Ear Training 1

Unit 5
2013 Musicians Institute
 Unit 5: Melodies
• In this Unit you will learn about:

• Diatonic Interval
P1 MA2 MA3 P4 P5 MA6 MA7 P8
Recognition

• Melodic Range

• Melodies That
Do Not Start 5-6-5-3-1
With Tonic
 Review of Intervals
• Practicing intervals on a daily basis is an essential part to developing a great ear.
Sing (ascending and descending) the following intervals with the piano
accompaniment.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
 Major Second (MA2)
• A helpful way to recognize an ascending major second (MA2) is to hum or sing
the chorus of “Happy Birthday”. For a descending major second, use “Mary Had
a Little Lamb.

• Listen to the major second ascending example, “Happy Birthday”:

Hap - py birth day to you

MA2

• Listen to the major second descending example, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”:

Ma - ry had a lit - tle lamb

MA2
 Major Third (MA3)
• A helpful way to recognize an ascending major third (MA3) is to hum or sing
the first part of “Oh, When the Saints Come Marching In”. For a descending
major third, use the first two notes of “Summertime”.

• Listen to the major third ascending example, “Oh, When the Saints Come
Marching In”:
Oh when the Saints...

MA3

• Listen to the major third descending example, “Summertime”:

Sum - mer - time and the liv - vin‘ is ea - sy

MA3
 Major Sixth (MA6)
• A helpful way to recognize an ascending major sixth (MA6) is to hum or sing
the first part of “The NBC Theme”. For a descending major sixth, use the first
pitches from “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera.

• Listen to the major sixth ascending example, “The NBC Theme”:

“N B C”

MA6

• Listen to the major sixth descending example, “Music of the Night”:

Night time sharp - ens, height - ens each sen - sa - tion

MA6
 Major Seventh (MA7)
• An easy way to recognize the major seventh interval is to sing the octave and then lower
the distance by one half step. You can physically feel how close it is to the Perfect Octave
(it practically pulls you up to the octave). Using the first three pitches of “Somewhere
Over the Rainbow” is the best method for identifying an ascending Major Seventh
interval. For the descending major seventh, use “I Love You” by Cole Porter.

• Listen to the major seventh ascending example, “Somewhere Over the

Rainbow”:
Some where O - ver the rain bow

P8 1/2 Step

MA7

• Listen to the major seventh descending example, “I Love You”:

I love you hums the Ap - ril breeze.

MA7
 Exercise 1

Diatonic Intervals
• In this exercise you will hear ascending (low to high) or descending (high to
low) melodic intervals (melodic meaning one note followed by another note).
You will only hear the following intervals: P1, MA2, MA3, P4, P5, MA6, MA7 and
P8. Each interval will be played three times. Write down your answers also
indicating if the interval is ascending or descending. (Example: P56) Answers
will be revealed at the end of the entire exercise on the following page.
 Exercise 1

Answers

1. P55 6. P45 11. MA35 16. P55

! ! ! !
2. MA25 7. MA36 12. MA66 17. MA36
! ! ! !
3. P86 8. MA26 13. P46 18. P85
! ! ! !
4. MA65 9. MA75 14. P85 19. MA76
! ! ! !
5. P45 10. P56 15. MA25 20. MA26
! ! ! !
 Melodic Range
Below Tonic
• The major scale melodies that have been presented in this course so far have stayed within
a one octave range with no pitches extending below tonic (1) or above the octave (8).
However, it is not uncommon for a melody to extend past tonic and the octave. The
number system, with added elements, will be utilized. For example:

• Listen to the the following C Major Scale melody:

Tonic
(1)

1 7 6 5 1 3 5 1

• Notice that these three pitches (B, A, and G or 7, 6, and 5) form a stepwise melody
descending from tonic. To indicate (using the number system) pitches that extend below
tonic, a line is placed below the number labeling. For example:

1-7-6-5-1-3-5-1
• To illustrate further, the note B, for example, is the seventh note of the C Major
Scale. Regardless of the octave the note B appears in, it will always be the
seventh note of the C Major Scale.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

7
These
pitches (B)
all function
as the
seventh note
of the C
Major Scale
 Melodic Range
Above the Octave
• To indicate (using the number system) pitches that extend above the octave, a line is
placed above the number labeling. For example:

• Listen to the the following C major scale melody:

Tonic
(1) 1 8 2 3 8 7 8

• Notice that these two pitches extend above the octave. By using the number system
(1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) pitches that extend below tonic may be labeled like so:

1-8-2-3-8-7-8
 Exercise 2

• Sing along with the following Major Scale melodies. Each melody will be played
three times. Reminder: a line below indicates below tonic and a line above
indicates above the octave.
1. 1 - 2 - 3 - 7 - 1 6. 1 - 5 - 4 - 7 - 1

! !

2. 1 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 1 7. 1 - 8 - 3 - 2 - 8

! !

3. 1 - 3 - 5 - 5 - 1 8. 1 - 2 - 6 - 7 - 1

! !

4. 1 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 1 9. 1 - 4 - 7 - 4 - 8

! !

5. 1 - 3 - 5 - 2 - 8 10. 1 - 5 - 6 - 3 - 8
 Melodies
Not Starting with Tonic
• Up to this point in this course the focus has been on melodies that begin on tonic.
Realistically, it is not uncommon for melodies to start on varying scale degrees (the most
common being 5). Before transcribing a melody be sure that tonic has been deciphered.
If it is assumed that the first note of a melody is tonic, the transcribed result may be
completely off the mark.

• Listen to the following melody. Be sure to listen to the entire melody (and sing it back to
yourself) before making any judgements of where tonic is. Do not assume the first pitch
you hear is tonic. The answer will be revealed after the melody is played three times.
Write down your answer. Ready...

5-6-7-3-1

• The stepwise motion of 5-6-7 should have led you to “feel” 8 coming. The melody then
resolved with a few skips down to 3 and 1(Tonic).
 Exercise 3

• Sing along with the following Major Scale melodies. Each melody will be played
three times.

1. 5 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 6. 4 - 3 - 1 - 6 - 5

! !

2. 5 - 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 7. 3 - 2 - 1 - 5 - 8

! !

3. 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 1 8. 4 - 3 - 6 - 5 - 1

! !

4. 8 - 5 - 6 - 4 - 1 9. 2 - 1 - 3 - 4 - 5

! !

5. 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 8 10. 2 - 4 - 3 - 5 - 1
 Assessment #5
This concludes Unit 5 of Ear Training 1.
Your next step is to pass Assessment #5
before moving on to Unit 6.