllookandfeelonyour
guitar.Soonyouwillbereadytomoveontolonger,morecomplexphrases.Noticehowthelonger
phrasesareoftenmadeupofshortermelodicpatternsthatyoualreadyknow.Asyourability

increases,youwilleventuallybeabletomentallypracticeandcomposemusicawayfromyour
instrument.
Thereareexercisesforinterval,chord,chordprogression,scales,rhythm,andmelodytrainingall
overtheinternet,includinghereontheGuitarTrickssite.Besuretocheckthemoutandgivethem
ago.Yourearwillthankyou.
Herearesomeadditionaltipstohelpyouincorporateauraltrainingintoyourdailypracticesession:
Listenandidentifywhatisplayingaroundyou
Oneofthebestwaystoexerciseyourearsistolistentothemusicthatisplayingaroundyou
duringtheday.Whetherit'sasongontheradioorajingleontelevision,you'resurroundedby
musicthatcanteachyou.Startaskingyourselfquestions.Canyoupickoutthekeythesongis
writtenin?Isthatkeyamajororminorkey?Whatisthetempoofthesong,andwhereandwhen(if
ever)doesthetempochange?Canyouidentifytheintervalsbetweenthenotesinthemelody?
Whatarethechords?Whatchorddoesthesongstartonandwheredoestheharmonygofrom
there?Onceyougetcomfortablewithlisteningtomusicinthisway,grabyourguitarandstart
interactingwithwhatyouhearbyplayingalong.
Singwhatyouplay
Thiswillhelptogetyourearinsyncwiththesoundsyourfingersarecreating.Forexample,you
canplayaCmajorscale(CDEFGAB)inanypositionandsingeachnoteofthescaleasyou
playit,beingverycarefultosingonpitchasaccuratelyaspossible.Startwithonenote:playthe
note,singit,andthenplayandsingthenotesimultaneously.Thengototwonotes.Onceyoufeel
comfortable,takealittlepieceofthatscale,say,thenotesC,D,EandF,andcreateaverysimple
melodywiththesenotesforyoutosingsimultaneously,lajazzguitaristGeorgeBenson.
Playalongwithsongs
Startoffbychoosingasimplesong(nurseryrhymes,Christmascarols,easypopularsongs,etc.)
andplayalong,notefornote.Thismethodwillhelpyouwithyourrhythmandallowyoutoclearly
hearyourmistakes.
Activelylistentosomeofyourfavoriteguitarists
Activelisteninginvolvesfullengagementwiththemusic.Thisisnotthekindoflisteningyoudo
whenyou'redrivingdowntheroadwithyourwindowdownandtheradioblasting.Useagoodpairof
headphonesorgoodspeakersandlimityourdistractions.Listenforthingslikedynamics,
articulation,howtheplayersrespondtoeachother,textures,rhythms,tone,etc.Anddon'tlimit
yourselftoonlythegenres,players,andinstrumentsyoulike.Branchout.
Learntotuneyourguitarbyear

Tuningaguitarbyearteachesyoutohearintervalsbetweenstringsandnotes.Theabilitytotune
byearisalsomightyconvenientwhenatuningaidisn'tavailable.
Transcribemusic
Anothergreatwaytotrainyourselftoreallyhearwhatyou'replayingistopracticetranscribing
music.Whenyoudothis,youaredependingentirelyonyourearstoguideyouthroughasong.
First,pickasong.Again,chooseasimplesongtostartwith,like"HappyBirthday,"asyoualready
knowexactlyhowitshouldsound.Thesimplicityofasongimprovesyourchancesofbeingableto
playitbyear.Sitdownwithyourguitar,andstartbyplayingarandomnoteandthenworkyourway
throughtherestofthemelodyfromthere.Keepplayingthesonguntilyou'vemasteredit.Once
thathappens,trytofigureoutthemelodyagain,startingfromanotherrandomnote.Takethetime
toidentifywhatthenamesoftheintervalsarethatmakeupthemelody,listeningtoeachspecific
intervalasyouworkthroughthemelody.Trytodothiswithacouplesongseveryday.Whenyou're
comfortableworkingthroughthemelodies,starttryingtofigureoutwhatchordswouldgowiththat
melody.Afteryou'veconqueredfamiliarsongs,starttranscribingguitarsolosbyear.Keep
challengingyourselfwithmoredifficultmaterial.
Trainingyoureartohearmusiciscriticaltoyourdevelopmentasamusician.Itisjustasimportant
aslearningtoreadmusic.Therearemanywaystosharpenyourauralskills.Thesearejustsome
ofthebasicsthatwillhelpyoutobegintoopenupyourears.Usetheseconceptsandtipsasa
springboardtofurtherexploreeartraining.
Remember,yourearneedsconstantpracticejustlikeyourhandsdo.Honingyoureartakestime,
sosetsomeasideeachdaythatisdedicatedsolelytofocusingoneartraining.Persevereandbe
patientwithyourselfasyouworktodevelopyourear.Expectprogresstobeslowbutsteady,just
likeyourphysicalguitarplaying,buttheunparalleledfreedomtoplaywhatyouhearandfeelas
wellasadeeperappreciationforandenjoymentofmusicthatcomesfromyoureffortswillbeso
worthit.

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