Graham English

Posts Tagged ‘Ear Training’

Ear Training With White Noise

Here’s an ear training game I’ve been playing using white noise.

Always Be Training Your Ears

If you hear some music and don’t know what it is, figure it out immediately. The next time you hear the same chord progression, melodic structure, or rhythm, you’ll probably know what it is. It’s usually as simple as that, and not unlike looking up a word you don’t know in the dictionary. Read on…

Five Auditory Illusions

I’ve talked about the Shepard Tone before but NewScientist has just posted Five great auditory illusions.

The Best Of Graham English 2007

2007 was the year of social networking. Twitter occupied most of time which led to much less blogging. But 2007 was not without its controversies and celebrations. Read on…

Absolute Pitch University Begins October 15th

Mark your calendars. 12 weeks of intense “Music Hacking” begins on October 15th. Visit Absolute Pitch University for all the details. But you must do it fast because seats are strictly limited.

Solo Transcriptions: Mini Mama Alto Sax Solo

Joe Zawinul died today. He was 75. He had been in the hospital for a month suffering from a rare form of skin cancer.

Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast 08-20-07

Topics covered: The pleasure of finding things out, Richard Feynman, Dr. Kurt Fischer, dynamic skill theory, developmental levels, adult learning, ear training, and much more…

Solo Transcriptions: Remember Synth Solo

I’ve got dozens and dozens of transcriptions that I’ve done over the years. Some of them have been formatted nicely using either Sibelius or Finale. The other day, as I was listening to the Bryan Adams Anthology, a synth solo caught my ear and I quickly transcribed it. That got me thinking that I would [...]

Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast 04-27-07

Topics covered: Learning absolute pitch, your motives, absolute pitch disinformation, motivation to learn absolute pitch, and more.

Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast 04-09-07

Topics covered: Singing what you hear, the body/mind connection in music, exercises to improve your musicianship, and more.

Sound Journal: Ringing

Last week I mentioned creating a sound journal as part of a listening practice and to improve your aural intelligence. So I thought it would be a good idea to give some examples of how to do this by keeping a public diary of sound. Hopefully, this will be good for both of us.
Today, I [...]

Ear Training or Listening Practice?

You can make ear training something you do once in a while or you can make it part of who you are. That’s the difference between ear training and a listening practice.
Ear training has often been half-jokingly, half-seriously referred to as “ear straining.” And I can understand why if it’s something that you feel forced [...]

iTheory: Music Theory And Ear Training With Your iPod

iTheory is a free ear training tool for your iPod. It took me a couple of tries to get it installed correctly, but it works great. The interface isn’t as clean as I would like. You have to scroll past hundreds of notes before you get to the iTheory main menu. But once I got [...]

Ear Training on Speed

Given enough time, it’s inevitable that you will figure out what you are hearing. But what about knowing what you hear in the moment? For this, you must practice speed.
You can practice speed whenever you hear a song on the radio, when you’re at your instrument, or just in your head. The key is to [...]

The Best of The Graham English Blog 2006

Here’s the final entry to my 2006 Celebrations and Reflections series. According to my stats, these are the top 20 most popular posts of 2006. Have a happy New Year!

How To Be An Expert
Your Goals As Waveform
What is RSS and Why Do I Care?
The World’s Most Important 6-Sec Drum Loop
Absolute Pitch Power Blogathon
Can Hit Songs [...]

Top Ear Training Articles for 2006

I hope your ear improved in 2006. I know mine did. Just in case you haven’t been reading my blog all year, here’s my favorite ear training articles for 2006.

Is Your Ear Suspect?
Why Singing What You Hear Is Important To Your Ear Training
Understanding The Art And Craft Of Absolute Pitch Hearing
Shaolin Ear Training
Hearing and Consciousness
Absolute [...]

Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast 12-04-06

Topics covered:
The art of sound, aural distinctions, absolute sound, loudness, location, and more.

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Is Your Ear Suspect?

If your ear can’t understand whatever it hears, then it’s suspect. Whatever the application — composing, songwriting, singing, playing the guitar, piano, or any other instrument — there is a logic to becoming a spontaneous musician. Your goal as a musician should be to get your musical intellect to the point where it becomes intuitive.

Why Singing What You Hear Is Important To Your Ear Training

Singing what you hear is an important part of improving your perception. Let’s look at it from a body/mind perspective.
Recognizing that C and F is a perfect fourth is a cognitive exercise. You have to think about it. Maybe only for a split-second, but you still have to translate your physical experience, a verb, into [...]

There Is Nothing Boring In Life. Only Boring People.

There is a common misconception that “things” can be boring. You may find doing your taxes boring. But some people find it riveting. Therefore, we can’t say that doing taxes is boring. “It” is not boring. Then what part of that sentence or thought is boring? It is the person doing the thinking that is [...]