Ear Training or Listening Practice?
March 15, 2007
6 CommentsYou 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 to do, like doing sit ups. Why can’t washboard abs just come with the package?
But a listening practice isn’t something you have to motivate yourself to do every morning. It’s something you get to do all the time. It’s the equivalent of eating whatever you want, whenever you want… without gaining weight!
Your ears are always on. All you have to do is start paying attention. The world is filled with sounds for you to soak up. Your musical ears are hungry for stimulation. It’s time to give them what they want.
Here’s just a few things you can do to begin your listening practice.
First, just start listening unconditionally. We all daydream, so make these times of subconscious wandering into conscious sound expeditions. You’ll be amazed at all the different rhythms, counterpoints, and natural symphonies you will hear. If you can, close your eyes and just listen to the world around you and inside of you.
Second, think on media. Keep a few things with you at all times: music manuscript and a pen, a recording device, and a tuning fork of some kind. When you hear a note, figure out what it is. Teach yourself. Write a scale or a pattern and imagine what they sound like as you write them. Record rhythms and intervals and whatever else inspires you in the moment. Take a recess into the playground of sound. It will be fun and you’ll learn new things and reinforce what you already know.
Start a sound catalog. In a sound journal, begin to catalog all the different sounds and textures you hear. This will increase your “aural intelligence.” People who live bland lives have about a dozen different words that they use to describe their daily emotions. If you only have a dozen different words to describe what you hear, then it’s no wonder your musicianship is straining. But if you have a rich database of descriptive words in your musical vocabulary, then your experience of sound will be rich and abundant. Grab a thesaurus and your favorite album and have some fun.
Stop for a moment and think about these two musicians. One musician trains their ear for 15 minutes every day or so. The other musician actively listens all the time. Which is a better musician?
Answer: The musician with more aural experience. Go get some!
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(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...Top Ear Training Articles for 2006
December 17, 2006
0 CommentsI 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 Pitch Ear Training Podcast 12-04-06
- Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast 10-06-06
- Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast 09-26-06
- Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast 08-14-06
- Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast 07-30-06
- Naked Pitch
- Ear Training Software and Freeware for Mac and PC
- Why Is Absolute Pitch More Refined Than Relative Pitch?
- The Ear Training You Do Today…
- Quit On A High Point
- Portals Into Absolute Pitch: Silence
- How To Hear Interval Quality Distinctions
- Ear Training With Your Cell Phone Ringtone
- Some Important Absolute Pitch Distinctions
- How To Be An Expert
- Ear Training Hack #3
- Ear Training Hacks 1-2
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Everytime I hear a B, I reach for my cell phone…
December 5, 2006
0 CommentsIt’s pretty funny actually. I’ll be watching TV or a movie and whenever I hear the note B in the soundtrack, I reach for my phone. All because I have Miles Davis’ All Blues as my ringtone. 
In case you missed it, I’ve talked about ear training with your cell phone ringtone before.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast 09-26-06
September 26, 2006
2 Comments
Topics covered:
Shaolin Ear Training.
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(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Shaolin Ear Training
September 18, 2006
4 Comments
Have you ever watched a lion or tiger on television, stalking and then bursting upon its prey? It leads the attack with its eyes. All the rest of its magnificent body follows its eyes as it watches sharply, calculating speed and distance, supremely focused, and then explodes across the distance between it and its goal. The eyes are critical to its power.
The following exercise is a Shaolin Kung Fu eye focus exercise. This exercise is designed to keep your eyes honed and sharp. I will teach it to you and then we will apply what you have learned to your ear focus. Read the instruction closely and do the exercise.
Stand fully extended and relaxed, hands at sides, facing forward.
Snap your head quickly to the right, turning a full 90 degrees, so that your chin is over your shoulder, and focus your eyes as far into the distance as possible. Snap your head back straight. Now snap it to the left, look far, and snap your head straight again. Do this one quickly. Boom–right. Bam–straight. Boom–left. Bam–straight. Don’t turn your body. Stand fully extended, with your feet planted firmly on the ground and your chest forward.
Even if you’re standing in your bedroom and can only see the wall a few feet away, project your vision farther than that. See as far as Iceland and its polar bears in one direction, and as far as Miami and its dolphins in the other. Fully extend your sight, just as you fully extend your mind, your body, and your whole life.
Do it 10 times quick.
Now imagine the first 5 notes of Bach’s Invention in F.
Imagine each of those notes are like the spots you were looking at in the eye focus exercise. Now imagine increasing your hearing speed to focus on each individual note. It’s different with the eye focus exercise because your eye muscles are at work focusing and moving. Your ears don’t have to do anything. It’s all in the mind and brain. We have to exercise our focus, giving it precision, speed, and accuracy.
Listen to a fugue and pay attention to one voice at a time. Hear each and every single note. Add voices. Hear everything. Work with sequencers, metronomes, and audio editors to slow things down and speed things up. And keep practicing the eye focusing exercises. It will help your sight reading and provide a perfect metaphor to remind you to hear with focus.
Strong senses are of utmost importance to the warrior.
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