Ear Trained Musicians Ц How this Relates to Learning an Instrument

Articles on Musical Instruments | Topics: instruments, instrument

by Irving Ingram

Ear Trained Musicians Ц How this Relates to Learning an Instrument

One of the most valuable assets that musicians and vocalists have is the use of their ears (with some exceptions of course). If you are a musician, you will benefit greatly from ear training. It will make you a better musician overall.

There are numerous aspects to the concept of ear training. Some of the most useful concepts of ear training are as follows:

Learning to hear chord changes: In order to learn how to hear chord changes you need to know what a chord is. A chord is a group of two or more notes that are played together at the same time to produce a beautifully harmonic sound. If you want to learn how to hear chord changes usually you will have to learn about chord progressions. The best way to learn these is to train your ear to hear the different sounds of each chord.

Most people can usually pick out the melody of a song very easily. It is more challenging, however, to remember harmonic sounds, however. This is why learning how to hear chord changes in music is so important. You can learn how to hear these changes in a variety of ways.

For starters, you can sit down and listen to a song very closely. For best results, you may want to try listening to an accompaniment track of your favorite song without the vocals playing. This will help you gain a better understanding about chord changes by ear a lot faster. As you listen to the song very closely you will notice how the music goes up and down in pitch as it progressed to the end of the song.

The most obvious pitches that you can hear are the melodic tones, which often represent the melody of the song. This would be the part that usually everyone sings or hums along to. The melodic tones are easier to pick up, and these are usually what are called the root of each chord, which is the base (main) note of each chord. If you follow the sound that is easiest is to pick up by ear, this can help you when you sing a song or want to remember a song is played.

Learning the pitch of each note: If you know what each note you sing or play sounds like you will have an easier time remembering what to play the next time you play. Furthermore, you will be able to "jump in" while others are playing music and play along with them. If you learn how each note sounds, and you know what that sound is, you can pick up your instrument and play in any key at any time.

Learn how to tune your voice or instrument properly: You can learn one or more ways to tune your instrument. Either you can tune with an electronic tuner or tuning fork or you can tune relative to other musicians and singers. Usually when a group tunes together, everyone usually tunes to either a piano or electric keyboard because pianos usually are more precisely tuned.

аQuote of the Day

The novel is, or may be, among the mightiest instruments for swaying the heart and guiding the lives of men.

—P., U.S. women’s magazine contributor. American Ladies Magazine, pp. 357-9 (August 1828)

If you do use an electronic tuner, each note you tune should be 440 vibrations per second. The number "440" represents the frequency of a perfect pitch. Most electronic tuners are fairly simplified, meaning 0 usually is designated as perfect pitch (same as 440), and any negative number (number below zero) usually signifies a flat pitch. Any number above zero usually signifies a sharp pitch.

Those who use electronic tuners will set the tuner to the key in which their instruments are built. For example, those who play piano know that their instrument is built in the key of C. Therefore, they would usually tune with the note "C" on the piano.

Some people have a rare gift called "perfect pitch". This means that those people can hear sounds and automatically tell if those sounds are in tune or not. This helps them tune their instruments to precision like no one else can. Furthermore, these people also sing a song in perfect pitch every time. Other people can hear a song once and then automatically start playing it after they hear it. However, most people are not that fortunate. If you really want to learn music and you are not perfect pitch, or you do not feel that you can don't give up.

If you put your mind to learning music, and it is something you truly enjoy, then you will be able to succeed at it. The most important thing for every musician to remember-even famous ones-is to keep practicing.

The most important aspect of ear training is practice. No matter how much money you make playing your instrument or singing year after year, you are usually not exempt from the responsibility to dedicate yourself to regular practice.

That is not to say there are not cases where people can pick up a song that they have never practiced before and start performing it. However, this situation is rare. Most people have to practice over and over again to improve the quality of their playing or singing.

Remember to keep practicing if you want to be a successful musician. Practice pays off incredibly for those who have a dream.

We strive to provide only top rate articles on our website. If there is a specific topic about instruments that you would like us to cover, please contact us here.

Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Ear Trained Musicians Ц How this Relates to Learning an Instrument" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by MusicInstrumentsCds.com.

Music Theory
By Lance Robbins
Within the musical community, there is a debate about the value of music theory that will probably never ends. Is it important to study music theory scales, or is it much better to just dive into the music and experience it viscerally....

Keeping the Beat Ц Why Percussion is the Foundation of a Band
By Ula Hood
Anything you find that you can thump on and create a sound is percussion. Hitting two sticks together creates a percussion beat....

Choosing a Live Band or a DJ
By Temperance Austin
The live band or DJ that you choose to entertain at your wedding can either enhance your wedding or put a damper on the festivities. It is important to choose a live band or DJ who is capable of ensuring that the guests in attendance are having a great time....

The Recorder Ц A Great Beginning for Future Wind Instrument Players
By Xenobia Calderon
Whether you are an adult or child wanting to learn how to play a wind instrument beginning with the Recorder is a great place to start. When learning to play a wind instrument there is much to learn (to say nothing about learning to read and understand the music)....