A FANATIC'S GUIDE TO EAR TRAINING AND SIGHT SINGING

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Q What is the difference between the 'Ear Training' and 'Fanatic's Guide' books?
A Ear Training One Note books are for listening and identifying pitches within a key center. Fanatic's Guide is a sight singing book in which you will sing various exercises along with a CD. I recommend you work out of both books to progress at the fastest rate.
 
Q In the fanatics guide (using the book and the downloaded lesson plans from the member's area) you suggest learning to sing (for example) C,C#,D, slowly and separately so as to avoid melody memorization, over the drone of the C. That is clear to me. You also recommend doing this in each key. My question is this: Do you recommend I sing C,C#,D in each key as well as the 1,#1,2 in each key? What might be confusing me is the terms Do,ra,me etc.... Are these relative terms that change depending on the key I am in? (Like 1st, shapr 1st, 2nd...) or absolute terms like c, c#, d?
A Yes you should practice singing Do Raw Ra in all keys so in the key of Ab you would sing Ab, A, Bb

You could also sing C, C#, D which would be Me, Fa, Fi in Ab or any other key if you want but first I'd make sure you can sing Do Raw Ra in any key.
 
Q I am very interested in your material. I have been playing guitar and mandolin for 30+ years and am interested in a wide variety of music so I'm sure I'm not totally tone deaf but I do feel I am being held back by my inability to hear better. I cannot sing on pitch and I have a terrible time tuning anything without using an electronic tuner, so I know that is the main area I need to work on. I am interested in getting the Fanatic book and the Ear Training One Note book but there is one thing I don't understand. How do I get feedback to know when I do the exercises correctly? I mean, I am assuming there will be exercises to sing along with or repeat back, if I am singing off pitch and can't accurately tell, how will I get better.
A Thanks for contacting me. Many students that have similar problems as you have been helped by my ear training method. Although your problems could come from a few different sources, one of the main problems is your mind's interpretation of what it is listening for when it hears a pitch or tries to sing a pitch. Usually when people have problems like this it takes awhile to reeducate your ear/mind to perceive pitch in another way. So you must be patient with yourself as you start to work on these weaknesses because it will take dedication and time for you to change it.
As far as feedback on whether you are doing the exercises right the Ear Training One Note book tells you the correct answer so you won't have a problem there. Fanatic's Guide will require you to check that you are singing the right note using an instrument. As long as you can tell most of the time if the note you are singing is the note you are playing you shouldn't have a problem.
 
Q I wanted to ask your opinion about solfege techniques for hearing Jazz that someone like Thom Mason teaches from his book "The art of hearing." Or what they use to teach at dick grove school of music.I have been playing Jazz for years and have been looking for a practical way to develop my hearing and have been working with the solfege technique lately.I am wondering how your system compares and what the differences are..Am I wasting my time again in trying to learn the solfege technique? What's your experience with all this.
A When you say "solfege technique" this is simply the act of using solfege syllables to sing an exercise, i.e. Do, Me, So. Many times this general idea of singing melodies and exercises using solfege is referred to as "Sight Singing." I think the question you need answered is what kind of ear training courses are there available and which will work. There are basically two systems available for "relative pitch" ear training. One uses the idea of learning the distance between every note (intervals) and one uses the idea of memorizing the sound of each note within a key center (contextual). Most schools and universities use the interval method. My method is the contextual method which I have found from personal experience and 25 years of teaching to be the only method that truly brings a students ear up to the ability to hear sounds and instantly know what they are. This is crucial for an improvising musician and my method is one that is used extensively by many jazz musicians. Though I haven't seen the methods you have mentioned I would be very surprised if they weren't interval based systems, therefore, I personally wouldn't recommend them especially for a jazz musician.

One thing both systems have in common is that they recommend singing and listening. This is the best way to improve at your maximum rate. If you would like to use my ear training system I would recommend you get two books:

Ear Training One Note Complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training

These two books with give you the foundation you need to work on both sight singing using solfege and listening CDs to improve your note recognition. Overall it's important to realize that doing the wrong system of ear training can have devastating consequences on your development. Please choose wisely because unlearning the wrong method can take years.
 
Q I have started a serious practice regimen focusing on one of my weak points: ear training. I have had absolutely no previous ear triaining lessons so I don't have any bad habits to break, but I also have to start from scratch. I have completed my first week of ear training with 3-5 short sessions per day. Since listening to the complete beginner's CD was a bit too much for my ears I have made some subset CDs with 3, 4, 5 and 7 notes to work on before returning to the complete chromatic CD. I'm currently working on 4 notes and getting 50-60% correct. When listening I either recognize a note immediately (or think I recognize it) or have to guess. Some notes I get always right (hurray!). Yesterday I started the Fanatic's Guide and had a fairly easy time getting the tonic in the various keys (actually I had to concentrate for a few drone chords before "hearing" and being able to sing "one" on the tonic). Now for my question: as I progress from the tonic to the 3rd, 5th etc should I keep singing respectively "three", "five" etc. or should I be singing the "Mi and Sol" in the key of C and "La and Do" in the key of F. Should I be advancing randomly through the various keys or is it ok to follow straight through the CD?
A Thanks for contacting me. It's OK to make subsets but also listen to the CD with all notes. Maybe do 4 times with your subset and once with all notes everyday.

With the Fanatic's Guide you want to sing let's say the 3rd in every key. So if it is the key of C you will sing E and call it "me." If you are in the key of F you will sing an "A" and call it "me" also. You can either skip around on the CD or go straight through for now it doesn't matter. Just make sure as you progress to singing other notes than the root that you don't first sing or think the tonic in your mind and then think up or down to the note. You want to just hear the cadence and sing "pre-hear" the note in question. This is much harder but you need instant recognition in order for this ear training to be useful, so even though it's harder it will be more beneficial in the long run.

You are tackling some hard stuff but if you stick with it over the next few years you will see amazing things happening.
 
Q I am studying your "Ear Training: One Note Complete" and "Fanatic's Guide". I am up to the advanced level cd. What aspect of these materials leads to improved "key retention"? I notice that the longer the string of notes I sing, the more difficult it becomes towards the end. It is as though the notes sung prior to the last notes in the sequence cloud my sense of key. Is this normal?
A To improve your key retention you need to sing melodies without a droning one chord. You do want to first give yourself a cadence in the key that you want to sing in but then stop the chord and continue singing the notes. You may find that you have to replay the one chord from time to time to reinforce the key. Try to do this less and less.

I would first use the Fanatic's Guide for this type of key retention building and later move on to Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One (although this book is for guitarists it's a excellent source for improving your key retention). If you get this book let me know and I'll give you some exercises.

To get you started, use the 6 note groupings in Fanatic's Guide. Give yourself a cadence in the key of C, stop the chord and try to sing as many examples as you can before having to reinforce the key by strumming the one chord. After that is working well, give yourself a cadence in the key of F and try and sing the same page in the same way (obviously now C will be the 5th and you will sing "So" for C and every other note will be in the key of F. Continue this process through all keys. Once you have done this to all 6 note grouping in all keys you can move on to Single String Studies.

It is important not to start singing melodies that modulate so only do this with the exercises that I recommended.
 
Q I am not sure how to use the Fanatic's CD, because it plays a chord a great number of times in the same key. I understand that I have to sing, for example, a 3rd in the key played. But when I sing that third, how am I sure that I'm singing it correctly? With an instrument? Also, when I read the book, I tought I would have used the CD switching a lot from key to key, to be able to sing 3rds in any key almost instantly. How should I use this book?
A In order to check if you are singing the correct note you will need to use an instrument or a pitch pipe. If you are singing notes in different keys you should switch to different tracks on the CD. Listen to the cadence and chord for a few seconds and then attempt to sing the note. You always want to let the "key" be firmly created in your ear before singing so don't look for speed with this particular exercise.
 
Q I have been very diligent with my ear training, but I am finding it a little harder to find the right moment for the Fanatics Guide singing exercises.

I have noticed a constant though slow progression in recognizing the notes since starting the course.

I'm currently able to recognize the "C" notes in all there octaves wtihout any problems, but have trouble putting the other notes "sound" in my long term memory. I seem to get the low octave notes correct and recognize them from day to day much more easily than the middle and higher notes.

I was hoping that once I could recognize a note in one octave, I would be able to do the same in all the others. It almost seems that I have to memorize the sound of every note in every octave even though, when I listen for example to a series of G's in different octaves, I "hear" them as having the same sound against the I-IV-V-I cadence.
A Well it sounds like your progressing at a normal rate. The Fanatic's Guide would certainly help you progress quicker. Try to slow building up the amount you work out of that book.

It is common to hear notes well in a couple of octaves but have more problems in others. It will take your ear/mind awhile to figure out what the unique sound of each note is in each octave. "Me" is the same sound in all octaves but it will take your mind awhile to focus in on that unique sound. That's why it's important to do the notes in all octaves because even though it's harder it helps you narrow down what each note sounds like over time.

You should try to think of ear training as a life long pursuit. You will find over the next months that your ear will improve dramatically but don't look at this like there is an end. It's a life long process of challenging your mind/ear to hear more and more.
 
Q I've been working as much as I could for the past month on Ear Training and the Fanatic's book and am now at the point of getting an 80% average of diatonic notes with the ear training CD.

My practice regime has been the following:
2-3 times a day the Diatonic notes, (80% correct)
Once a day the Complete Beginning CD (50-60% correct)
3 times a day singing Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol (and now also La and Si).

For C, and to a certain extent G and also E, I recognize the notes just by the way they sound whatever octave I hear.

For the other notes I recognize them mostly by having memorized the way they sound in each octave. I think that with some more listening I should start to start to hear them the way I hear C.

For the singing excersises this past week I have been singing Do, Re, Mi, and Sol once a day and Fa, La and Si 3-4 times a day. I've had a difficult time singing Fa and have been working on it for over 3 weeks, but have picked up La and Si easily.

I'm realizing more and more how each note has its own distinct sound (especially when I sing the note) and can't wait to advance to the next level.

Any guidance or comments on how to proceed at this point would be highly welcome.
A Seems like you are making pretty good progress. I want you to change the singing exercises slightly. First you need to sing more each day. I would say 3 times for 10 minutes will make a world of difference in your progress. Each week I want you to take page 12 and sing all the examples in a different key. Therefore week one the first example Do Di Re would be sung over a C major chord vamp along with the rest of the examples. Next week I want you to sing the C C# D example in F major. So you will play an F major Chord and sing the C C# D which will be So Si La do this for the rest of the example changing the syllables to match the key. The next week you go to Bb major and sing C C# D over a Bb major chord. The solfeggio will be Re Ri Me. Continue this around the cycle 5 for the next 3 to 4 months.
 
Q The question I have is about the singing exercises. When I try to sing one of the notes in solfeggio, sometimes I sing a note but then instantly recognize the sound to be a different note. (Ex: I may sing "SO" but then hear that is actually "ME".) Is it okay that I recognize that the quality is "ME" and then just change what I am singing to "ME"? Also, sometimes I hear "So, Me, Do" arpeggiated in my head, and in that way I know which of those notes I am going to sing. So, I find the note through hearing a progression of notes (a melody). Should I try to avoid this? I am guessing the answer is yes, but I am wondering if you have a way to counteract that tendency. I am really excited about this method and am at last beginning to "listen" to music.

Also, I was wondering if there is any way to apply singing exercises without any instrument to check the note being sung, or listening exercises (for example: I am driving home from work listening to the radio. Can I guess the notes that I am listening to without being able to know the answer? just to practice the PROCESS of listening for those notes? instead of listening passively?) Would this help in any way to quicken my progress?
A Sounds like your doing well with the ear training. It's OK if you sing "SO" and then recognize it is "ME," Just change the syllable and overtime you will get more accurate.

Definitely do not arpeggiate in your head or use a melody. When you work on this ear training you really need to try and stop these bad habits. This is one of the reasons why I recommend just doing the ear training for 10 minutes 5 times a day. This way you can concentrate hard and stay away from your bad habits.

It's OK to start applying this ear training to real music as you're driving in a car. There really is no practical way to check your accuracy while driving but it is important to start to apply this ear training to real music as soon as possible.
 
Q I've been doing the One Note system for a few months. At this point I can identify the pitches with 100 percent accuracy, but I can't play a key center and then sing the pitches on my own. How is it possible that my mind can recognize pitches but not be able to sing them independently, and what can I do to correct this?
A Well I know it seems weird but it's not uncommon for someone to be able hear all the pitches but not be able to sing them. I've also seen situations where the student can sing all the pitches but has a problem hearing them in the context of real music or even the One Note CDs. Without getting into too much detail, let me just say that your memory of the notes isn't universal in your mind therefore you are finding your recognition skills are so far just working in one area. This is not unlike someone who can understand a foreign language but can't speak or write it. What you need to do is work out of the "Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training." I would do singing exercises from this book 4 to 5 times a day in 10 minute intervals. If you can get 90% to 100% accuracy on the Ear Training One Note Advanced CD then you should get Key Note Recognition to continue improving your listen skills.
 
Q I've been working with 1 note and fanatics guide for 2 months. Both programs have revealed obvious problems in both my training and my approach to 'hearing' music. They have also instructed me as to one of the problems to becoming the musician i want to be. Two specific realizations have occured in the task of instantaneously recognizing the signature 'tension" of notes relatively. One is the development of my inner ear through the use of short and long term memory. Two is the necessary establishment of what one might call "tonal center or tonic recognition" by the use of a drone (repeated tonic triad). These two apparati are unique in your method of teaching. Developing the inner ear is a constantly surprising experience. First , the distinction you draw between one's ability to remember a tune and remember its signature tension and name is profound. The accepted approach was to trigger the tune memory and connect it to a pitch nomenclature, ie. using songs to memorize intervals or scale memory to learn scale degrees. My experience has revealed that the neural actions of the "tune method" are entirely different from the use of short term memory repetition and long term memory employed in your method. This neural activity is at best only apprehensible but I'd be interested to find out anything you know about the production of these memories neurologically. The experience of forming these memories is both frustrating and illuminating. I'm amazed at my resistance to the simple guess and play method you suggest. My own desire to get the answer makes me resort to all kinds of tricks, all of them trying to relate my "tune -scale memory" to this problem, all of them fail to produce the recognition of notes by their tension. Forming a memory of tone signatures is an entirely different experience.

The problem now is that in singing them it takes time to remember the pitch, especially non- diatonic tones. They are not available at command. I assume the reason each level of the One Note CDs advances in speed is to increase the availability of these memories at greater speeds. I am wondering why this process ends at the advanced level. I am considering making tapes which will increase the speed notes are produced for recognition. Perhaps using just a drone after a single 1-4-5 progression without repetition and the presentation of a number of tones without the answer will do the trick. I wonder what you think of this. Another problem occurs when my students play notes for me to identify without a drone. I'm great diatonically, but the minute the wise guys play 2 black notes in a row I lose my center and I can't identify the notes (often to their great amusement). This brings out the great controversy of ear training programs: How do you deal with tonal shifts and modulations? Interval method advocates make a good argument here. The reason, of course, being that as a modulation occurs the signature tensions shift.and at least one interval must be used to in this transfer. For example, as a song in C major moves to G major an F# sounds like #4 until G is established as tonal center, rather than its signature function as 7, the leading tone. The F# , according to interval advocates, cannot be recognized as "7" and therefore must be determined either by interval or by anticipating the modulation and simultaneously hearing #4 of the new key. Although you haven't made mention of this problem in one note or fanatics guide, I assume there is a retention of the first key and a realization of these notes by their 'non-diatonic' signature at least until the new key is established. Do I have this right?
A Nice to hear from you again. First let me say that it's never too late to develop good musicianship and most musicians don't care how old you are when you are on stage with them they just want you to have great ears, creativity and be musical.

For your questions about memory I would suggest you read:

Memory: From Mind to Molecules
by Larry R. Squire, Eric R. Kandel

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0716760371/qid=1046073543/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-8820594-5627927?v=glance&s=books

Eric Kandel won a Nobel prize for his work with memory. He also did a Charlie Rose interview which is well worth getting a copy of via PBS (Channel 13 in the New York Area).

On the subject of ear training your idea of doing a I IV V I then playing more than one note in a melodic sequence is fine but could run into some problems once a melody gets long enough to make you possibly modulate. I am currently developing a method for this. I think your time would be better spent by working on Key Note Recognition which will help you to hear one note ear training from a different perspective along with preparing you for two note ear training which is where you learn to modulate. It is also important to remember that over time you will be building up what I call your "Key Retention" so you will find for example when you hear a I IV V I and then two notes out of the key center you will tend to hear these in relationship to the original key rather than modulate. If you do modulate you will use the method presented in the 2 note books. As for your example of the the F# being introduced and then modulating into G from C. The F# would be heard as #4. If let's say you modulated when the next tone G was played you would hear G as the 5th of C and then also hear it change to "do" which would signal the key change. No interval is needed or desired in this process. Once again I would first recommend you work through the previously mentioned books so you understand modulation before you attempt this type of multiple melodic note ear training.

I appreciate your rather long explanation of the processes and concerns you have. Your explanations really help me to know that you are understanding what to do and how to think about things. I believe you are on track with your understanding of the ear training method and I think it's great that you are being creative with your approach, but you should also be careful because you don't want to go off on another approach until you fully understand all aspects of relative pitch ear training.
 
Q I am making headway with the one note method, but one puzzling thing keeps occuring with pre-hearing a scale degree (tension signature) and singing it over a key drone.......it takes time to hear it! I wonder how much time should be allowed from cadence hearing to forming the inner pitch and reproducing this pre-heard tone vocally. I am afraid that a lot of time only encourages cheating (ie. relating the tone being practiced to a better known one - my favorite cheating device), but too little time denies the proper building and forming of a long-term memory. What is your experience with this and is there a set time inteval I should aim for to pre-hear notes?

I also took your advice and started "Key Note Recognition." I am sorry to say that while the major keys Have been learned fairly easily, the minor keys are a disaster. I simply do not have the immediate recognition I get with the majors. Is this common?

Also, I wonder if you could clarify what exactly you mean when you ntalk about the problem of using "vocal tension" when singing the same scale degrees in each key.
A While waiting too long to pre-hear a note does encourage improper behavior I think a better way to approach this is memory reinforcement of the pitch you are trying to memorize. For example if you are trying to hear F# against a C tonal center. First create the key of C through a cadence or vamp and then try to hear F# if you can't hear it play the F#. Now try again and see if you can hear the F# after you establish the key center again. You will find that students will be able to pre-hear the F# if you continue this for a number of repetitions.

Next try bouncing between a couple of notes. Work back and forth between let's say F# and G#. Always give the pitch if the student can't get it right away. Soon you will see they can remember two notes. Keep adding additional notes if possible. Usually a student's memory burns out after about 10 or 15 minutes of this, but if this can be done 2 to 3 times a day you will see that students will start to remember the notes and therefore be able to pre-hear them with no difficulty.

Hearing all 12 notes against a minor tonality will seem strange at the beginning. Overtime you will hear the distinctive characteristics of each note but this usually takes some time. An analogy to this would be if you have a red piece of paper with yellow lettering inside of it at first glance the yellow lettering can look like it's actually white. Only after close examination do you notice that the lettering is actually yellow. Contextualizing all 12 pitches against various types of tonalities is an important part of developing this ear training method. I think at the beginning it's best to stick to I IV V I or simple drones. After a student can do one note ear training with the simple method then it is time to introduce various vamps and cadences that create alternate tonal environments.

Vocal tension is when a students uses the tension of their vocal cords to find a pitch. Very common with singers but also a habit that other students almost subconsciously develop. One common indicator is when a student sings slightly out of tune but of course this can also be caused by lack of air support or just guessing at the pitch.
 
Q I am a music theory professor in a small liberal arts college, and I am quite intrigued by your various methods of ear training. I have recently examined "One-Note Complete Method" and "Fanatic's Guide." Since this method is very unlike most methods used in colleges and universities, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on how this method best works in a classroom setting.

How, for instance, do you evaluate student progress? My ear training classes are lab sections of my theory classes, so I have many students with a wide range of abilities. It seems that your CDs would work wonderfully for individuals, but I'm trying to figure out how to give quizzes and tests fairly and still push the more advanced students. Any thoughts?

Also, does it make sense to supplement your books with any of the more traditional graduated solfege books (Ottman, Benjamin, etc.)? Do you work on rhythm exercises? What about harmonic and melodic dictation? Is is best for instance to focus solely on the one-note method and the "Fanatics Guide" first before tackling melodic and harmonic dictation or solfege?

I appreciate your thoughts.
A Thanks for contacting me. As we both know it doesn't matter what ear training method you use; a class setting is always dicey. There's always that student who is slow and possibly hasn't even thought about trying to "hear" music and on the other end you have a student who progresses at amazing speed. This is complicated by the usual coupling of Ear Training Exercises within a music theory course environment. So once again you have some students who are great with music theory and have little ear training skill and visa versa.

Given the aforementioned parameters I would say that my "contextual" ear training would work as well as a pure interval approach. Many of the same exercises that most teachers use in "interval" based ear training can also be used; you just need to establish a key center first. For instance using "Ottman's" book for sight singing or melodic dictation would be fine as long as you give a key center before you play the example. I don't think I would start week one with Ottman's book. I'd give the students 3 or 4 weeks of listening and working within the class with listen/answer quizzes using the method on the "One Note" CDs first. You could also use the Ottman book for assigning singing examples in major keys. Just make sure that they sing these examples over the CD that accompanies the Fanatic's Guide book so they have the key sounding at all times.

For the "One Note" CDs I'd recommend to the students that they use Discman CD players and listen between classes. If they actually do that you should find most of your class will be around 50% accuracy with the note identification within 3 to 4 weeks. If they are like most students they won't do this religiously so you'll probably end up with 20 to 30% correct answers. Students progress will of course be helped immensely if you also have them working out of the Fanatic's Guide and have them doing the "one note" singing exercise from the Fanatic's Guide book at home. (Once again 4 to 5 times a day for 5 minutes).

For testing you can go around the class each meeting and have the students do the "One Note" Fanatic's exercise where they attempt to sing various pitches in various keys. If you have more advanced students you can have them sing harder notes like b6 or #4.

For evaluation of students I think the best method is always based on personal achievement rather than a set bar that everyone has to reach. This is not always possible in a school situation but I think any teacher would agree it's the correct way to judge progress. The best method of course would be if you have 3 sections of Music Theory/Ear Training and could divide them up based on music theory knowledge and ear training ability. Of course the way music departments are organized this isn't always possible.

Overall if both the students and you know that you are basing their grade on personal improvement everyone will immediately think that's fair and realize that they have to improve to get a good grade. There of course have to be guide lines and I would say a student should have one note ability after their first year of school. If not if should be made quite clear that they are falling behind and need to do summer school work at home or in a classroom to improve their skills.

I would quiz students the first week by playing them examples like the "One Note" CD and have the students write down what they think the note is. Do this every week or at least every other week. You could even have the students correct each other's quiz during class to save you the time of doing the corrections (Of course you would want to look at the quiz to see how each student is doing).

There are many other exercises you could do using the Fanatic's Guide book --or as students improve, use the LINES book or once again have them do dictation based on Ottman or other texts. The important thing is to get them to hear "contextually." You will find that once students begin to "get" this method not only will their note recognition improve but their musicality will change dramatically. Once a student can recognize a sound instantly by hearing it (not unlike just seeing a color and instantly knowing what it is) their mind's ability to memorize, categorize and basically understand music goes to a much deeper level. Every great musician I've ever played with has this ability.
 
Q I'm 58 years old with some musical training a very long time ago: I took piano lessons for 8 years as a child & played oboe for 3 years in high school. Despite all those years of lessons, I can hardly play piano now.

Recently my son's school started a parent chorus (12 other amateurs led by the head of the music department-no auditions were required! -it's really great to sing in a group!).

I bought Fanatic's Guide and Ear Training One Note (complete). I am progressing slowly. I can reliably sing "do" and now I'm working on "mi". As far as recognizing the notes, I'm pretty poor, although occasionally I feel completely certain of a note and when that happens, I'm almost always right. Even though I do not feel I've made much progress, I find that once I've learned a harmony part, I can sing it in tune and not be influenced by hearing the other parts. I could not do this before I started practicing with your CDs. (I practice the harmony part with your Fanatic's CD playing the drone in the key of the piece-if this is not a good idea, please tell me!)

My goal is to be able to improvise harmony in social singing, e.g. around a campfire, also to sight read well enough to sing the alto/second soprano parts.

Now I feel the need for better rhythm skills, both reading & feeling it. Syncopation is very hard for me (although I can get it if I practice enough). I also feel that I do not have much of a sense of rhythm.

Which of your books do you recommend for a complete beginner? I prefer something that already has the CD with it, although I think my son could make a CD from something downloaded.
A Thanks for contacting me. Sounds like your just getting started with the Ear Training. Just keep in mind that changing your perception of sound can take time. So try to practice each day and you will see improvement over time.

It's fine if you want to sing melodies or harmonies over the chord vamps just remember that over time you want to get to the point where you can hear the relationship of the notes you are singing against the key.

I have a whole course in rhythm. These books do not come with CDs but they do have midifiles which can be downloaded on-line. These files will allow you to hear each rhythm exercise. These files of course help students studying on their own and check each exercise against the audio file.

I would suggest you start with the book Rhythm Primer. This book has a whole practice schedule laid out at the beginning of the book. If you need more direction let me know and I'll help you out.
 
Q Hello. I am 14 years old and live in Japan. Now I am learning Chopin's Ballade No. 1. In Western music, the tonic has a special meaning. It makes a home base in music, and then the music is developed from this point. Pianists give a special touch to the tonic on piano. But sometimes, pianists give a special touch on the dominant. Could you eplain the reason for these differences?
A Thanks for contacting me. You are correct that musicians give special emphasis to various tonal centers that exist in music. You can not always tell the tonal center by looking at a piece of music or analyzing it with music theory. In some cases it will be clearly defined what the key center is and at other times it will be up to the individual performer's aural perception to tell them what the key center is. In order to develop your aural perception you first will have to understand each notes distinctive sound against a key center. I would recommend you purchase Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training in order to develop your skills in this area. Currently (3/28/03) we are not distributed in Japan. I would suggest you either use amazon.com or possibly the www.muse-eek.com to obtain these books.
 
Q I'm working with your book "A FANATIC'S GUIDE TO EAR TRAINING AND SIGHT SINGING". I'm to the point where I can sing all the notes with the key centers on the CD. I've been working on singing all notes along with the Jamey Abersold Major and Minor CD set, Volume 24. This ups the ante on difficulty because there is more going on than a drone chord. Is this a good idea or will it interfere with the program as you have structured it? Also, is it necessary to use solfege syllables? I have been using numbers, 1 #9, #4, #11, b5, etc... That's the way I think about scale degrees and chord names.
A There are a few problems with me making comments on your extra practicing tool for ear training. First music and certainly tonality can't be described in words. Second I don't know your aural perception level nor do I know how deeply you understand this ear training method Therefore I will make no comment on whether you are hurting yourself with what you are doing with the Abersold CD. One would think that the prudent course would be to at least get half way through my ear training course before deciding to go off in other directions.

For your question about Solfege you need to know both Solfege and scale degrees in order to complete the ear training studies I have compiled.
 
Q I'm working on the 2 note exercises in the Fanatics book. Are we to sing them rhythmically or make sure we are just singing the notes? The reason I ask this seemingly stupid question is because if I prehear and sing the first note, then prehear and sing the second note the exercise doesn't come out correct rhythmically.
A Actually that is a good question. Overtime you want to slowly speed up your "prehearing." So for now I would just let it take as long as it takes but overtime you want to force yourself to "prehear" quicker. As you improve you can even start using a metronome. You will notice when using a metronome that you can tell which notes are weak by the fact that you can't "prehear" the note without messing up rhythmically. This will help you analyze which notes need more work.
 
Q I am moving on to singing two notes against the drone and am having fun singing them against various progressions as you suggest in "Fanatics Guide." I want to make sure i have the right idea. If I take the 2 note exercise c to f# and sing it to a 12 bar blues progression in C, the solfege would run do-fi over the I chord, fa-ti over IV, and sol-di over the V chord. Of course the metronome must be going. How would you suggest the metronome be incorporated. Also, is one key sufficient in this process before moving on or should the example be sung in all keys or at least a few keys before a new 2 note exercise is employed.

Also I have found this type of singing is really helpful in learning new tunes. I make it a point to sing through each layer of the basic voicing of the chord changes when learning a new tune and then trying a couple of 2 note exercises through the tune. It really is amazing what I am hearing when I improvise on this tune afterward (very slowly of course). Are there any other exercises like this you might suggest to aid in hearing and working out a new tune at my level.

I would also like to get a hold of your time books. They sound fascinating. Can you give me a couple of examples of how the time series would be applied in my practice sessions?

I'm still working on key recognition. The minor keys are a little better but I notice I am memorizing the register of the 2-5 progression and have inadvertently started to cheat on my key recognition. Any suggestions?
A The metronome should be incorporated just as a time keeper to make sure you are able to sing each 2 note group and not lose your time. If you are weak with certain notes you will tend to take more time and thus lose time. You can set the metronome up many ways. You can try the typical beats on 2 and 4. You might also try singing in a few keys maybe 4 keys moving in minor 3rds.. This will help to make sure you are not using vocal tension for any notes.

Singing over tunes can get very dicey and I would recommend you have Key Note Recognition totally down and are working on 2 note ear training before singing over actual tunes. This is mostly because tunes can modulate and it's important to have the skills you learn in the previous mentioned books before attempting tunes. Also remember that the tempo of a tune can drastically change the way you hear a tune. Once you start singing over tunes there are a lot of ways to progress. Here are a couple of possibilities:

1. Sing melody play chords
2. Sing arpeggios over a one chord drone
3. Part sing chords (Check out the book LINES)

For time books I would suggest starting with the Big Metronome. There are many concepts at work within these time books. One of the major concepts is to "feel" time rather than "count" time. You will see after working with the examples in the books that you will gain a new confidence about time. Also keep in mind that you could spend the rest of your life working on the examples in this book.

I don't have a solution for your problem with Key Note Recognition except to make your own CD with progressions in different registers.
 
Q I have a quick question on the "Ear Training One Note Study." Since I am completely new to ear training when I listen to the cd I'm a bit overwhelmed, the only tone I can really recognize is the low E - probably because it's the first note I hear when I tune my guitar! So, if I were to make a selection of tones to start with, should I just select random notes from the scale or should I do them in a sequence of some kind? And should I listen to the smaller selection and get some kind of accuracy with that first or should I continue to listen to all the tones alternately with the smaller selection - say twice a day for the selection and once a day for all tones?

I also have the "Fanatics Guide," which I haven't even opened yet. I need a little direction I think. I have a guitar teacher who is great and would help me with this, but I try to devote that 1/2 hour per week with him to the "Berklee Method I" and my slowly growing repertoire!
A If you are being overwhelmed by using all 12 pitches on the CD I would recommend limiting you notes to C,D,E,F,G,A,B. You might want to limit the octave too. If that is still to much try just C,E and G. Whatever combination that you use make sure to listen to the full CD for at least 10 minutes a day. You don't want to get lopsided in your aural recognition skills. If you could do your limited set 2 to 3 times a day for 10 minutes that would be great.

With Fanatic's Guide I would start with the first One Note exercise and sing it in all keys starting with the root of each key. Try to do this exercises a couple times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. The singing will help you a lot. As you perfect the ability to sing any degree in any key you will see that your CD recognition will improve.
 
Q I purchased the "One Note Complete Method," and have been working with it for about a month by limiting the exercises to only the diatonic major scale. I have never seriously done ear training before, and have been pleased with my progress in note recognition in a relatively short time. The root, second and seventh in particular have characteristic sounds that I can detect, while the middle intervals are still a little hard to distinguish for me. I was considering also doing some interval training at the same time, particularly harmonic interval training; however, I am a little concerned about this, having read that you essentially had to unlearn interval training for the one-note method to take seed. How does interval training interfere with this method? Can it not simply be turned on and off? What about harmonic interval recognition? Is this what is addressed in the Two-Note and higher methods?
A I wouldn't recommend working on more than one ear training technique at once. It is my belief that once you are able to do my ear training technique you will not be in need of any other. If you are concerned about improving quickly I would recommend you work from the "Ear Training One Note Complete" and "Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training" 10 time a day for each book for 10 minutes.
 
Q I just bought and started working with "A Fanatic's Guide To Ear Training and Sight Singing." I've followed the instructions; ie. sing the sound of c against the c major progression or cadence. My first question is: do I repeat singing the c agaist the recurring cadence all the way through the first track. Also, when i sound c on my tenor saxaphone (I have it set up so the mouthpiece is tuned to c on the keyboard (Bb) on my instrument) it sounds way off against the recurring c being sounded on the first track of the cd. Do i need to play the recording on a variable pitch recorder or re-tune my tenor to the recording on the cd.
A The CD for Fanatic's Guide was recorded at standard pitch but many CD players do not play at the correct speed so you may find the CD to be slightly sharp or flat depending on the CD player you are using.

The length of each track on the Fanatic's Guide was made so someone could practice many exercises over one chord without having to restart the track. I would suggest with any exercises you are attempting to sing the desired note until you can check with your saxophone or another instrument to see if you are correct. When you know you are correct you should move on to another note or exercise.
 
Q I've completed my first series of 3 note singing exercises from the Fantatic's book.

I've been singing the exercise from page 19 and 20 of the Fanatic's Guide in all 12 keys (Do, Di, Re up to Do Di Si (Ti)), one key each week for 10 minutes three times a day.

Should I now continue directly with the 4 note examples on page 26? Should I start with the first examples: Do, Di, Re, Ri, etc in all 12 keys like I did for the 3 note exercises. Should I sing the examples up and down?

In addition to what you assign me I was thinking of singing once a day for a week the first note of the example cycle 5. The first week I'd sing Do, the second Sol, the third Re etc. in order to help reinforce each note in my memory.

I'm continuing of course with the Intermediate Ear Training CD. I'm currently doing 6-8 10 minute sessions per day.
A Yep, this sounds good. Move on to the 4 note exercises on page 26 and start with the first example. I would sing all the exercises up and down. You might also try starting on the last note of each exercise and singing down and then up. This is much harder but a good exercise. Your idea of singing C cycle 5 through all keys in also a good thing to do. Make sure to give yourself a full key cadence before singing the C in each key.
 
Q I'm 42 and just picked up playing guitar again after a break of more than 25 years. I never had any ear training and don't have a natural sense of pitch - I even find tuning the instrument correctly to be a challenge - so I bought the Ear Training One Note Complete book to get started. I believe that getting a better 'ear' is critical for what I want to achieve musically. How do you suggest that I approach the training? As a working professional with kids, my time is somewhat limited and I can't do 5 brief sessions a day as it is suggested in the book. Any suggestions highly appreciated.
A Thanks for contacting me. To learn ear training effectively you need to apply yourself to the task. Really, ear training is just memory training and in order to effectively memorize anything you need to reinforce the information as often as possible. Most people find that they can do a 5 minute session in the morning, at lunch time, when they get home and before they go to bed. I would recommend you start with this. If you find that the Beginning CD of the Ear Training One Note method is too hard try using the intermediate. Even though this CD is faster, some students find it easier because there is less of a silent space between the chord progression and the note you are guessing. I realize that you have very little time but I should also point out that working with Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training will greatly increase you success with this method.
 
Q I'm not sure how to gauge my progress in 2-note singing from "Fanatics Guide." I've been strictly following the 4 step regimen you prescribe in the book and have been singing the exercises with a metronome through 5 different progressions and interval chains. My question is: when should I progress to a new interval? I can slowly prehear and sing 2nds, 3rds, and 4th in any of my chosen progressions, and can build up the speed usually to 120 for a quarter note pretty accurately. However the time it takes to initially get the correct scale can only be accomplished at 60 or slower. Can you give me a good 'mm' to shoot for and perhaps supplement this regimen with a couple of exercises that might help.
A I would say that you want to shoot for mastering each exercise in Fanatic's Guide at mm=60. Even if you don't master a particular exercise I wouldn't stay on it for more than a week before moving on. This is mostly because people start to use tricks after awhile to get through a tough situation, so you should just move on. By the time you get through the entire book many of these problems will go away. You also should keep in mind that this whole process is going to take a few years before you naturally just hear and sing things correctly. You are really totally reprogramming the way you hear music, so give yourself a break - this will all take time.
 
Q I have been working with your Ear Training One Note Beginner for about two months now and I believe it's working well. However, I would like to describe to you my practice regimen and see if you think its okay or if I should alter it in any way. Here it is: I have made a subset cd consisting of every C, E, and G in every octave. I try to listen to this two or three times a day for ten minutes at a time, but usually I only do it once. I also try to listen to the main cd with every note once a day for ten minutes, although often I don't get around to it. Then I also do the Fanatics singing cd for about twelve minutes a day (this I do every day). I'm being honest about the actual work that I've been doing because maybe it'll help you advise me. Hopefully I will be able to increase to what I know I should be doing soon. With the Fanatic's CD on track one I'll sing an E for about a minute and then go to track two where I'll either switch to G or sing another E just like I did on track one. In this way I'll alternate between E, and G for the whole cd which lasts about twelve minutes because I'm doing one minute on each track. In the beginning I was singing only C, but after I got that perfect I moved onto E, and then G and once I got each of those perfect I combined them. So that is where I am now. With both the Fanatics Guide CD and the One note subset CD that I made of just C, E, ang G I am now getting close to 100%. However when I listen to the full CD with all 12 notes I can only get C and thats only if its in the middle octaves.

My plan is to now make a subset that now includes D, in addition to C, E, and G and work on getting those all correct and then move onto include F and so on in the order that you recommend working through in the Fanatics Guide book. In terms of the Sight Singing work that I'm doing I plan on now trying to sing D.

So, a few questions:

1) Do you think this is a good practice plan? Should I be focusing this much on the subset CD that I made or should I be spending more time listening just to the main CD with all 12 notes?

2) How do you recommend I practice my Sight Singing? The thing that troubles me is that as I move onto singing a new note I feel I neglect the ones I already have practiced and learned and that I forget them. This is why I am now alternating between E, and G within the same practice time. But once I move onto more notes, I won't have time to be focusing on all of them. Should I just periodically review the previous notes?

3) Is it okay to be doing only one session of Sight Singing per day with three or four sessions of One Note listening or should I be doing an equal amount of each?
A Thanks for your detailed explanation of your practice regimen. My main question is about your work with the Fanatic's Guide CD. Just checking but you do realize that if you sing E with the first track you are listening for how a 3rd sounds against the key of C and when you switch to the second track which is in the key of F and you continue to sing an E you are now singing the 7th of the key and that is how you are hearing the E in the key of F. If this is not what you are doing then this is VERY wrong. Remember you are trying to hear what each note sounds like against a key center and when the key center changes each of the 12 notes will sound differently.

It is OK to make CD with fewer notes BUT make sure to always listen to the CD with all the notes each day. In some cases using a smaller group of notes can help people remember the sound of each note but in other cases people just get a false sense that they are memorizing sound. Remember it's sometimes hard for your brain to memorize something when it doesn't have the complete picture of all the components involved. This is why listening to all the notes is an important step each day.

Overall it sounds like your on the right track as far a your practice habits go. It is very important with this ear training that you do it every day and never miss a day.

I would get your response up to around 90% for each note before moving on to the next with the Fanatic's Guide. I usually have students work through the notes in the following sequence C,E,G,B,D,F,A,C#,Eb,G#,Bb,F#. The more practicing you can do out of both the One Note and Fanatic's Guide the better. You should at least spend 1/2 hour on both books each day. Of course you want to break this up in the short sessions. Remember you are dealing with your memory with these books so you need to reinforce the information often.
 
Q On page 6 in the Fanatic's Guide it clearly tells you how to proceed with the singing of each note against each key. Please reread this and if you still have problems let me know.
A In the Fanatic's Guide book, when learning each pitch within a key center, do you recomend going key by key, or singing all twelve tones in C for a few days, then F, and so on and so forth. Or would you recommend practicing singing the root in each key, then the thrid, then the 5th, and so on and so forth. Before i move on to the actual excercises in the book, I need to gain a stronger foundation in this basic area first.
 
Q There's a free software called 'Functional Ear Trainer' and it is taught this way: Hear the chord progression and resolve the note to the tonic whether up or down. For the diatonic notes, the bottom 4 notes resolve downward and for the top 4, the notes resolve upward. After a period of time your mind is supposed to be able to eliminate these steps and hear the note instantaneously. The software even has a random key selection and works in all octaves. Is it possible to learn the notes in this order?
A I wouldn't recommend resolving notes to the tonic up or down even as a intial step. Hopefully you have my 'Ear Training One Note' and 'Fanatic's Guide' books so you can understand exactly what you are supposed to be doing and how. These books and the www.muse-eek.com website will also contain information on common problems and misunderstandings people have. Once you understand this information you could use the Functional Ear Trainer if it gives you similiar types of exercises. Since ear training is probably the single most important thing you can do as a musician, I suggest that you make sure you are investing your time and/or money with something that will be worth your time and effort. If you find an ear training program that just says "do this" with no indepth explanation I would be very wary that you are being directed in the proper way.
 
Q I'm trying to improve at jazz/blues piano and I'm currently using your One Note Complete Method. Even though I'm improving at the tests on the CD it still hasn't gotten any easier for me to recognize chords and modulations (which is what I really need). I need to develop my relative pitch skills more than my single tone recognition. Can I jump to your relative pitch book or is completing the one note method still an absolute pre-requisite?

Also, I'm finding it difficult to de-couple tones. The resolution tendencies are so stuck in my head that when I try to answer very quickly I can still feel my head working out the note (some notes more than others) via its resolution tendency. Is there any particular exercise or drill that I can use to train myself not to do this?
A Thanks for contacting me. To answer your question about jumping ahead in the ear training program you need to realize that if you can't hear one note against a key center how are you going to hear multiple notes? I know it is frustrating, but it takes time and concentration on your part to improve at your premium rate. One thing that you can do is also work out of the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. This book will seriously improve your rate of progress when used in combination with the One Note Complete Method.

In regards to the resolution tendency habit, you need to break it. Some things I recommend are guessing the note very quickly or doing singing exercises from the Fanatic's Guide, but all of this is in vain if you don't try as hard as you can to control your mind's impulse from using a method that will only cause you heartache later. Remember that doing ear training is like spending 10 years in psychotherapy. You need to learn how to control wrong impulses and amplify the right impulses within your brain. This will come with practice, patience and personal self-control. Think about how long it took you to develop this habit of note tendency. It probably will take you just as long to break this habit. I have found with students and with myself that if you have done other Interval and resolution based ear training prior to using this method it will take much longer to progress. This is because you have to unlearn all of your bad habits and then relearn the right ones.
 
Q I have to tell you, I was flabbergasted when I read the instructions in Two Note. Hearing these modulations seems to employ a more reactive part of the mind than one note memorization. Obviously, I'm not to memorize the tension signature of two notes like I did one note. Although, it seems I should continue this in singing two notes, right? Instead, I am to learn the best way to react to what I am hearing. Is this correct?

I've been at it continually this week and am having great success with the 5ths. At least half of them modulate against my C freely, and the others are heard in C. Most of the high notes are also heard in C. I am going to order the next volume this week. Is there any work you can suggest to supplement these exercises with singing in the Fanatic's Guide, or more exercises like the octave displacement?
A Glad to hear your seeing the light. This ear training can be tricky and it's important for you to get a good hold on the 2 note method before branching out to other listening stuff. You can start another singing thing. I want you to get the book Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One. It may seem like a weird request but I use this book for guitarists and also for my ear training. After you get the book let me know and I'll give you an assignment. The most important thing that you can do now is stick with the 2 note CDs. You can work on as many of these as you like. The 5th are usually the easiest. Continue singing out of the Fanatic's guide. Try to break all this stuff up into many short sessions throughout the day and you will improve at the fastest rate.
 
Q I've been working diligently on the Intermediate One Note Ear Training CD and the 4 note exercises on page 26 of the Fanatic's book for the past 3 months. This is my last week (key of G) of the 4 note exercises. What will my next assignment be?

I've been doing 3 x 15' each day in the following manner: 4 note exercises up and down and then down and up, going down the page instead of across (Ri, Re, Di, Do down and up, Fi, Re, Di, Do, down and up etc...) and then C cycle 5 through all keys (one key a week).

I've improved a lot since starting the Fanatic's book and think the next 3-4 months should help consolidate my note recognition and singing. I've been listening 5-6 x 15' each day to the Intermediate CD and can now recognize the sound of the C and G notes. My correct answer average oscillates between 70- 90%. My progress is slow, but I'm getting better with note recognition and I'm getting more and more around 80% average. Hopefully I'll be able to recognize all 12 notes in the next 3-4 months.
A Sounds like your making good progress. I want you to continue on to the 5 note exercises, but now I want you to do it with a metronome. This will help you find the notes that you hesitate on and will point out which notes are weak. Start with the metronome very slow, like quarter equals 40, and make sure that you can sing up and down or down and up (start at the end of each measure and work your way backwards and then forwards). Slowly speed the metronome up as you go.

The two books that you are working on are sufficient for now. If you feel like you have an extra 10 to 20 minutes a day to add in a little more, the next book we are going to work out of is the Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One. May seem like a strange choice, but I use this book both for guitar players and for my ear training students. If you decide you want to start on that too, let me know when you get it and we will get started. Keep up the good work.
 
Q I am working on your single string studies book. I am just about finished with studying the key of C on each string. I spent about a 15 min. per session for 7 days on each string. I review each string from time to time, especially ones that seemed more difficult like the D string.

By going slowly, and visualizing (in my imagination) the string being studied, I am getting pretty accurate but still make mistakes. Especially going up high on the string from down low. I guess the smaller size of the frets makes it harder and I never have used the frets above 15 on strings E - D before. What should I do next?

I am also doing LOTS of ear training in the single string study book. I have only three more keys to go on the first study. My only comment is very challenging at 100 bpm!!!
A So next you will go back and read all the strings but in the key of F. You just continue this through all keys. After that you do the All String Exercises.

For singing, once you feel comfortable with the first page using a C chord vamp I want you to make an F chord vamp and sing the 1st page again. So now you will have a #4. Once you finish that, you need to go through all of the keys, so next would be Bb which will give you a #1 and a #4. As you can see it will get more and more difficult as you get into keys which contain very few notes that are in C major.
 
Q I received the Single String Studies for Guitar Vol 1 today. Please let me know how to start the singing exercises on it. It looks pretty intimidating.

I'm doing ok with the 5 note exercises with the metronome. I'm really trying to concentrate on pre-hearing the notes before singing them. In fact, the ones I can pre-hear I get right predictably. I was wondering if singing the notes in time doesn't increase the risk of singing the exercises as a melody? It doesn't seem to be happening to me so far.
A Singing the notes with a metronome does increase the likelihood of hearing a group of notes as a melody, but after this much time of you singing, thinking and pre-hearing the notes hopefully that habit is taking hold and that won't be a problem.

For the Single String Studies you want to take the 1st page and sing it over the C major vamp found on the Fanatic's Guide CD. If you need to adjust the octave of some notes based on your vocal range this is fine. You should use a metronome later after you feel more comfortable with the exercises. Once again this metronome should be very slow (quarter = 40 bpm). After you can sing the page at 40 bpm I want you to sing the same page but with the F major vamp from the Fanatic's Guide again working up to 40 bpm. You will then continue through all keys. Obviously as you change keys you change your solfeggio and certain notes will become non-diatonic so you will have to adjust the solfeggio. For example in the key of F you will sing the B as "fi".
 
Q I have been working with your eartraining books (One Note Intermediate and Fanatic's) for some months now. I am noticing improvements in my hearing.

But anyway, my questions are these:

1. In the One Note Intermediate I now have about 90-95% accuracy, but when I do make mistakes, it is usually in confusing a b5 with a 5, or a b6 with a b2. Once in a while I will mix up a b5 and a 4 or a b7 and 7. My question is, is this happening because I am
trying to use intervalic distance to get the notes right (meaning, I confuse the b5 and 4 because I am judging distance and am just missing the distance), or is it just because I don't completely know the sound of the note yet. It worried me because, the b5 and 4,
or the b7 and 7,or the b6 and b2 sound very different, so I wasn't sure if I was judging the distance between notes.

2. With the ear training, I find that my recognition of notes is much better than my ability to hear the notes in my head and sing them. Are there any other exercises you would recommend other than the ones mentioned in Fanatic's Guide that I should also do to better develop the ability to pre-hear notes and to accurately sing them.
A You probably still have some distance judging going on but the fact that you are mixing up b2 and b6 shows that you are also getting to know each note for it's original sound.

The exercises in the Fanatic's Guide should help you a lot to get closer to these notes. It's important that you do the Fanatic's Guide many times a day to reinforce your memory, which will help your pre-hearing. This whole process can take some time so be patient and be consistent. Missing a day is like missing 2 weeks in your current state so stick with it.
 
Q I've just received my copy of Ear Training One Note and Fanatic's Guide. I have two questions, I'll start with the easy one: in the ear training CD I can't help listening to the fundamental at the end of the cadence: the last chord is in root position, so the fundamental sounds longer, which makes it even harder. Is there any trick to correct this problem?

Now for the twisted question: in the Fanatic's Guide you teach the solfeggio syllables Do, Di, Ra, etc. To my understanding, these syllables are used to identify a relative pitch rather than a specific note, so if I asked you to sing 1 #1 2 in the key of Ab, you would sing "Do Di Ra", which would actually be Ab, A, Bb. However, I happen to be French. We don't use the letters C, D, E, F, G, A, B for the notes. We actually call them Do, Ré, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si. Which gives me almost the same syllables both for fixed note names and floating relative pitches, and a lot of headaches in prospect. I don't think I could unlearn the french syllables (they are very instictive), so what I would be inclined to do is transpose the solfeggio syllables, thus 1 #1 2 in Ab would be "Lay La Tay." Have you ever had French-speaking students in your classes? If so, how did they cope with this problem?
A You should be concentrating more on an overall sense of key rather than focusing on the root of the key. This will take time. What may be happening is you have weak key retention so you concentrate on the root to help you hold the key center. This is a natural reaction but over time you want to just have a sense of key rather than concentrating on one note. The Fanatic's Guide and singing exercises in general will help to develop your sense of key. Also keeping a steady practice schedule everyday will help. This is especially true if you can do the listening and singing multiple times throughout the day. This will really help to build key retention quickly. I guess with all things there are little tricks but really the majority of what is going on here is you changing your perception of sound which takes time. Sometimes you will feel like your getting nowhere and then other times you will have a breakthrough. The important thing is to police your mind and the process you are doing to make sure you aren't developing bad habits.

I have never had a French student that had any extreme problem changing there solfeggio. It's like learning anything new it will take time. Overall I think you need to develop some patience with yourself and believe that you have the capability to control your aural recognition destiny. You just need will power and concentration.
 
Q Thanks, for the response. I get your matrix idea. Upon closer analysis part of the problem is the frequency of review for the first exercise in the Fanatics book and being tactical about it.
I do a lot of the practice while driving so there are lots of distractions. The regime I'm now using to give each note the correct amount of practice is to have cards with each solfedge syllable written on one side and the other side numeric scale degree. I pick a card and sing that note against a key center and repeat this procedure through the deck. This way non-diatonic notes get twice as much attention as the diatonic. The cards are used in two ways: 1. One track per note. 2. One track all notes. As you have stated in your FAQ section to another student, and it's so true, you need to have the first exercise down 100% and each note equal in your pre-hearing. The bottom line is that each note in the "matrix" needs to be of equal strength in you mind. The problems that I have with singing two notes and hearing two notes goes back to how well do I have the first exercise in the Fanatics book down. I know this is something you say over and over, and I believe it, but the profoundness really hits you over the head at times. One thing that's amusing and a testament to the power of your method of ear training is the incidental scale degree identifications that happen. For example, when opening a door it makes one pitch and another when it closes and your mind says the second tone is a ME without consciously trying. I can't wait until that is an all the time thing when playing.
A Good to see your thinking about this and also noticing how your ear slowly educated itself. First it's doors closing and years from now it will be whole symphony orchestras. Just keep at it and be patient.
 
Q You are either going to make me a great musician or drive me absolutely nuts. Seriously, you have become a very important person in my life thru all the hard, voluminous work you've done. I now have a library wall filled with your stuff... its amazing and quite frankly humbling to view its onerous dimension as I select my work for the day. There is a great hazard to all this work however... Your voice keeps popping up in my sleep... can you imagine the nightmare created by your voice saying a# major and me waking up in terror screaming What the hell key is that?!!!!!

So I have all this stuff and a million questions as a result. Consequently, I have a favor to ask. Can you give me an idea of how many FAQs you answer a day? It will really help me gauge the types and forms of questions I will present. I know you really don't have the time to wax philosophic but some of the questions I have are seeking to find the principles, testimony and thinking behind the exercises. I'm a teacher by profession and naturally gravitate to your expertise as a teacher as well as musician. For example, one of the assignments you gave me was to read Mind to Molecules. I have several questions to ask concerning the learning foundations you use in relation to this fabulous book. I am not sure how to proceed in the most expeditious way with these questions unless I have some idea how to limit their scope to your schedule.

Here are a couple of questions... I have b2 paralysis!!! I cannot for the life of me hear c in a b min cadence as a flat 2 in key note... it always sounds like b7 or 4(?) I've been trying for about 4 months and cannot get it!!! I have even made tapes with the minor progression and tried to sing b2 against a c minor 7 chord... can't get it. What is wrong with my old brain? I think I have sensitized rather than habituated to b2... although its a piece of cake in One note. The same problem occurs in 2 note when I need to hear a b2 modulation ie against B and f# or B and D#... C modulates but not to b2. Otherwise the exercises are going fine... do you have any suggestions or drugs that can help me with my old brain.

Also, I have been working on the e string in c maj. exercise u assigned me... have got thru c, f, Bb, and Eb up to 80mm... great exercise. I noticed something interesting while working in this exercise... I can automatically sing them at extremely slow tempos... ie I will set metronome at 100 and am able to sing any exercise in any key correctly... (with pre-hearing) at about 3 clicks per note (33.3mm). It really proves your point... I do not have to rely on intervals, or essentially another note, to hear and sing notes... I can hear automatically!! Even if it is at impractically slow tempos. I am proceeding thru this exercise starting at 33 and slowly building up to 80 and beyond... it takes about a week, but its working... the problem is that sometimes my vocal chords get a little strained... especially with wider intervals. My mom, who is a singer, says You must sing into your mask... and she proceeds to grab my face and makes me hum... I have no idea what she is talking about!! Can you suggest anything to help my poor vocal cords?

I also bought Lines... It is great!!!!!! I am working thru the beginning level exercises that correspond to the key I work on in my string exer. The substitutions to rhythm changes are fantastic and it is very interesting to hear a single line with these substitutions in mind. I am singing these exercises both against a drone and while playing the changes. I am not paying attention to modulation while doing this... should I cease and desist because of this? Also bought your blues bass line construction book and am singing one or 2 a week... This is great stuff... the only thing is... I have stopped my work on fanatics exercises... please don't cringe... I like them but this stuff is too good to pass on... please give your blessings in this pursuit... but I will be obedient if you should break my heart and order Back to the Book Son.

Ok enough... I know I have exceeded my yearly allotment of Tome questions... so I will shorten these sessions in the future... however... just to give you fair warning, i also bought the big metronome and doing time with the blues as well as Blue Eleven (unbelievable... u r my idol) and have billions of questions... just be glad i can't type or my importuning might just lead you to having nightmares about me. thanks for everything.
A Got a kick out of your email. Thanks for your kind words. Just remember this whole process takes years of work be patient but also drive yourself to understand and improve.

The amount of FAQs really varies quite a bit. There is usually one a day sometimes five. Some take very little time to answer while others require a lot of back and forth to figure out the best course of action to help the student.

b2 paralysis is very common. It took me 6 months of banging my head up against the wall before I got b6. The best thing you can do is keep the sound in your short term memory as much as possible sooner or later your permanent memory will let it in and then you have it.

You need to get support from your diaphragm when you sing and always have enough air in your lungs. If you can push the air with your diaphragm rather than your throat it should help.

It's OK to work on singing out of the LINES or the Bass Lines book. Both books will work fine if you sing them over a drone.

I don't mind the questions. The most important thing for me is you do everything correctly. The basic directions are all in the books but it's easy to misinterpret or just become lazy when it comes to some aspect. I'm also fine with answering questions about the principles behind the methods I use. The fact that you're waking up with nightmares is good in that it means you care about getting this stuff right. Enjoy the moments when you become clear or better at something and keep striving for the next level. I'm hear to tell you it's all worth the effort. Keep in touch.

PS Not that I want you to jump off a cliff somewhere but you should also check out the recommended reading list at:

http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/further.html

I can recommend some places to start and ways to think about each book on a general and specific level.
 
Q When pre-hearing a note while doing fanatics guide, what is this note supposed to sound like in my head. I know this sounds like a seemingly stupid question. But should I be hearing a voice inside my head that goes Do or May or whatever note I'm trying to sing. Sometime I hear what sounds like a piano playing the desired note in my head. I feel as if when I do pre-hear that the sound inside my head feels as if it came from nowhere, and feels like a very abstract thing. Perhaps there is no right answer to this question, but I just thought it would be better to ask and find out.
A I think the sound, or image of a sound, people hear is different for each person. I think it would be similar to other types of sounds you try to hear in your head. Imagine words or sounds you know well and see what happens inside. This will give you a good idea of what the pitches will sound like.
 
Q I've been working for one and a half month with your ear training and sight singing methods. In my last message, I told you I couldn't help hearing the fundamental and applying an interval. As strange as it may seem, I've solved this problem by starting with the advanced CD. Then I've moved to intermediate and now I'm back to advanced. I also told you about my concern with solfeggio syllables and french note names; you were right about that, it's not so hard to deal with.

Today I feel confident about my progress : one note recognition is becoming more and more instinctive; as for singing, I don't know all the notes yet but it's only a matter of time.

I have two questions :
1. Do you have tricks to tell if a student is not using the right method? For example, I sometimes confuse F# and B, which might indicate that I rely on their strong tendency to resolve to the higher semi-tone (I hope to solve that when I cover those notes in my singing practice).
2. As beautiful as the I-V-IV cadence is, I'd like to start applying my new skills to real music :-) Sometimes I use a real CD (simple songs, no key changes) for my singing practice, although I find it much harder. I've also tried having my computer play random notes over a CD to work on ear training. Is this a good approach? I've noticed that pitch recognition is harder when the song is in a minor key, is it supposed to become easier over time?

PS : I've received my copy of Single String Studies today. I'm really happy to note that my ear training tremendously helps me to play the exercises without looking at my fretboard.
A Many students find if they start with the intermediate CD that it helps them. It takes less key retention to do the intermediate CD than compared to the beginning. Most students when they start out are weak in their key retention and this is why I recommend using the Fanatic's Guide to help build key retention and basic knowledge of the notes.

Glad to hear the solfeggio isn't causing you much trouble now.

There are many indications that I use when I teach to tell if a student isn't doing the ear training correct. Many of these can be found in the FAQs for the ear training books on the muse-eek.com website. Your example of mixing up F# and B is common. You could be using resolution tendencies. One way to counteract this is to guess the answer quickly which will stop your mind from thinking to much and it will just react based on memory.

Your examples of using a real a CD with simple songs, no key changes for my singing practice, or playing random notes over a CD to work on ear training is OK to do. Just be careful for now to just use music that has one chord change. After you work your way through Key Note Recognition and start 2 note ear training then we can talk more about other real music things you can do to improve.
 
Q Could you give me a practical scenario to help me understand how the 2 note workouts will be applied to real musical situations? How do you use this modulating, 'do' in the 'automatic' sense your method is aimed at in your present work and can you give a recent example from one of your gigs?

Finally, can you give me a brief history of how your hearing skills progressed as they correspond to each method you have developed to attain automatic hearing. The hard work would sure go a lot easier if I can get a handle on some of the improvements I can look forward to in my hearing and musicianship. Now I know this is a tough assignment and I know that your not getting paid... but I am sure everyone in the FAQ room will be tickled pink to hear your testimony!!!!! Besides I will gladly send you exotic food stuffs, my Mickey Mantle baseball cards... oh what the heck... my first born... just to get a little more insight. take your time... no rush on this one and I will be eternally grateful.
A With rhythm you need to first do the basic building blocks of counting and thinking the rhythm/time in order to learn what a rhythm sounds like. After that you should progress to more of a Big Metronome approach. So your method of learning is good as you stated.

The 2 note ear training teaches you to modulate and also helps you to gain more experience with the one note ear training but now you have to identify multiple notes. There are many applications of this two note method. One of the most common is a situation where you are playing one note on your instrument, let's say a C, and it sounds like the tonic and then it starts sounding like the 3rd then you have modulated to the key of Ab. Two note method also helps you the split up multiple notes in your mind and be able to identify them.

As far as my ear training history I don't think it is really that relevant because each person is different and I don't think my progression through these exercises will have any bearing on you or anyone else. I will give you a brief idea of my experience just to satisfy your interest. One of the reasons why I have so many methods to help you develop your ear training skills is because I have a lot of difficulty with learning ear training. I did the interval thing in college and always got an A in the class but found it didn't help me hear music in the real world. When I started the technique I teach now it took me a very long time to unlearn intervals and then relearn how to hear within a key. One Note Ear Training took me 1 and 1/2 years to get down. I had to do a lot of singing too to help my improvement. This is one of the reasons why the Fanatic's Guide has so many exercises in it. I had to go through that amount of singing before I could hear the one note ear training. Each of the other exercises i.e. Key Note Recognition and two + ear training exercises all took quite a bit of time for me to master.

The application of the ear training covers all aspects of music making. I use it to tell what key chord progressions are in by using the Key Note Recognition method. I can tell how a progression is modulating by using the two note method and I can hear individual notes by using the one note method. Probably the most profound effect this has upon your playing and music is you become much more musical in your playing and composing. Once you hear music correctly it makes all the difference in how you hear, what you hear and how you interact with other musicians. There isn't an end to the ear training process I still work at various aspects of ear training mostly applying it to the music I write. Many people also don't realize how hearing makes there physical ability on their instrument improve. Once you really hear what you are playing you play it much better and your able to play faster and with more accuracy. Ear Training is absolutely the most important thing you can do for yourself to improve your musical ability. You should look at it as a life long path that will always keep you as close to the essence of music at all times.
 
Q Are there books that train you to hear chord progressions?
A My ear training method prepares you step by step to hear more and more complicated aural situations. You can't learn to hear chord progressions before you can hear one note, two note, modulations etc. You have to build up to hear multiple notes that either modulate or don't. If you feel this makes sense to you I would start with Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatics Guide. Once you have finished those books write back and I'll give you the next group of books and exercises to do. You can also check the many FAQs and additional suggested materials posted on the muse-eek.com website for more information.
 
Q I have previously studied classical guitar, especially Spanish master's pieces by Tarrega, Torres and Segovia, and some Brazilians like Villalobos, obviously as an interpreter. Needless to say, in a pretty much mechanistic way since I feel my knowledge in music theory is rather too modest, not to say mediocre.

I've read outstanding reviews about your accomplished musicianship and teaching approaches and therefore I would like to get some advise from you; I am planning to purchase some of your publications and in face of your prolific editorial production I would like to count on your proficient advise to choose the right ones for me. As I said before, I have some background, I don't have huge playing limitations, in terms of my playing skills I would rank myself as an intermediate-to-advanced amateur player. I am looking forward to getting an in-depth understanding of basics in chord construction, classification and terminology, intervals and scales over chords concepts. Needless to say, exercises on modes and scales are always welcome as well as other concepts not mentioned above.
A I would recommend the following books for you.

Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two
Chord Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two
Ear Training One Note Complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training
Guitar Technique Ebook

If you let me know the amount of time you have to practice I will help you with a practice schedule. If you want me to do this also let me know when throughout the day you might have 10 to 15 minutes of down time that you could do ear training exercises with a discman.

You need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique book and be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play.

You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the book or create your own. Download the applying music theory article from the member's area this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales.

PS Guitar Clinic would also be a good book because the back of the book contains information on 3 very important concepts of improvisation.
 
Q I am a singer, wanting to improve my sight singing abilities (to improve my capabilities as a session singer). I am not quite sure about which of your books I should get. I have had some theory and can squeak by with sight reading... I think I would consider myself a beginner.
A I think the best course of study for you would be studying out of 3 books.

Ear Training One Note Complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training
Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments.

The two ear training books will get you going on a course of learning to reprogram your ears to hear correctly and therefore sing better. The theory book will help you develop your knowledge of music so it becomes more natural for you. If you feel like this is the course of study you want to do contact me after you get the books and I'll help you with a practice schedule.
 
Q Hello, I am a student at Harvard College, though I am taking this year off to pursue other interests. High on my list is Jazz guitar. The reason I'm contacting you is to ask your advice. I've been playing guitar for many years. I've also played bass and classical piano. I have a fairly strong background in music, that is, my ear, manual dexterity, and basic musical knowledge (with the addition of a few Music Theory courses) is present. Still with Jazz, it's spotty, as I've never had a teacher for guitar. I've learned what I could from books and listening, and I've come a long way in this respect. I've reached a point where I very much want to solidify my groundings in Jazz theory. I have the enthusiasm, passion, work-ethic and ambition, but I lack direction. Can you recommend a way that I can get to the level appropriate to show up to a jam session and be on the same page as other Jazz musicians? Should I go straight to lessons? Should I enroll in a jazz theory course? Or would I be wasting my time and money with both of these, when I could make a lot of progress on my own (following a book you might recommend, perhaps one of your books and your website)?
A I'm going to make a leap of faith here and figure that you have a decent knowledge of scales but probably haven't organized them well or know them like you need to know them in every key. Furthermore I'm figuring you know the name of any note on the guitar fretboard if I pointed to a note. I'm also figuring you know your basic barre chords with the root on the low E or A string. Let me know if I'm not correct.

Given that this information is close to correct I think we need to first completely organize your knowledge of the fretboard in regards to scales. To do this you to need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn/review these scales. Using the fingering suggested on the downloaded sheets I want you to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. I'd recommend you buy the Guitar Technique ebook and check out how I recommend you play the guitar.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006J9UF/museeekpublishin

Be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play.

You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to Music Theory Workbook Volume Two or make up your own. You can find the Music Theory Workbook files under the book title on the muse-eek.com website. Also download the applying music theory article from the member's area. This will give you other ideas on sequencing scales.

So to review: For scale study download the scales and get Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two and the Guitar Technique ebook.

Nothing you do on the guitar is going to be worth anything if you can't hear correctly so get the following books. Ear Training One Note Complete. Try to listen to the Ear Training One Note CD 5 to 10 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure to go to www.muse-eek.com and read all the FAQs. This can help you think of this practice correctly. Also get the book Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training and start working on the first assignment in the book. There are also a few suggested lessons in the muse-eek.com member's area for the Fanatic's Guide. You can join the member's are for free after buying the books.

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/members/members1.html

We are also going to review and apply all your chords with the root on the 5th and 6th string. I want you to start learning the chord progressions in the back of the book. Learn both versions of each progression. By this I mean learn the chords using the chord symbols but also look in the very back of the book and learn the progressions by just looking at the actual notes. If you find chords you don't know look them up in the book. You also need to read the section of Chord Reharmonization which precedes the chord progressions. This information is extremely important to help you understand how to analyze, create and alter chord progressions. We are also going to use this information to superimpose melodic lines later on. You should try to learn at least a couple of progressions per week. There are mp3 files up on the muse-eek.com website for these progressions. Look under the title and you will see a folder on the left side called mp3.
 
Q I have been working with one note and fanatics guide for several months now, and although slowly, I am progressing as time goes on. Even though I am at a VERY beginning level still, I have found a few days ago while listening to Ali Akbar Khan, I could assign scale degrees to most of what he was playing during the slow section with no percussion. My question is, do you think it would be wise at this time to start working on the rhythm aspect of ear training as well? If so, what books of yours would you suggest I pick up and start working on?
A You will need to get the following books:

Rhythm Primer
Rhythms Volume One
Rhythms Volume Two

Once you have the books get back to me and I'll give you an assignment.
 
Q I have obtained the following books:

Guitar technique (thanks for the email version)
Guitar clinic
Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol 2
ET one note complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training
Rhythm primer
Rhythms Vol 1
Single String Studies Vol 1
Chord Workbook Vol 1

Rhythm primer: started working assignments on page xxi. These are not difficult for me, but the faster tempos (whole note = much above 60) seem excessive in that by that point I think I have gotten what I need out of the exercise from a reading standpoint.

ET one note: I read through the book and understand what you are saying. I was on the road in the car a lot this week with the first CD on random play. What a blast! I get more than 80% right overall, but have particular problems with b5, b7 and the highest register for some unknown reason. I'm working on it.

Fanatic's guide: I can sing 1, 3 and 5 in all keys and am working on the other diatonic tones.

Let me also say that I am deeply impressed by your scholarship and dedication. I have been teaching and studying for years and have never seen such a comprehensive and well-thought-out method.

I could use some guidance through this vast forest of material. What next?
A The reason for the faster tempos in Rhythm Primer is to get your eye moving quickly across measures of music. Don't underestimate the importance of this. You should also check out the file on beat reading found in the member's area. This is closely related to training your eye to move ahead of the music which is key to sight reading.

As far as the other books first check out the modal sequencing information found in the Guitar Clinic and the Applying music theory in the member's area. As mentioned before I want you get all 19 scales listed on the www.arnoldjazz.com music workshop website down in all keys from every degree. Remember we are just doing an introduction to all these scales they don't have to be fast but they need to be consistent and Gb major should be as strong as C major. We are working towards using the 19 modes as a warm up everyday. So you might for instance run through all 19 modes in one key from every degree for a warm up. This will take time to reach that point but sooner or later you should be able to do this in 20 to 30 minutes. But for now you want to make sure you know all of these scales by playing all of them in every key. You can also use flash cards to test yourself.

Make the following flash cards:

1 set with list of all 19 scales
1 set with degress 1-7
1 set with all keys.

Flip over one card from each set and play the scale. Along with these technical ways of working on the scales complete the exercises in Music Theory for Guitar Volume Two and play along with the vamps that are suggested for each scale type. Remember there are midifiles of these progressions on line at:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/mtwbforguit2/midi.html


For sight reading you want to do this for 1 hour a day. Do 10 minutes out of each of the following books:

Rhythm primer: try to do these as fast as possible
Rhythms Vol 1: metronome on 2 and 4 read with a swing feel if you tap your foot do it on 1 or 1 and 3.
Single String Studies Vol 1: One page a day move through the book by string. So first low E string in C major then A string in C major, D string in C major etc.
Chord Workbook Vol 1: Learn one new chord progression a week. You can also find examples of me playing these progressions at:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/chord1/mp3.html

Augment this time with reading out of books check out of the library or other sources. Remember to read as many types of music and manuscripts as you can find.

Ear training continue as you have described, seems like your on the right track.

If you have more questions let me know. I would like to move on past scales in a few months so try to get all the scales together. Study the concepts of modal sequencing and rhythmic variation that I have set forth in the member's area files and Guitar Clinic.
 
Q I recently purchased the one note method. It is an interesting method and I look forward to improving my hearing. It seems your ear training technique goes on to cover 2 notes, 3 notes etc but I wondered why you don't teach ear training for chords?

Is being able to hear individual notes the same skill required to identify chords? For example, if I can hear and identify the A note in the key of C, does it necessarily follow that I will also be able to identify the A chord in the same key?

I am keen to learn how to play totally by ear and I want to train my ear to be able to hear and identify chords so I know which chord to harmonize the vocals with.
A Hearing chords is partly being able to hear one note and partly being able to modulate because sometimes chord progressions modulate. To give you a simple example of how to use the one note ear training in a chord situation where there is no modulation let's say you have the chord C major. So when you hear the C, E and G it will sound like the root, 3rd and 5th. Let's say the next chord is A minor, which then returns fairly quickly to C major (if we stay too long on A minor we might modulate). So the notes of the A minor chord A, C, and E will sound like the 6th, root and 3rd. Getting to the point that you can hear this way will require you to work completely through the Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced CD from the One Note Method. It will also require you to work through Key Note Recognition and get a good handle on the 2 note books along with Fanatic's Guide which will help you improve quickly. Sometimes students are able to apply the skills learned with the one note method directly to chords, sometimes it takes longer for the skills they learn with the one note method to penetrate their multiple note abilities. To be able to play chords on the spot to a singer singing notes obviously requires a very quick access to knowing what notes you are hearing and transferring that information through your music theory skills to decide on what chord would be appropriate. I would also recommend you improve your music theory skills to help you in this process. I would recommend Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments which will give you exercises to improve instant recognition of what notes are in what chords.
 
Q I have just started working on Key Note Recognition today. My accuracy level on One Note Advanced is around 95%, therefore I decided to start working on Key Note Recognition. I feel I still need to continue to work with One Note, why I'm not sure, but I do feel the need to. Is there any recommended practice schedule that is best when working out of One Note, Key Note, and Fanatic's Guide? Up until now, I would do 7-10 minutes of One Note, followed by 7-10 minutes of Fanatic's, and then repeat this procedure 4 times throughout the day. Is it better to do Key Note, then do the other two, or better to put Key Note in between the other two? Perhaps this is a question that really has no correct answer? As I am working my way through your wonderful books, I realize that practicing correctly and efficiently is an art on its own. I therefore am not sure whether this is something to be worried about or not.
A There is really no correct answer to your question. I will say this though. You need to become aware of what amount of practicing and combination of practicing techniques makes you improve the quickest. Most of the time this is finding the correct amount of repetition/time that you work on an exercise/book/CD. For most people this takes quit a bit of time to figure out. For instance you might be weak at hearing the b6th of a key. So you work on the listening CD, you sing exercises from the Fanatic's Guide that emphasis the b6th and you work on the E major/minor modulation with the Key Note Recognition CD. Each day you increase your frequency and time amount for practicing until you start to see your problem improving. This is just one example but try to use it as a template to learn your weaknesses and find practice routines that fix the problem. You have the tools with the books that you are using. You now just need to find the right combination for yourself by learning more about yourself and how you improve.
 
Q A few questions.

1. I noticed at the Muse-Eek website that several of your books are required texts at NYU. I will be attending NYU next year at the CAS, not Steinhardt, but am strongly looking into doing a music minor at Steinhardt. Are your books the ones that they use in the Aural Comprehension classes? How does this work in a classroom setting? Do the classes start with One Note CD's and Fanatics, and gradually, throughout a period of a few years move on throughout the 2-note series?

2. With Fanatic's Guide, I am still working on the first one note excercises, but am still REALLY slow on my pre-hearing. What I am doing is, listening to the cadence, trying to pre-hear whatever note I am working on, and if I cannot hear it, play the note on an instrument, and repeat this several times until I start to hear an image of the note in my head. Does this seem like a good method for tackling my problem? Or is there something different I should be doing? Although this is the method described in the book, I feel that I am doing something wrong. I am at about 100% accuracy on the Advanced One Note, and working on Key Note, but it took me a few months to even be able to pre hear the root note of the key in Fanatic's! Now, of course I have moved on to other notes.

3. At Arnoldjazz.com, the CD cover for Spooky Actions is a different one than the one on Muse-Eek (which by the way is awsome!) Is this a different CD? If so, can I get it through Muse-eek?
A The music department in the Steinhardt school at NYU would best be described as fluid. The Theory Department, which is where the ear training courses are offered, has used my ear training books. Many times each teacher will decide on what books they want to use for their course so you will find teachers at NYU still using the interval method in their classes. Teachers that are using, or have used, my method work through it the same way as I recommend.

Your method for pre-hearing sounds fine except I would at least try to sing a note before checking the correct pitch on an instrument. You will find by using repetition that you will pre-hear the note. In other words:

1. Play progression.
2. Try to pre-hear note.
3. Try to sing note even if you don't pre-hear it.
4. Repeat the same note and exercise over and over until you are able to pre-hear the note. Sometimes this will take multiple attempts in a row before you start to pre-hear the note.

There were actually two Spooky Action CDs with two different bands. The first one with sort of a geometric shapes on the cover was a CDR release and was never commercially pressed. A great recording and great playing but it was different than the commercial release currently available.
 
Q I am learning a lot of jazz modes such as dorian, super locrian, etc... My teacher wants me to sing the scales to increase my awareness. Should I sing these modes as if I was learning a melody from a song? Should I use your method to sing the scale tones? Should I just practice the scales but not worry about singing or identifying modes? I'm a bit confused. I realize the eventual goal is to just know the notes from a key center. I'd like to learn my jazz scales in the best way possible so I don't develop bad habits. I can identify some scales already such as blues scales, even though I never practiced singing it. Interesting, eh?
A If you are going to sing scales then I would make drones of the following chords for each scale. In some cases you may have to make a bass pattern with the chords in order to keep the chord in the right key. This is particularly true with locrian, locrian natural 2, lydian #5, Altered and diminished.

Here are the chords and associated scales:

Major: Major or Major 7th chord
Dorian: Minor, Minor 7th or Dominant 7th sus 4
Phrygian: Minor, Minor 7th or Dominant 7th sus 4
Lydian: Major 7th or Major 7th #11
Mixolydian: Dominant 7th or Dominant 7th sus 4
Aeolian: Minor, Minor 7th or Dominant 7th sus 4
Locrian: Minor 7th b5
Jazz Minor (Melodic minor ascending): Minor Major 7th Chord
Dorian b2: Dominant 7th sus 4 or Dominant 7th sus4 b9
Lydian #5: Major 7th #5 chord
Lydian b7: Dominant 7th, also with tensions 9, #11, 13
Mixolydian b6: Dominant 7th or Dominant 7th sus 4 you can add in b6 too
Dorian natural 2: Minor 7th b5
Altered: Dominant 7th, do this with various tensions b9, #9, #11, b13
Diminished diminished 7th chord
Symmetrical Diminished: Dominant 7th, also with tensions b9, #9, #11, 13
Whole Tone: Dominant 7th, also with tensions 9, #11, b13
Harmonic Minor: Minor Major 7th Chord
Mixolydian b2, b6: Dominant 7th, also with tensions b9, b13

I would also make modal vamps and sing the scales over them. You can check out Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two for examples of this. This book is for guitar but could also be used for other instruments. If you get the book let me know and I'll give you some pointers. There are some midifiles of modal vamps at:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/mtwbforguit2/midi.html
 
Q I just need to clarify a few things though before I proceed:

1. So if I am singing D dorian scale, I sing Do=D Re=E May=F Fa=G etc using D minor as my drone chord and those syllables, correct?

2. What is special about locrian or diminished or lydian #5 that makes it hard to create a drone chord? Why must I create a bass line? I don't understand. Is it because those scales have multiple chords associated with them?
A You are correct with question 1.

If you create a vamp with locrian, diminished or lydian #5 and it sounds like the right key center you are fine. If it doesn't then experiment with various voicings or add a bass line to help define the key center. If you are just starting this ear training method I would highly recommend you don't do anything with singing scales until you have completed Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide. Your understanding of how you hear will come with experience but most importantly you must 1st working through the books I've mentioned. Special case chords and scales would be a very frustrating and possible damaging place to start because these special situations need you to have experience with understanding how you hear. You are not going to intellectually understand how you actually hear for quite some time you must first develop the tools and ability found in the books. If you have already worked through these books then best of luck with singing scales over chords.
 
Q Five years ago I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis which fairly abruptly halted my career as a guitarist. At that time I changed my focus from performance to composition and began getting into the film and media music business. I also started on an ear-training quest to eliminate my dependency on an instrument during composition (to compose from my mind directly to manuscript paper) due to the difficulty I have at times. I have a degree in composition and have spent quite a bit of time on interval based ear training. I have also recently completed Burge's Relative Pitch Ear Training Course and have had quite a bit of success using these techniques.

However, I was recently browsing Amazon's bookstore and I stumbled onto your books and I was intrigued enough to buy them. Here's why: When I'm composing to paper, I find that I naturally use a combination of interval based and key based techniques (I was unaware of what I was doing until I read your book). I could certainly use more work on my key based technique, which is why I'm planning to start your course. My question: Do you really have to unlearn all traces of interval based ear training to completely grasp your method? It would still seem to me, in my situation, that a subconscious combination of both methods would yield the best results. I compose all sorts of music from abstract atonal orchestral music to contemporary jazz and pop rock songs and I think it would depend on the situation. I am interested in your thoughts. It will help me decide how to approach your material. I would also appreciate any other advice you have in helping me achieve my goal.
A In general I find that students who have a lot of interval based ear study behind them before they start my method have a lot of trouble. I do believe both methods could be used at the same time and I know musicians who do that. I find that their ears are better than most but not as good as someone who really has the key based system together. I should say to get it 'together' is a multiple year process if not a life long pursuit. I don't believe there is any music that is atonal. There are people that would certainly hear it as atonal because they haven't developed their ears to the point where they can hear the music within a key. I can prove this to you but it would take you working through the method to the point where you are pretty good with 2 note ear training. At that point I would have you start to sing things like Schoenberg's Five Movements for Piano or Webern's Funf Canons. You would see that over time you would hear these pieces in a key center. The key center may move frequently but you would hear it tonality.

You will particularly have problems with 2 note ear training if you have a strong interval background. These problems are something that anyone can overcome but as you improve with the key based system you will see your reliance on intervals becomes less and less.

Best thing for you to do is get started with Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing and stay in touch so I can help you through the rough parts.
 

I recently started Fanatic's Two Note Vol 3 and was surprised that I was able to identify about 60% right away. The skill I gained on Vol 1&2 transferred immediately. I was very pleased! For example when I heard a two note pair played and heard it as 5 and 3 of the key. This was a eureka moment! Right now I hear (correct answers) them about 60% 5,3 and a 40% 1,6. There are problems with some of the pairs but the accuracy is getting better because I have just kept up the fanatic's singing exercises like you advised. One major side benefit is that I'm now listening to a wider variety of music than ever before and enjoying it more. I was listening to something on the classical music station today that sounded like some kind of atonal thing and was hearing scale degrees in the areas of the piece that seemed to have a root. Just wanted to let you know that your books have been a great blessing to me. I have always wanted to have good ears and have had great success so far for with your method.
 
Q Let me start by thanking you profoundly for revealing what seems to me a key pillar to establishing genuine musicianship. As you have pointed out many times, the methods you teach are anything but easy. I am really very sorry that my questions are so long. But I really hope you have the time to help me out...I am extremely dedicated, so your help would mean a great deal to me.

I am a 23 year old aspiring musician/guitarist. I have been practicing out of the Ear Training: One Note Complete book for about 3 weeks now. I was wondering if it is allowed when trying to hear/name the pitches to visualize the fretboard and picture the placement of each note. Or should I try to learn the pitches as blindly as possible? I am asking because I have found that focusing on the fretboard placement of each note helps prevent any cheating and note resolving I might have as my mind is occupied on the fretboard. I don't yet have the mental focus and discipline of a zen Buddhist monk to prevent me from occasionally cheating, but I think your course is somehow helping me get there :-) I have also been thinking that visualizing the note on the fretboard would also save me the time of having to eventually transfer my relative pitch to my fingers, if you know what I mean.

My next question regards a worry of mine. I suppose that the way I have to memorize the pitches is the same way one memorizes anything else, the brain is exposed to it and then naming (identification) follows, and hopefully over time, the names and the notes become one in the mind. I am worried that when I guess a note right after hearing it, my brain might be associating the guessed (and at this point probably incorrect) name with the note. I am worried that this might slow my progress. So I am wondering if there was some sort of mental trick you can suggest to minimize that from happening. I do understand the need of guessing instantly, but instead could I just not hear/mentally-place when I am suppose to give the answer, let it ring out, and get the correct answer from your voice and then try to associate the note with the name (by having the note mentally ring out over the name)? Should I perhaps be repeating every track at least twice? Or is there any other method I can do if this is in fact a legitimate concern? Here again, any abstract Zen mental suggestions that you might have would be greatly appreciated.

In order to get into the habit of guessing quickly and not allowing reflex cheating, can I be practicing with the intermediate/advanced CD's as well? I have some bad habits developed by previous interval trainings, but thank God I only had started bad ear training several months prior to purchasing your book (it is amazing how damaging so little can be). I ask this because I am no yet at the point where I have 80% correct on the beginning CD.

My next question is about fixing the bad habits. I have interval tendencies with G, also with A - which, thanks to previous self interval training, gets me hearing the opening riff to a song which starts off 1 to m3 (so I shift keys, in this case the A is the 1 and C becomes the m3). I also sometimes get the classics: D back to the tonic, G# back to G, C# to tonic, A# to tonic, the opening riff to Purple Haze starts playing when F# is heard etc... So my question is as follows: With G for example, a note that instantly (and I do mean instantly) is identified by upward interval and resolution with the tonic, can I somehow break this habit by playing other melodies in the root of C that include G, and from there try to 'hear' the G? If I were to play different melodies and intervals each time, couldn't this prevent me from associating G with one particular interval/melody, and in turn force me to simply hear G? Another way of putting my question is that if I hear G from as many 'angles' as possible, wouldn't this force me to eventually just hear G? Couldn't I also play C and G in unison (or in any C chord), and have that help me break my old habits? Of course my question applies to any of my cheating intervals.

My next question involves a dilemma of mine. I had requested David Lucas Burge's Relative Pitch Ear Training Super Course for Christmas. Once the order was placed, I read a review of Burge's course in where a customer recommended your approach over his, but oddly enough, out of all the reasons he used to advocate your book, he did not talk about the interval vs. contextual differences of the two approaches. As a matter of fact, he said that studying Burge's CD's along with yours was a wining formula for him. So I bought your book and I began studying Burge's Cd's along with yours. I had begun singing the fifth intervals taught in his course, and after further understanding of your approach, I realized the damage that it had instantly caused me. But from the reviewer's comments, I am wondering if his course can in fact be done with yours (I don't know how familiar you are with his course). Here is the dilemma, I cannot return the Burge course (over $300). I have ordered a Fanatic's guide and Keynote from Amazon.ca, which will only get to me in mid March since I am in Toronto (and the whole of Toronto does not seem to have a copy of either books!). Should I:

a) be doing your course in tandem with Burge's?
b) master your courses first and ONLY then perhaps do Burge's?
c) forget about his course and only do yours?

Of course, both a and b would make me feel better about the money spent, but I have a feeling you are going to recommend c ;-)

I have no time constraints for practicing your exercises, and am incredibly motivated towards achieving some progress. I was wondering if listening to the CD's for countless hours with small breaks would increase my progress, or is there a cap to how much can be done before the listening becomes a waste of time? How much can a typical person's short-term memory hold? Should I be taking more frequent breaks when listening to the intermediate/advanced CD's? Should I be listening and thinking of it as little as possible during the breaks in order to 'digest' what is in my short term memory?

I was also wondering if trying to learn songs/riffs by ear on my guitar would help with this ear training. I have a feeling that this is how musicians like Jimi Hendrix got good relative pitch. Any thoughts as to how the great get relative pitch? I know Miles for instance used a piano along with his horn (but I don't know exactly what he did).

And my final request is this. I am dedicating all my time now to music, and I want to get improvements ASAP. I would really like to begin exercises from Fanatic's guide. I have been doing some of the exercises given in the member's area with my vocals over guitar, but I would really like to make sure I am doing everything right. Is there any other information that I need for these exercises that are exclusive to the book?

Anyway, thanks for reading through my book of questions, hope you have the time to answer them. Thanks again for your work. I really think you have provided me with a fundamental key to becoming the musician I have dreamed of being!
A Thanks for contacting me and thanks for the kind words. You could visualize the notes on the fretboard but honestly I have a feeling that there is another problem here and that is that your music theory relationships are not strong in your mind and on the guitar fretboard. I think you need to work through the Music Theory Workbooks for Guitar Volumes One and Two so you strengthen these relationships. This will help you with your guitar playing and with your ear training.

The main reason I recommend answering quickly is that it stops you from cheating. If you answer quickly you don't have time to resolve a note or sing up a scale in your mind. I understand your concern about programming the wrong answer into your mind but I don't feel that is the case because you do hear the correct answer after you guess. You could think about each note longer if you make sure you are not doing any of the crutches people use to identify notes. If you want to try faster answering you certainly can use the intermediate and advanced CD before you are done with the beginning.

I'm sure you are aware that using the many resolution tendencies that you speak of can really mess you up. Notes don't always resolve the way you might think. People who rely on these resolution tendencies tend to only be able to recognize notes if they are part of their memorized resolution. I think you are on the right track for fixing your resolution tendencies. I recommend you use the singing examples in Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training to help fix your problem. I would definitely recommend you not work on the Burge course in conjunction with my ear training. I think it will really mess you up because it is based on intervals and not the relationship of each note to a key center.

One thing about my ear training method is that it helps you understand your learning process and your short term memory capacity. For example, I would do experiments with doing the ear training for 5 minutes 10 times a day to 20 times a day for 5 minutes. See what difference this makes, if any. Let me give you a quick example from when I was doing one note ear training. I was pretty good with all the notes after a year and half of hell but I couldn't get Ab. I kept adding on time that I sung and listened to the ear training tape. I concentrated on singing as many exercises as I could with Ab. I kept adding on time and adding on time. Finally it ended up that I was practicing ear training 10 hours a day for two weeks. After the two weeks I got Ab. This is an extreme example but sometimes you have to take great efforts to overcome a particular weakness.

Overall I'd say you are doing well. You are thinking seriously about this and have the drive to fix your problems and improve. That's the most important thing. At this point don't try to come up with other methods to help yourself. Just apply all your concentration and effect into the singing and listening and follow the instructions I give in the books. You can start applying this ear training but first make sure you can do the one note ear training at 80% with the advanced CD. You don't want to apply a method before you understand it because you will have a tendency to make even more mistakes in your perception.

On a final note you might get:

Memory: From Mind to Molecules
by Larry R. Squire, Eric R. Kandel

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/0716760371/qid=1046073543/sr=1-3/ref=
sr_1_3/104-8820594-5627927?v=glance&s=books

Eric Kandel won a Nobel Prize for his work with memory, he also did a Charlie Rose interview which is well worth getting a copy of via PBS (Channel 13 in the New York Area).
 
Q So I ordered Fanatic's along with Lines and The Big Metronome (to save on shipping), and have Key Note on the way as well. I know that I should wait with Lines as well as Key Note until I am trough with One Note/Fanatic's. While I intend to focus on Fanatic's and One Note throughout the day, can I also sometimes be doing The Big Metronome if I feel like it, or do you recommend I wait and only focus on one thing at a time?

Do you also recommend that once I am done with Fanatic's and One Note, that I study Key Note in tandem with Lines?

I am pleased to say that on One Note, I am starting to occasionally get G wrong (before, I would get it right all the time, but by cheating). This is a good thing right?

And in terms of judging healthy progress as opposed to progress based on interval reasoning... I am getting about 30-40% right (after 3 weeks), and when I am wrong it is often only by a half/whole step. Is this a good indication? Does this mean that my brain is learning correctly, or is this trend an indication that I am still somehow answering based on interval and distance reasoning? It would be great to have some sort of mental queues indicating whether I am learning correctly.
A I wouldn't work on LINES until you are working on the 2 note books. You can certainly work on the Big Metronome anytime.

You will find that your ability will vary on specific notes. You might be good at the 5th for awhile then it will go away and then come back into focus later. I believe this is your mind readjusting as it learns new notes.

Overall it sounds like you are making excellent progress. But remember don't think so much about progress think about the notes. Immerse yourself in their sound. Everyone that gets this ear training puts their energy into it. For some people it is quick, for others it takes a long time. The important thing is to keep a positive attitude and keep working.
 
Q First of all, terrific product! I bought all three CDs and have worked my way through the Advanced Level. I can identify the pitches with over 95% accuracy. (I will occasionally mix up D# and F#.)

I also bought and have been working through the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing.

I have a question, though. I can readily apply the ear training to major keys. However, it's something of a struggle to apply the ear training to minor keys. I've been using movable do in the natural minor (Aeolian) mode: do re me fa so le te do, but I don't hear and sing the 3rd, 6th & 7th degrees of the scale with the same comfort that I experience in major (Ionian) mode. Do you have any suggestions?
A If you are at 95% on the advanced CD then you should move to Key Note Recognition which will use both major and minor keys. Let me know your progress with the Fanatic's Guide and I might suggest some other modes to work with in that book too.
 
Q Thank you for your books, and for taking the time to answer our questions. I'm in my mid thirties, and after listening to and loving jazz for many years I've decided to learn to play the sax. Though I expected it to be hard, it's proven more difficult than I imagined, in part, I've realized, because my sense of pitch is quite bad. So I started using your One Note Beginning and Fanatic's Guide CDs about four months ago, and I can now identify the correct pitch on the One Note CD about a third of the time. I'm happy with my progress (although it seems slow), but I have two questions.

The first concerns your suggestions for the using the Fanatic's Guide in the Muse-Eek members area. You recommend a series of exercises to be sung over the C chord only. My question is whether I should do those exercises BEFORE learning to sing all the scale degrees in the order that you recommend on page 6 of the book (1,3,5,2,4,6,7, etc.)? I ask because I think the sequence on page 6 will be easier for me. I can sing the 1, 3, and 5, and I think that moving on to other diatonic notes will be easier than, say, moving to a C# over a C chord. But of course, if there's some magic to the exercises in the members' area, I'd rather work on them.

My second question is whether you can recommend an ear-training teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'll of course keep using your CDs, but I'd love to find a teacher to guide me through the rough patches.
A Seems like you're making excellent progress. As far as the Fanatic's Guide goes do the exercise on page 6 first. From there you could branch out in a few directions. For you though it's probably best to just continue through the Fanatic's Guide book for now.

I unfortunately don't know any teacher in the SF area but I'm here to help so send me an email when you get into a rough spot.
 
Q I've recently begun working with your One Note Complete Method and also just ordered the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing which I'm looking forward to. I feel like I'm getting a good handle on the concepts you've presented in the book and on your website, but still have some intellectual hurdles to cross as far as relating your ear training techniques to my knowledge of music theory.

For example, let's say you're improvising over a minor II-V-I in C. Theoretically, you could play D Locrian #2 over the II, G Altered over the V, and C Melodic Minor over the I. So in one sense you're playing in the key of C, in another you're playing the modes, and in still another you're playing through the keys of F Melodic Minor, Ab Melodic Minor, and C Melodic Minor.

If I understand your material correctly, you would hear this entire passage in C provided the tempo is fast enough. However, from an intellectual standpoint it makes more sense to think of an E note played over the II as the natural 2nd (or 9th) of the chord, rather than the major 3rd of the key of C (which in this case is minor). On the other hand, it would seem kind of strange to sing with a movable 'do' system where you're changing keys every two or four beats to fit the chords (especially at a brisk tempo). I imagine this approach would be even more tenuous with an atonal piece of music.

I guess I'm just trying to reconcile the fact that I'll often think of the notes more in relation to the chord I'm playing over, rather than the overall key. My hope is that with enough practice and conditioning using your system my ear will become refined to the point where it will be able to sort out such ambiguities on its own. As such I'm not really too worried about all of this. However, I would like to hear your thoughts on the subject, if only to satisfy my curiosity.
A It is unfortunate but understandable that many people think of notes more in relation to a chord rather than to an overall key center. With thousands of schools, hundreds of books and musicians telling you otherwise I could understand your dilemma. I believe I've laid out a logical argument for believing in the key center over the chord but really the only thing that will convince a person is their ability to hear it for themselves. You wouldn't be studying my system if the other one was working for you so I think you intuitively know that you need to at least try my method. The arguments I've presented that every chord isn't it's own world and that listening for intervals or for a note's distance from another is dicey are already within the books you own or on the muse-eek.com website. I think the important thing for you to think of now is that working towards my way of hearing will take discipline, keen deductive skills and an ability to think through your personal patterns of thought and recognition. I'm the first to say that this is not easy and this is why I've decided to not just write a book but to help people out via email. I know from experience that many questions will come up based on your previous conditioning and knowledge of music. I think my first suggestion would be to master the one note ear training and get a good bite into the Fanatic's Guide. Think of the One Note ear training like learning the alphabet. Learning how to make the letters of the alphabet into a coherent language will take much work and extra assignments from me that aren't contained in my books but are talked about within the FAQs. The important thing is don't figure because I gave one person a particular assignment that it's probably good for you. Although meeting a student in person is always the best, with many online students I've exchange hundreds of emails so I've grown to understand their needs over time and therefore make recommended assignments. So I urge you to take advantage of my assistance to help you answer the tough questions, self doubts and further paths of study. I find the students that do best with this method first practice very hard but think deeply about ear training and really want to reach a high place in music. I'm glad to hear you are taking the first steps and please stay in touch so I can help you with your journey.
 
Q How do I obtain a chart of the Solfedge hand signs for my son?
A I'm guessing that you are referring to the system of using your hand to communicate pitch when people are sight singing. I know of two methods, one is based from the other.

Guido's Hand from around 1000AD

Here is a link for information on Guido's Hand

http://www.bbcm.co.uk/guido.htm

There is also the Kodaly system developed from Guido's hand.

You can find out more about the Kodaly system of solmization at the following URL's. I would suggest contacting them if you want the exact information which is published in one of their books.

http://www.kodaly-inst.hu/public/public1.htm

http://www.excel-ability.com/Music/Programs/Kodaly.html
 
Q Lets say each of the books/CDs of yours that I purchased are classes I am taking at a University. In which order would my classes be and for how long? I presently have all the time in the world for music, but unless I have a daily road map I sometimes get loose discipline. With the One Note and Fanatics I currently do each of them for 10 minutes one after the other for 8-10 times a day because I can only take them in small doses. So just insert 20 wherever in my routine that you think would be good to work on them.

I OWN:
1. One-Note Complete
2. Fanatics Guide
3. Music Theory Workbook One
4. Chord Workbooks One and Two
5. Rhythm Primer
6. Single String Studies
7. 19 Scales off of Arnoldjazz.com
** a lot of different style sheet music
A You want to build up to 6 to 10 hours a day. I would suggest doing this over a years worth of time in order to change your current life style and develop the mental and physical conditioning needed to work this hard. The schedule is below:

1. One-Note Complete and Fanatics Guide: Do short 10 minute practice periods 10 minutes for each book, alternating throughout the day.

2. Music Theory Workbook One: Work up to doing 5 pages a day. I'd break this up into a few different sessions each day

3. Chord Workbook One: Learn one new chord progression a day with associated chords. Play both the exercises with notes only and with chord symbols. Also, work your way through the book learning all chords cycle 5. I'd work through 5 to 6 new chords per week.

4. Chord Workbook Two: Learn one new chord type per week. Be able to play all the chords up and down the neck for each chord type. After completing this you will then work on the chord progressions.

5. Rhythm Primer: Follow directions in book. Play a new page each day. Try to work the tempo up as fast as you can using directions in book.

6. Single String Studies: One page per week moving to a new string, same key, each week. Do not look at the guitar neck as you play, try to feel where the notes are. Use midifiles to check your accuracy.

7. You should really have: Rhythms Volume One and Two and LINES along with a lot of different style sheet music to complete your sight reading studies. I want you to read one hour a day from the books and various sheet music. Download Beat Reading from the member's area, rhythm studies, and apply to various pieces of sheet music each day. Spend about 15 minutes doing this.

8. Learn the 19 Scales off of Arnoldjazz.com in all keys. I want you to learn all 19 scales in one key each week. Hopefully you have checked out Guitar Technique ebook so you don't go through all of this with bad technique and then have to start over later.

9. You need to apply the scales to real music. Make loops or vamps each day and apply the scales. Also download the Applying Music Theory from the Muse Eek member's area for other scale ideas to try when you improvise. You should spend at least 2 hours a day applying the scales.

Remember to build into this so you don't hurt yourself. Again please check out the ebook guitar technique so you don't do all this work in vain.
 
Q I do not only spend time in the key of C major but in all keys equally. Is that what I am supposed to be doing (I hope so because I have been doing it for about 3 months)? I will be learning the b7th next week. The subsequent scale degrees each week thereafter. That is if they come to me like the past several pitches have.
A You only have to do the ear training in the key of C major because all keys are the same. You can work in other keys if you want to help your music theory knowledge with, for instance, what is the b6th of Gb? But you will learn this information when you work in the Fanatic's Guide so working the one note ear training exercises in other keys isn't necessary. Again I would urge you to just listen to the ear training CD unedited at least a couple times a day.
 
Q I have been using your sight singing and beginners one note books. I have had correspondence with you before and your insight was great. Currently I have memorized the sounds of notes in the major scale (not the intervals but the unique sound of the notes). I have taken a break from learning new notes to explore the major scale (very slowly) while using my new skills. Next week I get back to learning new scale degrees but now they will be outside the diatonic scale for the major 7th cord. I was wondering if there was a reason that we do not learn notes such as the minor third against a minor chord. I have listened to a 5th against both a major and minor chord and it seems to take on a different character. How do you address this in your series of books?

P.S. My musicianship is improving by leaps and bounds.
A All notes sound the same no matter what type of key center they are heard in. You may not be able to distinguish this at your current ability but you will if you keep working at the ear training.

You will begin to work with minor keys when you do the book Key Note Recognition. For now I would concentrate on getting to know all pitches against a major key center. I also caution you from spending too much time on just the notes of a C major scale and not listening to the other 5 notes. To use an analogy, you can't truly know what the color Blue looks like until you also know the color Red.

Keep up the practicing and I'm glad to hear you are improving.
 
Q When you said play all the scales in one key each week did you mean A or B?

(A) DIATONIC- key of C Maj. C Ionian, D dorian, E phrygian, etc.

Or did you mean:
(B) C Ionian, C dorian, C phrygian, etc. and when playing 7 positions for C Ionian starting on first fret low E which is F lydian I should be thinking F=1 G=2 etc., right? And not F=4 G=5 etc.
A I meant B. C Ionian is not the same key as D Dorian or E Phrygian. The scales contain the same notes but are not thought of or heard the same way.

You do not think F lydian when you start a C major scale from F. You think C major so F=4, G=5 etc...

The fact that you have asked these questions shows me that you don't understand the ear training process that you are trying to master. I suggest rereading the ear training books. Remember just because you start on a note somewhere doesn't make it the root of some key. If you have problems hearing a C scale starting from F in the key of C then I suggest you record a C vamp or play the corresponding track from the Fanatic's Guide while you play the scale to make sure you are hearing it properly.
 
Q When I hear E in A Maj I think 5. If I were to hear C in G Maj, I think 4, no confusion. Here is the confusion: I have a video by Vinnie Moore that says F lydian is in the same key as C Ionian, just starting on a different degree of the major scale. He says 'So if someone says lets jam in D dorian you would know that you are in C Ionian.' Then he plays the 7 modes over a B note vamp so you can really hear the different tonalities of each mode. Then he says that they were all in different keys, that B Ionian is not the same key as B dorian or B phrygian but that they were played over the same root note.
A I haven't seen the Vinnie Moore video so I'm only going on your word but I assure you that the key of F lydian is a completely different tonality than C major. To use your examples, if you play a C in F lydian it will sound like the 5th. If you play an F in the key of C major it will sound like the 4th. Therefore, these key centers are not the same. If someone says lets jam in D dorian you do not think C major you think D Dorian because you are in the key of D dorian not C major. By the way if you understood my ear training you would have realized this is true.
 
Q Wow! It finally sunk into my thick skull. A mode is a tonality and not just one scale in one position like I thought, the 7 different positions you show for each mode are all in the same tonality (mode). And when improvising, many chords have avoid notes like F in Cmaj7 chord, so C Ionian would have F as the avoid note. Playing C dorian over Cmin7 there is no avoid note.

I really should have read the ear training book more carefully and not so much in a hurry to get to the CDs. I also think Music Theory Workbook 2 will help engrain this stuff. I have been enlightened.
A That's a real break through for you and it's one of the most important things an improvising musician needs to know to play musically. I'm very glad we got that cleared up because you had me worried there for a while.
 
Q So far I have been playing rhythms, melodies and progressions that are already written, but what about writing down in notation what I hear or create? Is this something I should already be working on?
A You can start transcribing anything you find of interest. If you want to develop a jazz feel you might start with Wes Montgomery's D Natural Blues. Whichever style you are interested in, playing and transcribing 8 to 16 bars and learning it note for note will help you develop a better sense of feel, phrasing, and articulation. Try to pick stuff that is not too difficult to start with.
 
Q I'm working on my last week (Key of G) of the 6 note Fanatic's Book exercise with the metronome (3 times a day for 10 minutes). I'm now able to sing the exercises up and down at quarter note = 40 bpm. Of course pre-hearing notes at this speed is quite challenging for now. Please send me my next assignment. I'm getting more comfortable with the singing, but of course still have some weak notes at 40 bpm.

I'm also working on the Single String vol 1 book (first page) 3 x a day for 5 minutes with the metronome. I'm currently in the Key of Eb and I'm working up to quarter note = 40 bpm. I'm getting better at singing the exercise and now It's taking me less time to learn the transposed notes when I change keys and I'm getting up to 40bpm in less time.

I've been getting at least 80% correct on the Advanced Ear Training CD for the past 3 weeks but still don't feel I really know the notes well enough. I've been listening to the CD 4-5 times a day. Should I take more time to let the sound of the notes sink in, or should I move on to the Key note recognition CD?

I've also been working on Right Hand Technique (2 x 30' per day, only elbow motion). I have a hard time playing the Sweep Picking exercises fluidly, and think I'll need 2-4 weeks to improve on that before moving on. I do all the exercises with a metronome and feel absolutely no pain or tension. I've been increasing the speed at which I play the various exercises gradually.
A Well my first concern is how quickly you can do the Fanatic's Guide and the Single String Book. We need to raise up the speed at which you can pre-hear notes and sing the correct note. So what I would like you to do is go back to the 3 note exercise in the Fanatic's Guide and start transposing the first note of each exercise up an octave. You then want to sing each measure in all keys. Overall we just need to speed the process up before we move on.

I think we should stick with the Advanced CD for awhile longer. It's important that your accuracy improve some more before we move on. You're close, so keep your nose to the grind stone - we are almost there.

With the Right Hand Technique it's important to move your elbow correctly to get across strings but remember that most of your technique will come from the forearm movement. I think you could start some of those exercises particularly the ones that are just playing one string.
 
Q I just recently started learning the guitar a few months ago, at age 35. First off, let me tell you that I appreciated your book 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist and Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. They got me up to speed quickly. Following your recommendation, I also bought Ear training One Note. I've read through all the FAQs on your web site, but still have questions on the best method to learn the notes in the key of C major.

Two days ago I started with it. The first day I just listened to the CD, all 99 tracks, at random order, many times during the day. That was a bit overwhelming, and so I reduced the number of notes to listen to to C, E, and G - as suggested in one FAQ. On the second day, I started with this smaller set. I listen to it about 5 times every day, as you suggested - burned a CD and played it in my portable CD player in shuffle mode. Even with only 25 tracks, I still feel overwhelmed. I know I need to persevere hoping for the light of the tunnel. However, I'm wondering if I can further reduce the problem set to even fewer notes and fewer pitches.

So, please let me know if my following idea has any problems. I'd like to start with only two notes and four pitches (four tracks), say two pitches for C and two pitches for G. Then I practice on those. If I can clearly distinguish those four, I add more notes to that set (or more pitches, please advise). Also, the pitches I start out with would not be too high or too low, because those seem to be harder to memorize. Once I've mastered those, I either add another note, or add new pitches for C and G. I then keep growing the problem set until I've learned all notes and all their pitches.

If this is an OK idea, how would you advise to start out and how to grow the set of pitches (add notes or add pitches, start with medium pitches, then add low and finally very high ones)?

Instead of practicing something over and over for weeks and weeks, without feeling progress, I hope to be able to feel progress much sooner. I worry that I practice week after week without feeling any progress, which would decrease my motivation as well as confidence. I can also use a small MP3 player to easily add more files to it - the size of the MP3 player is also much smaller, making it easy to take it anywhere. It's great to have new technology to create a more effective learning process.

I'm hoping with this method I could see progress quickly, hopefully week after week. So, please let me know if this is a bad idea.
A Nice to hear from you and thanks for reading the FAQs before contacting me. I guess my first concern is your expecting to see light at the end of the tunnel after two days. Do you really feel like you have given yourself enough time? Many students don't see any progress for weeks, even months, but then their mind begins to remember and slowly but surely they master this technique. I should also mention that I've never had a student that could get this ear training that really tried.

All that said I'm wondering why you aren't working out of the Fanatic's Guide if you are having such a hard time. This book will greatly speed up your progress and would be a much better place to concentrate on smaller sets of notes.

You can limit your self to 2 notes if you want with the Ear Training One note CDs. Personally I think it will take you longer to get to 100% correct answers. Remember you can't know the true color of red without knowing all the other colors. Therefore limiting your palette will mostly confuse your mind in the long run. I will say that listening to fewer notes a few times a day is OK as long as you listen to them all most of the time. Overall I think your missing the point on how you learn this type of ear training. This is not referential learning where you are comparing one thing to other. It's more like the type of learning your mother used to teach you how to speak. You hear a sound over and over until you memorize it. It seems you have a type of mind that looks for other answers when something doesn't work right away. That's a good attribute normally. In this case I think it will distract from your over all progress.
 
Q I'm not expecting to see the end of the tunnel in two days :) I did not intend to sound like that. Those two days just got me thinking into how I can make this learning process more effective for me. I like to tune my practice hours so that I can monitor progress, because that helps me keep motivated and to have fun. Because I worried to work on ear training day after day for many weeks to come without noticing any progress, I was hoping I could change this and make it more effective for me.

Since you're telling me that it's not a good idea to go this way, I won't. I've already ordered the Fanatic's Guide, which will arrive here next week. I also ordered Right Hand Technique and Harmonic Experience by W. A. Mathieu (which seems to address many of my other novice questions).
A It is important to understand that each person comes to this ear training with past learning habits, conceptions and perspectives. It is of course much easier if you were here in person for me to analyze your situation and properly guide you. All I can ask of you is your dedication, patience and belief that you can change your ability to hear music. Please have some faith in yourself that you can change and that this change may require you to go the extra mile. Fanatic's Guide is a good book for focusing in on each note and really getting an internal grasp on the sound. I think it would be a good idea to really concentrate on the singing and pre-hearing involved in the Fanatic's Guide for a few months before expecting a break through. I realize this is hard for you to just go ahead blindly without seeing daily progress but some things don't change daily so don't expect them to.
 
Q I have a concern about the effects of this ear training on my musicianship. You often say that the goal of this training is to hear music in a different way. As I have progressed through 1 note, I have noticed that I listen to music slightly differently. And here in lies my concern.

A recent article in Scientific American talks about how the brain processes music. It talks about 4 or so main different areas of the brain that can be responsible for enjoying and processing music: on a tempo level, on a rhythm level, on an overall holistic emotional level, and on a per pitch or per sound segment basis (i.e. perfect/relative pitch).

Taking the two latter, it seems I have always enjoyed music on a holistic basis. I think that most of the population, the people I hope to touch with my music, enjoys music mostly on this level as well. With the ear training, I have found that per pitch way of listening to music is slowly taking over. Great, deep emotional music that may not have that many pitches suddenly seems stupid and simple, and the appreciation for the whole vibe, no matter how technically simplistic, fades. I fear this and don't want this. I don't want to create music primarily using this part of my listening brain. I find it too cerebral, not emotional/cathartic enough. Do you have any thoughts of this concern?

On a whole, I do want to further develop my relative pitch. As you say, it is probably the most powerful tool to have as an improvising musician. Your methods are amazing. But as you know it take lots of work, and therefore, requires 100% motivation. This concern above, even if potentially futile, has caused me to proceed with less vigor, as my motivation is at 98%. Can you ease my concern?
A I understand your concern. I think there are a few good ways to think about the technical vs. the emotional and it relates to ear training. Let me give you an analogy. When you read a book you can approach it from many ways. The most common is to read the book and be brought into the subject and have it effect you emotionally. You also could sit there and look at each word and sentence and see how it is put together. As I'm sure you realize you have a choice in this matter and can approach the book from either way depending on what you want out of the book at the moment. This is the same with the ear training. Ear training is a tool which you can turn off and on. You are not somehow taken into a world where you can only analyze sound and can't appreciate it from an emotional standpoint just because you have developed your ear training skills.
 
Q I've been doing the ear training for about two years now (one note), and sight singing for Fanatic's for a year. Last week I reached 80 percent for the first time on one note! I have a question about singing two notes, and also about hearing the 12 'signature sounds' in real songs that I listen to.

First, I was wondering if I should sing 'Do, Di, Fa, Fi, Do, Di, etc.' for the two notes in a chord progression C, F, C in the key of C? Or should I sing 'Do, Di, Do, Di, Do, Di, etc' and just know the notes I am singing are C, C#, F, F#, C, C#, etc. I don't understand this. I think this question is directly related to hearing the 'signature sounds' in the songs I listen to. . .

It seems like I should hear the notes (of a melody for instance) as relating to the current chord being played, not the key, since I have to store the key in my mind to hear each note. But, if the current chord played is the basis of the quality of the note of the melody, then the process seems to be in the moment and instantaneous.

So, if a melody is made of the notes 'B-flat, G, G, F, F, E / A, F, F, E, E, D / G, etc.' but the chord progression in the key of G (minor) is Gmin / Dmin / Amaj7, then would I hear 'May, Do, Do, Tay, Tay, La / So, May, May, Re, Re, Do/ Tay' or should I hear 'May, Do, Do, Tay, Tay, La / Re, Tay, Tay, La, La, So/ Do?' Could you clear up my confusion in this area, please?

Also, I would really like to be able to hear the these sounds in the songs I hear. I really want this a lot. I listen to tango, Jewel, Nora Jones, Brazilian Axé music, Gal Costa, Carlos Jobim, and piano music of Chopin and Rachmaninoff played by Ashkenasky. I would love to be able to hear all those pitches, to be able to sing them myself (by hearing each of their unique qualities) and play them on the piano and write them down on manuscript paper. I plan to continue doing this ear training and never stop because I really love music, but is there more I can do? Could you help me with more diverse exercises (for guessing the notes and eventually hearing notes in the music I listen to)? I am really excited about the exercises. That doesn't go away.
A It's very difficult to answer your questions about how you should hear in the examples you have given because I don't know how quickly the chords are changing and I don't know the tempo of the music. Both these facts will have a great influence on whether you will remain in the same key or modulate. In the final conclusion you must hear whether you are still in one key or have modulated. At your current ability of 80% with the one note ear training I think it would be pretty confusing to you to try and figure this out because you are still weak with the one note and haven't worked through the Key Note Recognition and started the Two Note books which will teach you how to modulate. If you want to use real music to improve yourself I would only work with songs that have one chord so that you don't get confused. There are thousands of songs like this including entire idioms such as Indian music.

One exercise that you could do to help you start to hear chord progressions in one key is to take songs that you know that contain only diatonic chords and sing the arpeggios over a key drone. You could use the Fanatic's Guide CD for this. Take a progression like C, D-, E-, F and sing the triads over the C drone so you would sing C, E, G, D, F, A, E,G,B, F, A, C. Then try different permutations of this progression by starting the root going to the 5th then the 3rd. This would be C, G, E, D,A,F, E,B,G, F, C, A. You will find a list of permutations in the 'applying music theory' file in the member's area. This will show you other permutations that you can use for 3 or even 4 note chords. Remember for now all notes you sing will only be over a one chord vamp and therefore the solfeggio syllables will all be related to the key of C or of course another key if you transpose these exercises to a different key and use a different chord as your drone.

Hope this helps. Be patient your probably 6 months to a year away from beginning to modulate correctly. You just need to work through the other books I've mentioned and of course keep in touch with your questions.
 
Q As I am working through Fanatic's Guide, a couple questions have come up. I have been working on the first One Note exercises for months, (more than 7 months) and am still not past the diatonic notes. Not only am I not past the diatonic notes, but I am having a terrible time with them as well! It's as if my mind cannot hear the cadence on the CD and latch on to a key center. I can do One Note Advanced at 100% accuracy, but I can't hear the cadence and sing a note. If I play the note first on an instrument, and then play the cadence again, I have no trouble pre hearing and singing the note, but I can't make that first move by myself. I am not expecting these things to happen overnight, but at the same time I want to make sure I am not doing something incorrect either.

I have read nearly each and every FAQ on the Web site, and in some of them, you have recommended certain things that seem drastic, but that are designed to go to the heart of a problem. Is there anything drastic you can recommend in my case? I am doing Fanatic's Guide 4-5 times a day for about 10-15 minutes each time. Should I just keep working and completely forget how long its taking? Is this common to have this much trouble with even the diatonic notes on the first one note exercises? Any other comments or suggestions you could give me with this?
A Let's try a couple of things and see how you respond.

I want you to play the cadence from the Fanatic's Guide CD for the key of C and then try to sing C. Check to see if you are correct. If not, do the same thing again. Play the cadence try to sing C. You should find that after a few times you remember the C and can then sing it. Let me know if this happens.
 
Q Thank you for your reply. I tried the suggestions and yes they work. I sang C correctly after playing the cadence, but I have problems in other keys. So I tried those suggestions, and they worked. Where should I go from here? For now, should I structure my entire Fanatic's Guide practice schedule based on this idea? Also, let's say I am working on the 3rd or 5th of a key, should I be working on one key a week? Or as many keys as possible? Or how should this be done?
A OK great! That fact that you can hear and sing the note after a few tries shows that your short term memory is working. Now we just need to keep these sounds in your short term memory as much as possible so that they will eventually work their way into your permanent memory.

I would stick with the tonic for each key right now and try different keys repeating each exercise until you get the correct answer and feel you are remembering the sound. This may take a while before you can just sit down and get the tonic for each key center right on the first try so be patient. I would do this as much as you can over the next 6 weeks. I know you will probably feel like your going out of your mind but you need to keep these sounds going through your head often to overcome the memory block you currently have. Hopefully it won't get to this point but when I was learning to sing all the notes over each key I could do them all except the flatted 6th. The only way I broke through this barrier was to sing the b6 in various exercises 10 hours a day for 2 weeks. This just about killed me but believe me I know b6 now. Overall you need to start to become more conscious of length of time that you can remember a sound. Try playing the progression and singing the root until you can do it. Then wait 15 seconds and try it again. If you are correct then wait 30 seconds etc. You will find just how long your short term memory will hold onto the correct answer. Work within those parameters and slowly build up the amount of time your short term memory will remember the note.
 
Q I've been working on your Rhythm Primer book and I'm almost through all the exercises in the beginning level. When done should I go back and work through the intermediate exercises next or move on to your other rhythm books? Also, I've been doing all the exercises with a down pick stroke on the down beats, should I do them in reverse also? (This book and the Midi files have really helped me in reading music and recognizing some of the rhythms I hear and imagine.)

Re: Pre hearing notes: I've been working very hard on ear training and singing. I've gone through the one note complete and some of the two note series. I worked through the 5 note series. I started working on Lines and two songs you recommended. Then I developed a very bad cold and found I couldn't sing the notes and discovered that I had been relying on vocal placement a lot and particularly for the non-diatonic notes. This was very apparent when I tried to sing without a drone and I ended up off key. So, I've sort of started over. But this time really focusing on pre hearing. But I can only do it going very slowly, like quarter note equals 40 when sequences of non-diatonic notes occur. I need to rest between notes so I can hear the next one. For example, if I am singing Fi and the next note is Di I can't hear the Di until I stop singing. Is this normal? Should I be able to prehear notes while singing another note?
A You should do the Rhythm Primer and all rhythm books with alternate picking. It shouldn't matter whether a note is on the beat or off you just want to do alternate picking either starting with a down or up stroke. You should go through the Rhythm Primer and try a few exercises with the alternate picking. If it's OK then move on to the Rhythms Volume One and Two book. If the alternate picking really causes you problems then work your way through the Rhythm Primer again.

You shouldn't worry about trying to pre-hear a note while singing another. Just stop singing and try to pre-hear the next note. You will find this whole thing speeds up over time.

Overall it sounds like you are doing well by questioning your progress.
 
Q I've done some extensive reading through both the FAQs in the book and online and have found them to be very helpful. I was hoping you could clear up a few more things for me before I get started. I just received One Note Complete in the mail and the Fanatic's Guide is on the way, now that I see how important it is to do both together. From what I've read, the Fanatic's Guide will help me with key retention, as my tendency is to rely on old habits and desperately cling to the C note so I can compare it with the note that follows the cadence.

I've been travelling down the ear training road for little over a half a year now. After playing guitar for five plus years and developing a knack for key friendly songwriting, I found myself frustrated and feeling limited by my inability to play by ear. I have become very good at taking the 'recipe' approach to song writing - give me a key, figure out what my chord options are, and I'm good to go. However, I always wanted to be able to solo, improvise, and layer notes and melodies between chords (or even over chords, using a multi-track recorder), rather than just strum chords... to have my musical ability catch up with my songwriting ability so to speak. I've always loved music, and having gained the ability to create it over the past five years has been a very powerful and satisfying experience. Yet, I feel confined to playing chords and scales by memory, always having to concentrate too much on the playing aspect of things and plotting what my fingers' next move will be. After several frustrating years of trying to learn scales and the many, many ways to play them on guitar (so many, that nothing ever sticks, thanks in part to the one fret shift between the 2nd and 3rd strings), I decided ear training was the way to go.

First came my attempt at the David Lucas Burge Perfect Pitch Course. Then I realized relative pitch was probably more useful for my needs and tried the David Lucas Relative Pitch Course. I gained a good understanding of intervals, but two months later was looking for an ear training program specifically geared towards the guitar and complexities of the fretboard. So I started on the Guitar and Bass Ear Trainer, convinced this was the answer. This ear training also required me to use my guitar while I ear trained, so I figured this was a very practical application. My computer would play an interval or sequence of notes as a question, and I would have to answer by playing the interval and notes back. Of all the ear training methods mentioned above, I started having mini break-throughs with the Guitar and Bass Ear Trainer Program. Progress was very slow but it was coming. I added one interval at a time (minor 2nd through perfect five) and the intervals were starting to stick. But I was having trouble adding on the rest of them when I hurt my shoulder and needed to take a break from ear training. This led me to do an 'ear training' search on Amazon one day where I came across your books and methods and was intrigued by the idea of ear training by key, especially with my knack for key friendly songwriting.

So, needless to say, I am glad to have stumbled upon your resources before I became too entrenched in learning by intervals. Based on my previous ear training attempts I have some questions I hope you can clear up -

1) In the David Lucas Burge Perfect Pitch Course, he has pianists learn perfect pitch on the key of C, and guitarists learn using the key of A. Do you have any insights as to why he thinks the key of A is better for guitarists? I thought of this because it seems there are some similarities between David's approach to learning perfect pitch and your approach to learning relative pitch (for each of the 12 notes in relation to a key). Your CDs use the key of C. Does this mean that the CDs are geared for piano players and not guitarists?

2) David's program seemed to suggest learning on your specific instrument. Will ear training to notes played on a keyboard hinder my ear training as a guitarist? The high notes on a keyboard particularly throw me for a loop, as they do not have the same sound quality as the high notes on the guitar, at least not yet. Those high keyboard notes just seem so faint.

3) The one thing I really like about the Guitar Bass Ear Trainer is that the program forces you to think in terms of finger positions on the guitar fretboard. This was a very practical application. The main reason I stopped the David Lucas Burge Courses and started the Guitar Bass Ear Trainer program was to utilize the more practical, apply it to your instrument approach. I figured that being able to identify a note or series of pitches by ear really would not help me unless my fingers automatically knew where to go on the guitar fretboard. How can I apply your ear training program to playing the guitar in a practical hands on way? To get the ear knowledge to match the finger knowledge, so to speak, without having to rely on learning the multitudes of scale patterns? (side note - I have a good working knowledge of theory but I do not read music and have relied on tab or chord diagrams to learn songs)

4) The David Lucas Burge Course spoke about how correcting mistakes was a vital part of 'culturing the ear.' In other words, if you guessed the wrong note on an exercise, take the time to stop, and compare your wrong note answer with the correct note answer. Should I be doing the same with your exercises, correcting my mistakes? Or is that just another way of developing interval based relative pitch?

5) Last, but not least - My previous Ear Training experience has told me that the learn it 'one note at a time' approach works well for me. Can I use this approach with One Note Complete? I saw a FAQ that suggested an order for learning notes for the Fanatics Guide - C - E - G - B - D - F - A - C# - Eb - G# - Bb - F#. Would this same order apply to One Note Complete? What would be the best practice regimen to learn the notes one at a time?

Sorry for the length of this email, but as you can see I have found my journey down Ear Training Road to be a confusing one with many twists and turns thus far. I am hopeful your course can get me on the right path to lasting success.
A Nice to hear from you and see that you have been giving Ear Training some taught. I don't think the David Lucas Burge or the Guitar and Bass Ear Trainer Program would be the right way to go to achieve your goals. Let me first answer some of your questions. For Perfect Pitch it doesn't matter which note you start on. The notes Burge chooses are more for convenience on the instrument rather than some great frequency secret. When you learn Perfect Pitch you learn it on one instrument, therefore Burge has you use just one instrument or sound to learn perfect pitch. As you develop Perfect Pitch on one instrument you can continue to other instruments or you can just imagine what the sound you hear would sound like on the instrument you have perfect pitch on to get the answer.

Keep in mind that the overall key an ear training exercise is in isn't based on instrumental considerations. It is important to work in all keys when your doing ear training because you need to develop the ability to quickly know what, let's say, the b6th in the key of Gb is. So ear training also requires a fair degree of music theory and knowledge on your own instrument in order to apply your skills.

When people start with the my ear training they commonly find that they have problems when they try to identify sounds played by other instruments. This problem goes away over time because your recognition skills improve to the point that the kind of sound doesn't matter. The Fanatic's Guide is particularly important for this. It is also common to have problems with extremely high and low notes. Again this improves over time as you focus in on the unique sound of each notes within a key center.

If you want to use a more direct approach with your instrument with the ear training try playing the note you hear on the CD rather than saying what you think is the correct answer. You could also do a direct approach by getting the book Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One. Playing the exercises over a drone will help you use your ear to know if you are playing the correct note. I would wait till your up to about 50% correct answers on the one note CD before trying this.

You can use the 'one note at a time' approach but I would always take some time out everyday to listen to all notes. To give you an analogy, you can't know what the color red is unless you also know all the other colors. Your mind will be adjusting as it learns more notes so it is important that it hears all notes often. You can use the sequence C - E - G - B - D - F - A- C# - Eb - G# - Bb - F# but really any sequence will work, there are no secrets here.

I think you're on the right track. Make sure to work out of the Fanatic's Guide and I suggest you get a book like Music Theory Workbook for Guitar to improve your understanding of music theory and recognition of notes on the guitar. This will go along way in helping you quickly apply your new ear training skills. Mostly be patient. You have started out wrong so it will take time to unlearn intervals and start relying on the unique sound of each note in a key.
 
Q I'm 18 and I have played classical piano for 4 years. But my ear isn't good and now it doesn't improve. I started to study contemporary keyboard, rock, jazz, fusion 4 months ago. I don't improve much because I don't know how I can study it. And I find it's hard to transpose music on a keyboard. I can hear one note sol-fegio but it is very slow. I can't use it when I'm playing. I wish I can play music not from sheet music and play it well. Yesterday, I saw my friend who is only 17, he played keyboard very well. He can play many songs without sheet music and he plays it without mistake. His listening skills must be good. Could you help me?
A I would start with two books. Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training to develop your ear. You should also get the book Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments. This will help to develop your theory which will help you when you transpose music. I would also read all the FAQs for these two books on the www.muse-eek.com Web site. Also remember to be patient with yourself when you do the ear training it won't happen overnight.
 
Q I've recently bought the Fanatic's Guide and Ear Training One Note Complete. As I was reading the FAQ section at the back you mention how perfect pitch can be developed but didn't totally recommend Mr. Burge's approach. I am 18 and have been playing guitar since 11. I am currently working hard on learning to sight read on the guitar and I am also studying theory and harmony, one of my goals is to study at Berklee. I am also interested in orchestral arranging and certain classical music, thus I am also very interested in developing perfect pitch (as well as good relative pitch). What do you recommend for developing perfect pitch? Do you have any plans to write your own perfect pitch series?
A Mr. Burge's course leaves out the fact that you can memorize the sound of any pitch by using more than color. For instance if you were coloring blind does this mean you can't get perfect pitch. For some folks there affinities lay with texture or shape etc... You could use these parameters to help you memorize sound too. So really the basis of Perfect Pitch is to keep hearing notes over and over again on one instrument and try and identify and remember the characteristics of each sound. Over time you stop with the characteristics and just remember the sound. Remember that anyone can develop perfect pitch and in some ways it's easier to achieve than great relative pitch. Remember you only develop it on one instrument at a time so you would then have to start again using a different instrument.

Sooner or later I'll get around to a Perfect Pitch method but for now I would recommend you develop your relative pitch because these skills will be highly variable with a career in music.
 
Q When learning one note ear training, is it better to stick to one key at a time and work on multiple tones within that key, or study one tone and jump around to all 12 keys very quickly to drill that note?
A It is better to work out of the one note ear training CDs in combination with exercises in the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. Honestly I get a lot of email like yours which in a way I don't understand. I give you two books with exercises that I have found advances the student at the fastest rate. I spend 20 years testing it and then put the books out with clear instructions. Then I get multiple questions with people trying to alter a method that they have only known about for a short period of time. While I salute your ingenuity I suggest you first try my method as laid out in my books for a year or two to see if it works. If you want to contemplate anything contemplate the following:

1. Your ability to memorize sound.
2. Your mind's ability to concentrate.
3. Your mind's ability to look elsewhere when things get hard.
4. Your perception of sound and how it changes as you learn new sounds.

These questions will ultimately help you more than trying to find other exercises and there are many references to these things in the FAQs for Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. I often think about if a medical doctor gave you a prescription, would you go home, get out your chemistry set and start trying to change it? Of course not, not without going to school and learning all the subjects behind the medicine. I also get a few students who read the FAQs and figure they can do this on their own and don't need the books. This usually results in a limited understanding of the subject and ultimately bad habits and limited improvement. Bad habits is the key here. It can take years to undo bad habits - I know I've been there. This is why I set up the ear training and the FAQ the way I do. I'm trying to avoid students spending years undoing techniques that were either misunderstood or misapplied.
 
Q My apologies for my confusion. Today, I decided to re-read both books and all the FAQs to make sure I'm doing this right. I'm sorry, but I still have some areas of confusion that relate to my earlier questions about SINGING the pitches.

First: You say on page 13 of Fanatics Guide, 'A few things to remember as you work through each key trying to sing 'one'... when you feel you are getting the hang of it, try to sing all the other degrees.'

Does this mean that if you are working on the pitch of Do, that you should sing 'one' in the key of C, and then stay in C and sing the other eleven pitches? Or do you simply mean, when you've mastered Do, move on to Re, etc... ?

Second: You suggest mastering 1, then 3,5,2,4,6,7 etc... I tried this method but found that by the time I had gotten to #5, that I had forgotten what 1 had sounded like because I mastered it several months earlier. So I tried to remedy this by mastering 1, then practicing 1 and 3 on the same day, then 1, 3, 5 on the same day etc... Problem was that as I got further along, my practice time had ballooned to like 6 hours a day and I couldn't maintain it. What do you suggest?

Third: If I'm trying to sing 5, and my mind pre-hears 3 instead, is it a bad habit to correct myself mentally and then sing the pitch? When I do this I feel like I'm using 3 to find 5. When you've pre-heard the wrong pitch in your mind, you now have a reference point to jump to the correct pitch. Is this a bad habit?

I apologize if I asked any redundant questions. I am trying to stick to your book and instructions.
A When you master singing 'Do' in all keys then move on to singing other pitches in all keys like 'Mi.'

It is common to lose the sound of previously learned notes. As your brain hears new notes it adjusts its internal definition of each sound within the key. Over time and relearning of lost notes you will find that all notes will finally make sense and will go into your permanent memory.

It does help to review each note everyday. Keep in mind some days will be better than others and breaking your practicing up within a day is better than practicing straight through. You of course have to use common sense about your time allotments and also realize that this course of ear training will take some time so be patient. Everyone gets this ear training that sticks with it.

You don't want to reference another pitch when pre-hearing. If you consistently hear the wrong pitch, play the cadence, play the note you want to hear. Do this a few times then try to pre-hear the note. It should be in your short term memory at that point. Overtime you should find that you will hear the correct note without first playing it.
 
Q Here's what I own:
Music Theory Volumes 1 and 2
Jazz and Blues Bass Lines
Comping Styles for Bass
Single String Studies for Bass Volumes 1 and 2
Rhythm Primer
Fanatic's Guide
One Note Complete
Big Metronome

What kind of schedule would you recommend for someone who works two jobs and has a wife and three kids? I can give a committed hour everyday in addition to time in my car (delivery job). What would you recommend I do when I have additional time (very sporadic)?
A In your situation practicing in your head is the best solution. It is common knowledge among classical musicians that you can learn a piece of music or for that matter anything in music by visualizing it in your head. Many classical musicians don't even play a piece on their instrument before performing it live in front of an audience. You can use this technique to help you work on music when driving a car or waiting for a light to change. Of the books you have you could use any of them to practice in your head. For instance you could think through and finger in your mind any scale or arpeggio from the Music Theory Books. You could memorize a bass line from the Jazz and Blues Bass Lines or Comping Style book or you could work on hard rhythms from the Rhythm Primer. You of course can listen to the ear training and sing notes over the Fanatic's Guide CD as you drive. (You might want to get a chromatic pitch instrument to help you check notes.)

http://www.encoremusic.com/vocal/6630002.html

Just remember that mental practicing is exhausting when you first start it. It takes months before you can do it for any length of time. As it develops you will find it to be the most efficient way to learn. I would then spend your hour or instrument practicing playing the things you have mentally practiced or use the time to improvise with the scales you are learning in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two.
 
Q I have the Ear Training book and CDs. I started listening to it after reading it. I listened to it for about twenty minutes last night before I went to bed, and I've listened to it a couple times today. I have some concerns. First, I've never had any formal ear training, or much music training at all. I tried some simple computer program a while ago, but I had no idea what I should be doing with it, and did not understand what most of the terms were meant to represent, so that only lasted briefly for a day or two. The way you have described the goal of ear training is what I've been looking for: recognizing notes in a way like I recognize color. I thought of it in similar ways.

I also have your 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist. When tuning (5 fret method) I have no idea when the notes are the same, even when I tune them both with an electric tuner and see how they sound. I can still hear something different about them.

When I listen to the ear training CD, it seems as if I get C right the most. I don't know why, I had some ideas. Something about it being in the key of C. Had some other thoughts about it too. Also, the space between the note being played and the answer being given gives me a lot of time to think about what the note would be. If I'm to give the first note that I think it might be should I be using that much time? Once the note is played and I give a guess (it is usually a guess every time, which I anticipated before starting) then there is that relatively long pause afterwards. During that pause should I be rethinking my guess? Should I think about it more before guessing?

When I listen to the CD, sometimes I think I compare the note to the last one played. I'm not sure if I am or what, but during waiting for the answer sometimes I'm thinking of it sounding different than the last note, higher or lower, and wondering about things like that. Sometimes I end up changing my mind about my guess (often both guesses are wrong anyways). I also forget to include the sharped notes in my guesses, and usually only answer with them because a previous note reminded me that I haven't been using them. I don't recognize the notes anyways, I'm wondering whether it's a C or F, I'm not wondering if it's a C or C#. I'm thinking that I should just guess with the notes all in mind, but when I guess D# or whatever other accidental, I don't really have a reason. Many times I'm off by a half step or something. But I do think that maybe sometimes I'll hear a note and think it sounds like an F# I heard before.

I don't easily tell the similarity between the same note in different octaves. If it sounds different in some way, I start to think it might be a different note or I don't even sense any distinct similarity, unless maybe I 'equate' something between the two, not even sure if that is what is shared between them. (I've heard something about different 'color' notes, but any difference between them I end up getting confused about their apparent similarity). But I'm doing this with a progressive approach. It's definitely not review for me.

My main aversion to many of the methods I encountered in general was too much of leaving it up to the student to figure out a lot, and that all my technique will just fall into place somehow. Learning from mistakes is necessary, but no matter what advice I'm going to be given, I'm going to make mistakes anyways and have to practice correcting them. I work part-time as a tutor and many I have been acquainted with present an attitude about teaching that people have to figure out everything for themselves to learn it well, not even realizing that the large body of information and learning they have they were exposed to repeatedly when they were very young. Or they had enough support that engaged their innate styles of learning to get started. Why so many think they've figured out a lot of the things they understand largely on their own I believe is fairly ridiculous. The main thing I find from your books is your teaching. You use many mediums (video, computer and internet, print, audio, etc). Different perspectives and ways of understanding anything help to focus on the similarities. You're willingness to interact with those using your books I'm sure really helps many who previously felt left in the dark to blindly find their way (I was thinking of getting rid of the guitar, wondering if I was really up for figuring so much out for myself, with all the loosely covered guitar technique concepts in many books.)

I have about 7 or 8 method books, and most of them are filled with tons of exercises, with a few pages on technique (a word I didn't use much before). Whenever I came to an exercise, yea, I could practice it all I wanted, but I kept looking for information to give me more specifics ('How should this finger be?' 'Is my thumb ok this way? Or is this better?' 'This feels more comfortable. Do I just practice and use this as my own style?') All kinds of questions and the most articulate response I got was to keep working on it or experimenting and I'll get better. But work on what? I know what finger goes on what fret, your books says so on this 2-dimensional representation of the fretboard. I need clarification that explains how my three-dimensional hands should be interacting in time with this 3 dimensional fretboard, frets, set of strings, etc. I'm real glad I found your work, and I appreciate your correspondence from this and my earlier e-mail.

P.S. My wrist occasionally bothers me, (right/picking), which I am going to have to clarify in a later e-mail, when I figure out more on whether it has anything to do with guitar or something else (I write holding a pen very different than the traditional way). I will try to make note of other things to ask about as I practice (just started over yesterday) to elaborate and focus on so I don't just glaze over something nonspecifically.
A I can see that you have many questions and are confused about a number of things. I think some of this just comes from my method being new to you but I think there are a few things you can do to help educate yourself which should make many of your goals easier.

I first think you need to learn a little more about Music Theory. This will help you in the understanding of your instrument and music in general but it will also help you to understand the ear training processes which in turn will help you to improve quicker. Being you are a guitarist I would recommend Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. This will help you to understand and build all chords in all keys. It will also help you to make the music theory like a second language. Remember that by making some of simple concepts in music theory clear in your mind your ability to practice and understand music will be enhanced.

For your ear training work I think it is very important for you to start working out of the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. This will help you to start memorizing sound and give you a fighting chance when you are listening to the Ear Training One Note Complete CDs.

You description of your mind's internal processing is common for someone starting off with this technique. With patience and the understanding that you will receive from the above books you will find your ability to focus and understand the ear training will grow over time.

For the guitar related issues I think you should take a look at the video chord files found under the 'Help Files on Chords' link in the free member's area. This will give you an in-depth look at each chord and the pitfalls and problems associated with each chord. This should help you to decide if the way your are playing chords is correct or if they need more work.

I think you should also get started playing scales on the guitar. Go to the scales folder in the member's area. Go to the Help files for Scales in the member's area and follow the link to the Video Scale files. Work through each scale position by looking at the videos and downloading the PDFs containing the fingerings. These videos along with the technique videos associated with the 1st Steps book should answer most of your questions on technique and how to play and think of each scale.

If you follow the suggested right hand technique in the 1st Steps book your wrist problems will go away because my right hand technique doesn't involve using the muscles of the wrist.

In general I think you should work on the above information for awhile and see what questions come up. Try to be as exact as you can when asking questions so I can really focus in on your problems.
 
Q I'm interested in getting back into choral music singing, and I was never anything beyond a beginner. You recommended the following to another singer:

Ear Training One Note Complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training
Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments

I'm guessing that those are the books you would recommend. Is there any rhythm work in the sight singing book or would I have to buy the rhythm primer to get rhythm practice?

I also wondered whether you had any plans to come out with software versions of your books. As a language student, I've found software drills to be really helpful - especially for generating random drills of Greek verb forms. If you aren't planning to make one, is there a software program that you would feel comfortable recommending for a Mac User - that wouldn't interfere with your system? Are you familiar with Ars Nova's Practica? http://www.ars-nova.com/practica.html
A Currently we are not developing a computer version of our ear training program. We do have plans to do this in the future though. The books you mentioned would be a good place to start with the ear training. It will get you started with the ear training on two fronts and the Music Theory will help you process music and ear training much faster.

For rhythm studies I would start with Rhythm Primer and then proceed at least through Rhythms Volume One and Two. I do have more advanced books after that like Odd Meters but unless your going to be doing some advanced choral music you probably won't need a book like that.

I also have a choral ear training book called LINES but I wouldn't work on this book until you have worked through Ear Training One Note Complete and Key Note Recognition. You first need to understand how you hear before attempting to part sing. I also many times recommend one of my guitar books for ear training. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One and Two are excellent books to use for developing your ability to sight sing. You have to do some octave adjustments but other than that it's a real good book to help develop key retention. I wouldn't use these books until you have finished Ear Training One Note Complete.

I know the program Ars Nova's Practica and I wouldn't recommend it as a replacement or as an additional program to my method until you have completed Ear Training One Note Complete, Key Note Recognition and the Two Note Ear Training Books. By the time you have gone through these books you will realize how you can use any program in the right way to improve your ear training ability. I will say that one thing nice and useful about the CDs that go with my books is you can do them anywhere as opposed to a computer program which can only be used when you have a computer with you. A little hard to do when you are taking a walk.
 
Q Ok, I've been listening to the CD, I'm quite lazy to be honest, but I'm slowly beginning to see improvement, but I think the one thing that hinders it is my understanding of 'identifying notes in relation to its key.'

You play the chord progression, then the tone. How do I aurally relate the tone to the key by the chord progression?

I'm confused... could perhaps give the theory spatial form in order for me to understand?
A Overall you need to realize that the process of learning my type of ear training involves educating and changing your perception of sound. For instance you don't relate the tone to the chord progression you relate it to the key created by the chord progression. This is a fine point but very crucial. I think this is a misunderstanding that many students have expressed in one form or another. Another misconception students have is that their perception of the key which is created by the chord progression will improve over time by just listening to the Ear Training One Note CD. In most cases it doesn't and it's only through working with the Fanatic's Guide Book and the various exercises contained within that your perception of key improves.

Honestly I was pretty lazy with the ear training too, many, many years ago because when I started playing guitar it was the sound and all the cool things that the guitar could do that attracted me to practicing not developing my ear. Only after years of realizations, which were mostly based on being surrounded by great musicians with great ears, did I realize I was really kidding myself. I realized I could interact properly with these musicians because I could hear what they were doing.

Sorry for my digression but to improve your concept of key I would recommend you work with some of the exercises presented in the Fanatic's Guide. Fun... they are not, helpful they will open your ears like nothing else will if you'll 1st be consistent with the exercises each day and realize this is the way to improve your perception.
 
Q Ok that helps explain it a little better... But you say the reason the CDs are in the key of C is because all scales are the same, but what about minor keys? A minor chord progression, say the tonic, is two minor thirds, whereas a major one is a major and a minor... could you explain that?

Also, I contacted the AbsolutePerfectPitch creator, and he says it works for all instruments... one individual who used the CDs said he could even tell the tone of car horns afterwards!
A You will work on Minor keys once you start the Key Note Recognition book. I limit your beginning studies to major to help you first understand and do the technique before adding in other key centers types.

If you believe the creator of AbsolutePerfectPitch then more power to you. I've told you what I have found to be true whether you believe it is up to you.
 
Q I have been using the one note method for about 4 months and in that time my average has gone up from about 7.5% to about 50%. I am very pleased with the improvements in my ear, thanks to your method.

I have noticed though that when I listen to the one note CD in the car or on a different CD player my average is lower. The sounds produced by the other CD players/ speakers/ headphones are slightly different to my regular one and this means the notes sound a bit different. Also I have noticed that when I hear a note on my keyboard it is not as easy to identify it, again I think this is because of the difference in the sounds produced by the CD and the piano.

Was this a factor for you when you started training your ears and how long did it take before you could identify a note perfectly irrespective of the instrument, CD player, speaker or headphone that produced it?
A It is common for people to have problems with other instruments and slight timbral changes when they first start this type of ear training. Overtime this will go away as you start applying the ear training and as you get stronger with it. I wouldn't worry about this. Many of my students notice this too when they come for their lessons. I play the exercises on a guitar and of course they are used to hearing it on a piano. Many students ask if they should start doing the exercises using different sounds. While this won't hurt you I don't think it is really necessary.

It took me quite a while to be able to do the one note ear training on every instrument because first of all I had done 8 years of interval training which I had to unlearn so I don't think I would be a good example of how long it takes. If we use students as an example I have students that get the ear training one note in a week and some that take 4 years. So to answer your question it all depends on how hard you work and your brains ability to remember the sounds.
 
Q I've been using your Fanatic's Guide and One Note CDs for about six months. At first I found the exercises extremely difficult, but I've made significant progress, and I can now identify the pitch correctly on the One Note Beginning CD about 50% of the time. I feel I'm at a plateau, however, and I wonder if you have any practical suggestions for learning the sounds of non-chord tones.

With the One Note CD, the only pitches that I really KNOW upon hearing them are C, E, and G. I can make educated guesses on the others, which are sometimes correct. But I can never say with certainty, for example, 'That's an A #,' in the way I might say, "That's an E.' Similarly, with the Fanatic's Guide, I can sing the 1, 3 and 5 of a chord, but I can't sing any other scale degree without cheating (moving up or down from a chord tone). If I simply try to imagine, 'What's the sound of a major second (or fourth, or flat sixth, or whatever) over this chord?' I draw a blank.

Obviously, non-chord tones are much harder -- if nothing else, the chord tones are (or, with the One Note CD, just were) actually sounding in my ear. My question is if you can suggest any techniques to help ingrain those sounds in my memory. If I start playing the Fanatic's Guide CD and I want to learn the sound of a second over whatever chord is playing, what do I do?
A Learning the non-chord tones notes is usually harder for students so your case is not unusual. My suggestion is to do more work out of the Fanatic's Guide. I would do a combination of the exercise found on page 6 and either the two or three note exercises found on page 8-11 and 12-18. You will particularly find these exercises helpful when you start singing the exercises starting on the non-chord tone notes. In general I would focus in on one note at a time. This may help you to master the note. But don't be surprised if you work on a note for a month and still don't get it. In this case it's best to then move on to another note and work with that for awhile. Overtime you will find that all notes come into focus. Everyone gets this ear training that sticks with it so be patient and don't miss a day of practice. In your current situation missing one day is like missing 3 weeks.
 
Q I'm determined to improve, so I will definitely keep at it. If I may, could I ask for one clarification: To do the exercises you suggested, I need some way to find the pitches at the outset. My approach has been to try to pre-hear and sing, say, a major second, get it wrong (my voice usually goes directly to the root or third), then move step-wise or use a pitch pipe to find the actual pitch. Then, once I've located the target pitch, I keep repeating it over the chord to try to memorize the sound. As you anticipated, I did this for about a month with the major second and saw no apparent improvement -- leading me to send my email to you below. I'm happy to now move to another scale degree -- believe me -- but do you recommend that I keep using the same basic approach, or try something different?
A Basically you need to first realize that you need to improve your memory of notes. You improve short term memory by repeating notes until you hear them. I don't know what your daily life is like but having a lot of spare time would certainly help you at this time to break through your current stalemate with ear training. I'd like you to try and see how long you can remember the second degree of a key center. First you will need to play the cadence and attempt to sing the second and then play the note as needed until you can pre-hear the second after hearing the cadence. This may take a few minutes but most people find that they gain an image of this note in their mind after 3 or 4 repeated attempts. Then wait a couple of seconds and try this whole thing again. You should be able to find out the exact amount of time that your short term memory will be able to hold onto the sound of the second degree. You would then want to keep repeating this process until you can wait longer and longer and come back to the exercise and still hear the second. Let me know how this works for you. The more times you can do this throughout a day the better.
 
Q In the sight singing book, I am memorizing the sounds of all 12 notes against a key center.

But in the ear training book I'm memorizing them against a key cadence.

I'm really lost. I don't understand what I'm supposed to be memorizing or how I'm supposed to memorize it.

In regular ear training, I'm memorizing intervals, a 3rd (G-B, A-C, etc); but in this program I'm memorizing all notes against a C?

And what is an adequate level for a professional musician, accomplishment of the one note series, or two note?
A A key center is created by a cadence therefore both books are working on the same thing. Basically getting you to hear notes in relationship to a key rather than in relationship to each other (i.e. interval training). Remember you are memorizing all the notes sounds against a key not against a C.

An adequate level for a professional musician would be to at least have the two method together.

I've given you some rather general answers to your questions. I suggest that you go read the FAQs associated with these books. I think will answer many of your questions on a deeper level but also may spark some more questions from you. The links for them are below.

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/fanaticsfaq.html
 
Q But all the CDs in the ear training book are in the key of C, so wouldn't I be memorizing it against C? Meaning if they were in F Major, I'd be memorizing it against F... If this is wrong, I'm afraid I'm lost. I am memorizing tones against a cadence... I don't know what to be listening for. Am I memorizing the tone against all three tones in each chord in the cadence? I'm utterly confuzzled.

Regarding the first statement above, isn't a key center created by whatever note is used the most? In the cadence of C, C is used the most ... So aren't I just memorizing it against the key center (which is what you say in the book) which in this case is C?

Also, meaning the two books I have, or the two note method?
A Remember all keys are the same. By this I mean when you hear a C# in the key of A it sounds like the 3rd. When you hear an E in the key of C it sounds like the 3rd.

Your statement "wouldn't I be memorizing it against C?" is wrong because it should say I'm memorizing the notes against the KEY of C. There is a difference although subtle here in the way you think about the ear training. Many students will think they are memorizing the notes against C so they hold the sound of C in their heads and then listen for the other note. This is wrong. You want to let the cadence create the key then just listen to the note and try to identify it. This is why in my first email I said "Remember you are memorizing all the notes sounds against a key not against a "C"." So because the cadence has happened you are already in a key, in this case C, there is nothing more you need to do but listen. Most people don't get the notes right right away, it takes time and also working with the singing in the Fanatic's Guide which will strengthen your ability to maintain the key center while you are trying to identify the notes.

A key center is not created by the note that is used the most. I could show instances where this is true and also when it is not true. Here is an example of where the most played note is not the key.

C, E, G, A a C6 chord to
A, C, E, G a A-7 chord to
D, F, A, C a D-7 chord to
G, B, D, F, A a G13 chord to
C, E, G, A a C6 chord

I have 4 C's and 5 A's this doesn't make the progression in the key of A it's in C.

The "Two note method" is what I meant to say in my last email. Of course this is all relative to how you define a "professional musician." Most artists are always attempting to improve their art and therefore would be always striving to improve no matter what their level is.

Once again I would recommend you reread the books and the FAQs found at:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/fanaticsfaq.html

Many of the things I've said in this email are stated many times throughout the FAQs. You might want to consider (re)reading these files. Many times students find that seeing something explained in a number of ways helps them to understand.
 
Q I've been continuing to work on the advanced ear training CD for the past couple of months and I'm at the point where I can recognize the sounds of all 12 notes and get a consistent above 80% average.

Of course there's still room for improvement but I'm wondering if I could start work on the key note recognition CD.

I have 3 more weeks to go before I finish the fanatic's 3 note exercises (3 x 10' each day, first note transposed up 1 octave) which I'm currently able to do at 55-60bpm.

I'll also be finishing the Single String Studies first page in a couple of weeks (I work on each key up to 40bpm before moving to the next key) and I'm getting much better at transposing and singing the exercise (3 x 10' each day).

I'm also doing about 30' of the Right Hand Technique each day.

I've been working on the forearm movement on the one string exercises (16ths at quarter note=100 bpm) and also the 6 string exercises (16ths at quarter note=80 bpm) plus a bit of the sweep picking exercises.

I'm looking forward to your suggestions and assignments.
A I would move on to Key Note Recognition but also continue doing the Advanced Ear Training CD too.

After you finish the fanatic's guide assignment I want you to transpose two notes up an octave. Your bpm are getting better that's a good sign!

Continue with the single string studies, sounds like it's helping.

I want you to start applying your right hand technique to scales. Go to the member's area and follow the link to Help files for scales. Watch the video scale movies and try to learn a new scale every week in all positions. In other words, one key only so C major then C dorian, C phrygian etc.
 
Q I am a professor at a community college and have a few questions concerning your books. I hope that you might have a few moments to read my message and respond with your input. I have been teaching ear training here for the past year and am the designer of our theory and ear training curricula. I originally started out using a combination of dication and solfege, not so much because that is my method of choice but rather because the state colleges our students might wish to transfer to use solfege. However, I found solfege to be very difficult for our students anyway, so I switched over to a scale degree number system, which I believe makes more sense to American students.

While the number system I have used has been more effective than solfege, I am still dissatisfied with the results I am attaining. My students come from diverse backgrounds; some of them have not taken the prerequisite fundamentals class and can not read music at the beginning of the semester. Many of them do not play any instrument proficiently and do not have access to instruments at home. Several of them have never taken a music class before. On the other hand, some have taken Fundamentals, Theory 1, and are instrumentalists.

I realize that I am faced with a huge task trying to create an environment where these students can succeed in a college-level ear training class and actually get something of value out of it, but that is my goal. I was doing some research on textbooks and came across your series of books and was wondering if you would take the time to give me any feedback you might have concerning your ear training and sight singing books.

Do you think that your methods might reach these students, and if so, do you have any suggestions about particular books that we could try using?
A It sounds like you have a real up hill battle and I salute you for your dedication. As you may have read my ear training method is not based on the widely accepted interval training but on hearing notes in relationship to a key center. Through repeated listening and singing a student memorizes the sound of these pitches so that they can identify them in tonal situations. I should also mention that I don't believe there is such a thing as atonality so my method would work in all situations. (Hearing how tonality moves in the works of Webern may require many years of work but it DOES move.)

So first the positive stuff. I believe your students would improve immensely with my method and would actually be able to hear music going by in time and correctly identify notes/chords.

Now for the other side of the coin. In my many years of teaching at the college level I've encountered very few students who really improve their ear through interval training. This includes myself when I was a student; the only thing that I have found that really works is contextual ear training based on developing a fine sense of key and identifying notes against this sense. But if your students transfer to another college they will most certainly encounter the interval method so this may be a problem for them and for you.

I also believe that ear training should really be taught in a one on one basis because each student has their own set of preconceptions and perceptions that can really get them off on the wrong footing. Also you probably would get a lot of resistance from your department using a method like mine because it's not what everyone else uses. (Sometimes I feel like everyone is teaching that the world is flat and no one is willing to say it isn't) But anyway this could be a problem so I thought I'd mention it.

So with all that said, yes I have a couple of books that I think would work: Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. I use solfeggio in the Fanatic's Guide book but it really wouldn't effect the method if you use degrees. It's not about what you call something; it's actually hearing it. I also have a whole series of rhythm books that I use to develop a student's rhythmic ability.

I wish you the best of luck with your ear training courses. I believe it's the most important thing a student of music can learn. Teaching it is a big responsibility because you directly effect a student's progress in music more than anything else. Looking back I know that if I had had access to this kind of training when I was a budding freshman back at the University of South Dakota my musical journey would have been less of a struggle, and a much speedier path to self expression.
 
Q I've been using your Fanatic's Guide and One Note Complete CD's for about six months. At first I found the exercises extremely difficult, but I've made significant progress, and I can now identify the pitch correctly on the One Note Beginning CD about 50% of the time. I feel I'm at a plateau, however, and I wonder if you have any practical suggestions for learning the sounds of non-chord tones.

With the One Note CD, the only pitches that I really KNOW upon hearing them are C, E, and G. I can make educated guesses on the others, which are sometimes correct. But I can never say with certainty, for example, "That's an A #," in the way I might say, "That's an E." Similarly, with the Fanatic's Guide, I can sing the 1, 3 and 5 of a chord, but I can't sing any other scale degree without cheating (moving up or down from a chord tone). If I simply try to imagine, "What's the sound of a major second (or fourth, or flat sixth, or whatever) over this chord?" I draw a blank.

Obviously, non-chord tones are much harder -- if nothing else, the chord tones are (or, with the One Note CD, just were) actually sounding in my ear. My question is if you can suggest any techniques to help ingrain those sounds in my memory? If I start playing the Fanatic's Guide CD and I want to learn the sound of a second over whatever chord is playing, what do I do?
A Learning the non-chord tones notes is usually harder for students so your case is not unusual. My suggestion is to do more work out of the Fanatic's Guide. I would do a combination of the exercises found on page 6 and either the two or three note exercises found on page 8-11 and 12-18. You will particularly find these exercises helpful when you start singing the exercises starting on the non-chord tone notes. In general I would focus in on one note at a time. This may help you to master the note. But don't be surprised if you work on a note for a month and still don't get it. In this case it's best to then move on to another note and work with that for awhile. Overtime you will find that all notes come into focus.

Everyone gets this ear training that sticks with it so be patient and don't miss a day of practice. In your current situation missing one day is like missing 3 weeks.
 
Q I'm determined to improve, so I will definitely keep at it. If I may, could I ask for one clarification: To do the exercises you suggested, I need some way to find the pitches at the outset. My approach has been to try to pre-hear and sing, say, a major second, get it wrong (my voice usually goes directly to the root or third), then move step-wise or use a pitch pipe to find the actual pitch. Then, once I've located the target pitch, I keep repeating it over the chord to try to memorize the sound. As you anticipated, I did this for about a month with the major second and saw no apparent improvement -- leading me to send my email to you. I'm happy to now move to another scale degree -- believe me - but do you recommend that I keep using the same basic approach, or try something different?
A I've included an FAQ that I recently received that I think directly applies to you. Basically you need to first realize that you need to improve your memory of notes. You improve short term memory by repeating notes until you hear them. I don't know what your daily life is like but having a lot of spare time would certainly help you at this time to break through your current stalemate with ear training. Read the FAQ and then I'd like you to try and see how long you can remember the second degree of a key center. First you will need to play the cadence and attempt to sing the second and then play the note as needed until you can pre-hear the second after hearing the cadence. This may take a few minutes but most people find that they gain an image of this note in their mind after 3 or 4 repeated attempts. Then wait a couple of seconds and try this whole thing again. You should be able to find out the exact amount of time that your short term memory will be able to hold onto the sound of the second degree. You would then want to keep repeating this process until you can wait longer and longer and come back to the exercise and still hear the second. Let me know how this works for you. The more times you can do this throughout a day the better.
 
Q I've been working on this for a few weeks now, so I thought I'd check in with you on my progress. If I use a pitch pipe to sound the major second over a drone chord, I can certainly pre-hear and sing that pitch a short time later. After a 30-second delay, I pretty much bat a thousand. After one to two minutes, I hit sometimes and miss sometimes, I think depending on how distracted I got during the silent time.

BUT -- I couldn't help wondering if I was really remembering the note's harmonic character (i.e., a major second over a key center), or simply the absolute pitch (i.e., a D). So I checked my ability to remember a pitch WITHOUT a major-chord drone in the background, and found that I could actually remember the pitch for a significantly LONGER time (3-4 minutes barring significant distractions). I assume this is because, with the CD playing, I'm constantly hearing other pitches, so it's harder to keep the target pitch in my head.

As a further test, I tried changing chords quickly -- that is, fixing in my head the sound of a D over a C major chord, then jumping to the F chord. I could not pre-hear or sing the G, even though only a few seconds had passed. This gave me further concern that what I was really hearing and memorizing was an absolute D, rather than the "sound" of a major second against a key center.

Maybe I'm overthinking this -- a vice to which I will certainly confess -- but tell me, should I simply keep playing the D over the C chord and trying to keep it in my memory for a longer and longer time? Should I use different chords?
A This is great that you are exploring your memory capabilities I salute you for your exploration. You are correct that not having the other notes there will make it easier to remember the pitch. This also brings up the fact that actually learning perfect pitch is easier than learning good relative pitch. It is common for students not to hear the sound of the second but the absolute pitch they are singing. This just means you haven't memorized the sound of the second yet and this is common. Don't get discouraged just keep working toward your goal. What is great is that you have realized this and that is the first step to help you search elsewhere in your mind to find that unique sound of the second. The quicker a student realizes what you have found the quicker they improve so this is a good thing. What I would recommend is you use the Fanatic's Guide CD and stick with the second degree and try to sing it in every key. Make sure you let the complete cadence happen before trying to sing the second this is extremely important. For now you should concentrate on the second but this doesn't mean you shouldn't also work on the other notes using the same exercise as well. Think of it like this. You need to learn what all the notes sound like in order to truly know even one because your inner memory needs to know the field of sounds it's trying to memorize. So do my recommendations and keep questioning yourself because this will help you improve quicker.
 
Q I bought the complete one note ear training guide. I want to make sure I'm approaching it right. When I listen, sometimes notes sound like something to me: e.g. a bell, a shimmer, a chisel hitting rock-- basically I hear a certain quality to the sound. I get these images. Visual not aural.

I do consciously avoid the solfege stuff altogether. I spent 4 months learning that way and it still didn't get me where I wanted to go in terms of real-time playing.

I would like to know what your opinion as to listening to the quality this way with the mental images. It is different from solfege, but still a mental event, although much quicker. Is this good, bad, indifferent? Should I cultivate it, avoid it, or just notice it when it happens?

Want to make sure I approach it right before I spend the long hours working.
A I have a feeling that the images you are seeing are more related to perfect pitch rather than relative pitch. Try seeing if you get the same images if you just hear a note without reference of a key center and let me know what happens.

You don't have to use solfege or any identifying thing to recognize the notes on the Ear Training One Note Complete CD and you could use a visual context. But you do have to use something to identify the notes when you sing them. (You should be working out of the Fanatic's Guide book too). Many students shy away from the singing side of ear training but if they only realized that this is how they develop their inner voice for improvisation and composition I think they would be more serious about it.

So to recap you can use visual identification for listening but obviously not for singing. Since it's better and quicker to have one system that works complimentary to each other I would recommend either solfeggio, note names, degree names or some system to make each note relationship to a key unique.
 
Q I just bought both the ear training one note and sight singing books and I am beginning to sift through them.

My question is: I already have perfect pitch. Will this program be more difficult for me as opposed to someone with no ear training, or will perfect pitch place me at an advantage in mastering your method? I fear my perfect pitch may make me lazy in fully grasping your theory.
A I think the important distinction you need to make is you need to know more than just what the name of the pitches are. You need to know how they are functioning within a key. By knowing how they are functioning in a key you can make intelligent choices as to what scale(s) will fit over the notes you hear. This is crucial in composition and improvisation.

It definitely takes mental discipline to learn this other method of note identification when you already have perfect pitch. The rewards are great though. I have found that musicians with perfect pitch have to work even harder to become great musicians. While they can quickly identify notes that is only a small part of being a great musician. Sometimes because perfect pitch musicians have this great note recognition ability they neglect feel, sensitivity, rhythm, relative pitch knowledge, embellishment, common sense and other important music considerations to becoming a great musician.

So to answer your question: Yes it's easy to get lazy when you have perfect pitch and it's the downfall of many musicians that have such a great gift by squandering it because of lack of understanding and artistic commitment to music. Just about every great musician in New York City is either a friend of mine or a friend of a friend. You would be surprised how few have perfect pitch. I'd say about 5 percent. How many have great relative pitch? I'd say about 99.9. What this should tell you is that many of the problems I've mentioned about perfect pitch keep musicians from succeeding. Conversely it also tells you how important dedication and hard work are to becoming a great musician. Personally I don't know a great musician that didn't work like a dog to get to their level of ability. I think most students don't realize this because most musicians don't exactly like everyone to know that music wasn't easy for them.
 
Q I've started on some of the singing exercises. I notice that when I play the cadence I am able to sing the correct pitch more often if I sing or hum the tonic note before the note I am trying to sing.

For example, in the key of C, I'll sing do-mi, instead of just mi, when trying to sing E. Or I'll sing do-so, instead of just so, when trying to sing G. I suspect this may be a bad habit forming. Was hoping to get your thoughts on that.

The other stumbling block I've run into is: Does it matter what octave I sing the desired note at after hearing the cadence? Should I keep it consistent, or vary the octave at which I sing? When playing the guitar, I find that the octave I sing at is related to how high up on the neck I'm playing the chords.

And lastly, is one of these approaches more effective than the other: to practice my singing the note after hearing the cadence, or practice singing the note over the tonic drone chord?
A Singing the root before singing the pitch will develop a bad habit. Remember music goes by in time so we need you to have immediate access to what pitches are going on either in your head or around you. You probably have weak key retention and your mind is trying to make up for it by singing the "C" first. Problem is if you continue to sing the "C" you won't improve your key retention. So don't sing the "C" you may get more notes wrong now but later you will get much quicker in your note recognition abilities.

The octave you sing the note in does not matter. It's not a bad idea to vary the octave this will help you hear the unique quality of the pitch against the key in various octaves. This might be something you try when you get a little stronger in your singing abilities.

You can practice singing after the cadence or over the tonic drone chord it doesn't matter. If you are going to use a tonic drone chord then I would let the drone go on for 10 to 15 seconds before singing your first note. If you just keep the drone going you can sing as many notes as you like after that. It's just important for the key center to settle in your mind.
 
Q I have a question regarding the Functional Ear Trainer program. You answered a question on this program previously:

Q: There's a free software called 'Functional Ear Trainer' and it is taught this way: Hear the chord progression and resolve the note to the tonic whether up or down. For the diatonic notes, the bottom 4 notes resolve downward and for the top 4, the notes resolve upward. After a period of time your mind is supposed to be able to eliminate these steps and hear the note instantaneously. The software even has a random key selection and works in all octaves. Is it possible to learn the notes in this order?

A: I wouldn't recommend resolving notes to the tonic up or down even as a intial step. Hopefully you have my 'Ear Training One Note' and 'Fanatic's Guide' books so you can understand exactly what you are supposed to be doing and how. These books and the www.muse-eek.com website will also contain information on common problems and misunderstandings people have. Once you understand this information you could use the Functional Ear Trainer if it gives you similiar types of exercises. Since ear training is probably the single most important thing you can do as a musician, I suggest that you make sure you are investing your time and/or money with something that will be worth your time and effort. If you find an ear training program that just says "do this" with no indepth explanation I would be very wary that you are being directed in the proper way.

My question is: Why isn't resolving notes to the tonic a good technique? You just said you 'wouldn't recommend it' and didn't offer any proof to why.
A The short explanation is it takes too much time to resolve a note to the tonic as music is going by in real time. I give a long explanation of why it isn't good to resolve to the tonic in any of my ear training books. If you are still unsure of my method I might suggest you purchase Ear Training One Note Beginning which is the least expensive of my books. Certainly not the best deal though. Ear Training One Note Complete gives you three books in one.
 
Q Thanks for the quick reply. My experience counters your explanation: After practicing resolving to the tonic I was able to eventually eliminate this step in my indentification of the note. I have also done some interval based ear training, and it really helps my recognition of some of the intervals (the ones that I have gotten down so far) in the key-based method.

Lastly, I'm very interested in your books but I couldn't find the answer on your website to why key-based is superior to interval based.
A A little confused by your email. On one hand you state that in your experience you have been able to use resolving to the tonic as a pre-step to mastering the identification of notes in a key based exercise. I'm assuming you wouldn't write this unless you used your resolving crutch, have now discarded it, and have the ability to recognize all pitches instantly within a key center. If not then one would wonder why you would say such a thing. Therefore I'm assuming that you aren't misrepresenting your ability and have mastered one note recognition within a key. This leads me to the question of why you are contacting me with a question about it's superiority. It would seem logical that you already know it's ability.

Your comment on how much interval based ear training has helped you in your recognition of sound when music is being played goes against what every student I've ever had has reported. I'm glad to hear it's working so well for you and can only wish you the best with your continued work in that area. If you find later on that your abilities weren't quite what you thought you might try some of the books I recommended. On the other hand if you want to give me your true detailed background on your ear training abilities, the problems you are having I'd be glad to communicate with you on how my books might help you.
 
Q I've been working on my singing exercises more and have been making some headway. I am currently working on all the diatonic notes, and am able to imagine a note in my head after playing a progression. Sometimes it takes a while, or I have to repeat the tonic root chord (like a drone) to be able to do it. I also find it hard to imagine a note in my head while playing a drone. I have to let the chord ring for a while before I can do it. I am concerned that letting a chord or drone ring may be lending itself to some bad habits delaying my progress. As I let a chord ring, I am imagining the root (solfeggio Do) note in my head which helps me get the right answer. Is this an okay way to establish the key center in my mind, or is it becoming a mental crutch for me to imagine Do in my head in order to imagine and then sing the desired note? (I hope that makes sense)

I'm also wondering what is the level of proficiency I am shooting for? Right now, if I hear a progression, am I shooting for instantaneous recognition to be able to imagine and sing the desired note? Currently, if I have a few seconds to hear that root Do note ring, I can usually imagine and guess the right note. I am hoping my speed recognition will improve with time.

What about playing a drone root chord? What is the optimal amount of time that should elapse between playing the drone and being able to imagine and sing a note?

Getting your thoughts on the above would help gauge my progress to determine when I am ready for the two note singing exercises.

My next question is regarding the best way to drill for Fanatics Guide. I've been doing these two things:

1) Playing the same progression over and over and try to sing all the desired notes in random order. (i.e. play C-F-G chord, sing re; play C-F-G chord, sing ti; play C-F-G chord sing la; etc)

2) Playing a progression in different keys, and then trying to sing a random note in whatever key I just played. (i.e. play C-F-G chord, sing fa; play E-A-B chord, sing ti; etic) I find this to be harder.

Your thoughts on these two methods, and are there any other methods that would help me along?

I've been learning my solfeggio syllables. Is there any value in my learning the corresponding number values (1-12) to each note? Or should I just focus on learning diatonic numbres 1-7, referring to the non-diatonic notes as b3, b7, etc.

Right now, when I listen to my One Note CD, I am getting about 50% right. For whatever reasons, I have almost 100% accuracy on recognizing the Fa note (F). I was really glad to be able to just hear a note, and no what it is. This was about two weeks ago. I was hoping the other notes would soon follow, but I've been kinda stuck. Any suggestions? Does an ear trainee typically aquire notes one at a time? Looking for some guidance on what to expect with the process of gaining note recognition.

I've been focusing hard on my ear training exercises, but would like some suggestions on how to apply my training to the guitar. I have already ordered a copy of single string studies and hope to incorporate that soon. I've heard in the past about other ear training exercises along the lines of imaging a well known tune in my head (like Yankee Doodle for example) and then trying to play it on the guitar. Do you think this kind of training is practical at this point in my training, or am I better off waiting to make more progress?

I am wondering when would be the best time to add non-diatonic notes to my training routine. Should I learn my diatonic notes better than 50% before I move on?

When I do add the non-diatonic notes, should I add them all at once or one at a time?

I am afraid of hindering my progress because I feel I am making a good head way on the diatonic notes after a slow start. But realize I need to do all the notes eventually.
A Well the problem you have is weak key retention. We can do a few things to help that. First keep in mind that focusing in on the root of the drone is not a great idea. This tends to make your mind reliant on doing that procedure and over time will slow you down when using ear training in a real time experience. What should be happening is the drone just filtrates into you head and solidifies the key center. You should be concentrating only on the note that needs to be sung and have faith that your mind will absorb the key center without concentrating on it so much.

You can also try building up your key retention by doing some singing exercises without a drone. I usually recommend the Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One for this but you could use the Fanatic's Guide too it's just a harder book to jump into with this exercise. Let me know which book you want to use and I'll give you an assignment.
 
Q I am working out of Fanatics Guide, One Note Complete, and Key Note Recognition (I've worked through one note advanced, but a few times a day I still review all of the one note CDs). I especially have a lot of trouble with Fanatics Guide. About 2 or 3 months ago, you had given me some suggestions for working with the first "one note" excercises, and it's going well. Now I am also beginning to work on the 3 note exercises. In the member's area, for the beginning lessons in Fanatics Guide, you stress that the first 3 note groupings are to be sung only in C Major. Why is that so? And also, when beginning to work on the 3 and 4 note exercises, is there any particular way you recommend doing them? Like for example, stick with one exercise in one key for a week, then do the same exercise in a different key the next week, etc...
A The reason I stress that a total beginning student should only sing in the key of C major when working on the recommended assignments in the member's area is that most people have a hard time doing the key of C major much less other keys. If you find that you are doing fine with the exercises in C major then of course move on. Keep in mind that the lesson on the website is for a total beginner that needs further direction.

You shouldn't look at the exercises based on a day or a week you want to work on each singing exercise until you feel you have either mastered it or you are at the point were you need to move on to keep yourself motivated and engaged. (You can always come back to harder exercises). But in general students tend to work in one key a week and then move a set of exercises to another key for the following week. This of course all depends on the amount you practice.
 
Q Since I have both books we can work with Single String Studies for Guitar Volume 1. Regarding my other questions, would you recommend adding on the non-diatonic notes at this point in time? Right now I'm training only with the diatonic notes, and am hesitant to add more without having fully grasped the diatonic notes.

Regarding note recognition, I'm wondering what to expect. For some reason, I can recognize Fa just fine, but the other notes aren't sinking in as fast. Just wondering what to expect in this area as I make progress. Have your previous students acquired the notes one by one, or gradually acquired them all over time?

And lastly, looking for some suggestions on how to incorporate my ear training into applying it to soloing on the guitar, and learning how to play chords on the guitar by ear. Right now I play chord progressions by memory and shy away from soloing cause it's all guesswork at this point. Any suggestions on things I could do, or am I better off focusing on trying to make more progress with developing my ear before I try to apply what I'm learning?

One ear training seminar I went to in the past recommended to practice playing a variety of chord progressions in all the different keys for ear training. Is this something you've recommended to students in the past?
A In Single String Studies for Guitar we are going to work on building your key retention. We will start on page one. I want you to first use the Fanatic's guide CD to play the cadence in C major and let the track continue. Sing through the exercise (do any octave transpositions that you might need for your voice). Once you have sung through it with the drone let's now try it without the drone. First play the cadence again in C major and then try to sing through the page without the drone. (Don't be afraid to replay the cadence if you lose the key). This may take a while so work on the first page until you can sing through it at mm=40 bpm without the drone. Remember it is always best to pre-hear each note. Don't be surprised if you are on the same page for awhile. Once you feel you are ready to move on let me know and I'll give you the next step.

I think it's best to add the non-diatonic notes as soon as possible. Many students stay to long on the diatonic notes which makes the non-diatonic notes weaker. They will already be harder so it's best to just jump in and start memorizing their sound.

The fact that Fa is coming to you every time is great. Some students don't get any notes for months. It's really hard to give you an idea of how quickly students learn. It really varies greatly. Usually students get one note at a time and usually as they get one note another note might slip. This is because your mind is rearranging it's impression. Think of it like this. If you only knew the colors yellow and blue and your mind thought one was light and one was dark and then all of sudden you learn red your mind needs to adjust what it thinks is light and dark.

You can try applying the ear training but it will probably be pretty frustrating until you get closer to mastering one note ear training. One exercise I give my students is to record a one chord vamp (i.e. repeating a chord over and over in some groove) Then have another source play random notes (Make sure both these sources are in tune). Try to find those notes on the guitar by listen to how they sound against the vamp. Muse Eek Publishing has a random note CD you could get check the website for info.

You will definitely want to play vamps in different keys. You will want to sing in different keys too. But remember as far as the ear training goes - ALL KEYS ARE THE SAME. The 3rd in C major will sound exactly like the 3rd in F# major. The 3rd always sounds like the 3rd. You want to do other keys mostly to build up your music theory ability to know for example what the b6th in Gb major is quickly. This is where I recommend using the Music Theory books so you can speed up your music theory knowledge so it's ready when your ears are.
 
Q Do you need/Is it better to work on Ear Training: One Note and Fanatic's Guide together or is best just to concentrate on Ear Training: One Note to begin with?
A It's much better to work on both the Ear Training: One Note & A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing at the same time. I have found that students progress at a much faster pace when they work on both their listening and singing skills.
 
Q I am a graduate of a four year music program at a state university, in which I passed quite easily the ear training/sight-singing program at that institution. However, having applied my knowledge and skills for the past three years, I am not pleased with my current level of ability in this area. I recently discovered your series of texts, and am interested in learning more about your method. In this regard I have two brief questions:

1. Are there any additional insights that might clarify your method other than what is found on the back cover of your books?

2. What is the proper sequence of books in your program of study?
A You can find out a lot about the method by reading the FAQ pages on the muse-eek.com website. For example this would be a good place to start.

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/fanaticsfaq.html

Overall I think you will find that the major difference between my ear training and the ear training usually taught in music schools is:

1. You don't measure the distance between two notes (i.e. interval) you memorize the sound of each note against a key center.

2. One's sense of key can be sharply improved to perceive any pitch in a key and can follow modulations.

3. A combination of 1 and 2 gives you a quick and accurate way to hear a sound and know what it's relationship is to the key of the moment.

I would suggest you start with Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training.

You have been educated as a musician already and that can be a good, and a problematic thing, too. First, you carry inculcated notions of what ear training is and so you may find your previous learning to come in conflict with what I have to teach you. On the other hand your experience has made you more aware of what it is you are aiming for, and how your previous approaches have not worked for you . As you might know I give free email support. Any question you have please let me know.

The smart students stay in touch with me and give detailed information on their progress. These are the students that progress the fastest and understand the method at a deeper level.  I could write a 1000 books on ear training but you can never foresee all the misunderstandings and quirks of each individual. This is why I feel that ear training should be taught on a one on one basis. This leads me to what the best book order for ear training study is. Start with the two books I recommend. You will find some references to different orders that I give in the FAQs. Honestly this all depends on the student and their problems. I frequently might suggest a different order, a book that addresses a certain problem or I might even suggest some exercises that aren't in a book.
 
Q I have been working through your ear training books for a almost a year now, and I think it is coming along well. I have worked through all levels of One Note Complete, but still continue to listen to the One Note CDs daily just because I have time and I think it will help, in someway. I am now working on Key Note and of course have been working on Fanatic's Guide all along. I still have a little bit of problem with this... When working with the Fanatics Guide, I have found that in order for me to truely know the sound of one note (even the root), I had to really practice singing all the notes one by one. But as this goes along I have a hard time hearing the note, and singing it perfectly in tune. For example, when hearing the 7th in my head, I hear a field of the 7th, and when I sing the note, I will sing pretty close to the perfectly in tune 7th, but it won't be exact. Perhaps you could suggest me some outside excercises or anything that would help me with this.

Also, a second question. Do you recommend at my current stage setting up a drone that will sound the 1and 5, and singing scales over it, lining up each pitch one by one. Esentially this and Fanatics Guide aim at reaching the same goal, but their methods are slightly different, and I am just wondering about your thoughts on doing something like this at my current stage.

I noticed that on your reading suggestions page on your personal website, you have made many recommendations for books dealing with psychology, neuroscience, and modern physics topics. Have you read the book The Large, the Small, and the Human mind, by Roger Penrose? It is a physics outlook of neuroscientific and psychological ideas. Based on looking at your book suggestions of what you have read, this might be a book you might like.
A Thanks for the book recommendation. I wouldn't worry to much about the intonation issue. Remember when a classical violinist plays a C# they usually play it higher than a Db so there is a range of pitches that we use to express each of the 12 degrees.

For the singing I think it's a good idea to set up a simple chord sequence, could be just one chord. One chord would be a good place to start or even just a 5th. Anyway what you want to do is sing the scale that fits over the chord vamp as it is playing and then spend some time improvising over that chord. Do this with a different key each day. You can use the vamps that are in the member's area if you want.
 
Q I am currently working on Beginners One Note and Fanatic's Guide. I have finally weaned myself from my bad resolving habits and am learning the pitches by their distinct sound. Horray for me!

I am having trouble with the Fanatic's One Note Exercise. I am just learning the 3rd and 5th and when I am trying to prehear the pitch (which I can do) I immediately hear the prospective note in the drone chord and I feel like I am cheating. Is this OK? Also, what is a good test to know when I should move on to the next scale degree?

I am currently ear training for 5- 20 min sessions with 13 on the One Note Beginning and 7 on the Fanatics Guide.
A Sounds like you are making very good progress. Beating the resolution habit isn't easy so you deserve a lot of credit for that.

It is OK if you pre-hear a note and then notice it within the drone. You don't have to be 100% before moving on to the next note. Just so you are around 75% it's probably time to move on. Keep in mind there are a lot of different exercises in the Fanatic's Guide to help hone your skills with hearing the notes.

I'm not surprised that you are making such good progress based on the amount of time you are putting into practicing. I wish more students realized that many short practice sessions will greatly improve your ear training skills.
 
Q Since we last spoke I ordered the random note CD and should be receiving it any day now. I am hoping to start applying the ear training to guitar. I do have a few questions on how to best follow your advice (see previous advice, and then questions below):

"You can try applying the ear training but it will probably be pretty frustrating until you get closer to mastering one note ear training. One exercise I give my students is to record a one chord vamp (i.e. repeating a chord over and over in some groove) Then have another source play random notes (Make sure both these sources are in tune). Try to find those notes on the guitar by listen to how they sound against the vamp. Muse Eek Publishing has a random note CD you could get called Ear Training Direct Application. Check the website.

1) When I play the notes on the guitar, should I focus on one string at a time (like Single String Studies), or just play notes on any of the strings? Should I hold off on starting Single String Studies for now, or do both this and sing string studies co-currently?

2) For the vamp, can I use the vamps in all 12 keys found on the Fanatics Guide CD?

3) Should I focus on one key at a time (like starting on the key of C, then F, then Bb, etc), or just work with all the keys at random?

Also have some questions on ear training.

4) In regards to my ear training, I've started to tackle the non-diatonic notes. I have been making progress with being able to pre-hear Di (D#) and Li (A#), but have hit a road block with Fi (F#). In the past, I've been able to pre-hear a note within a week of focusing on that note. But after three weeks, I still really struggle with Fi. I even tried making a tape up to listen to in the car where I played a bunch of progressions in random keys, leaving a pause to pre hear Fi before I play it on the tape. I've made some progress, but it's just not sticking. I've yet to attempt Si (G#) and Di (C#). Any suggestions for getting unstuck?


I've heeded your advice with using Single String Studies for key retention and do have my work cut out for me. I can prehear notes, but my speed is very slow, takes anywhere from 1-10 seconds to be able to pre hear the notes. (See advice, then questions below)

"In Single String Studies for Guitar we are going to work on building your key retention. We will start on page one. I want you to first use the Fanatic's guide CD to play the cadence in C major and let the track continue. Sing through the exercise (do any octave transpositions that you might need for your voice). Once you have sung through it with the drone let's now try it without the drone. First play the cadence again in C major and then try to sing through the page without the drone. (Don't be afraid to replay the cadence if you lose the key). This may take a while so work on the first page until you can sing through it at mm=40 bpm without the drone. Remember it is always best to pre-hear each note. Don't be surprised if you are on the same page for awhile. Once you feel you are ready to move on let me know and I'll give you the next step."

5) Would you recommend just using the drone for now to build up my speed, before trying without the drone?

6) Now that I've started on non-diatonic notes, what might be the best way to incorporate them into this excercise? All the notes on page one (Key of C) of Single String Studies are diatonic notes. Moreover, If I'm understanding things right, Single String Studies Volume 1 just focuses on the diatonic notes in each key, while volume II focuses on the non-diatonic notes?
A You can play the notes on any string any octave. I usually recommend a student just improvise with a backing track and catch each note as it comes along. You could use the Fanatic's Guide CD but that isn't a very interesting thing to improvise over. You could make your own vamps or you could use the vamps located in the member's area in the Help Files for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. The files are called MP3 vamp files. You can pretty much work on any key you want. Most of the MP3 files are in C using various modes. Certain modes will be much harder than others to hear the quality of each note. Be patient, this will take time. Considering your current ability I think I would stick to major and minor vamps until your note recognition gets better.

Certain notes like #4 or b6, b2 are usually pretty hard for students and can take months of work before they remember them. Your car tape is fine but overall it's keeping this note in your short term memory as much as possible that will finally allow you to memorize it.

If it is taking you up to 10 seconds to pre-hear a note then I think you should stick with the drone on the Single String Studies until you can pre-hear the note in a second or two. If you are still having problems pre-hearing with the diatonic notes with Single String Studies I wouldn't worry about the non-diatonic notes yet I would do the exercises in the Fanatic's Guide which concentrates on all notes.
 
Q I just received Ear training One Note Complete (I'm waiting for Fanatic's Guide) and I'm a bit daunted. OK ... So am I supposed to randomly guess at the notes until I memorize the pitches? (The FAQ pages seem to suggest this). Just want to make sure there is no misunderstanding on my part. I'm wandering aimlessly when I hear the pitches. Needless to say I'm a bit lost. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
A Ah, you sound like me when I first tried this exercise. I was completely at sea and it took me quite awhile before it made any sense. The Fanatic's Guide was a good choice that will help you to zero in on each pitch and help you memorize it. I wasn't sure if the FAQs you mentioned were in the book or on the website. If you haven't read all the FAQs on the website I'd go to the muse-eek.com site and read all the FAQs for Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide. That should help you see your not alone in your quest and show you problems other students have had.

Best thing to do if you feel lost is to keep in touch and try to explain in detail why you feel lost. Overall you probably should give yourself a couple of weeks of doing the exercises then you should have a better idea about your problems.
 
Q I have Ear Training One Note Complete Method, Fanatic's Guide and Key Note Recognition.

I recently finally "kicked myself in the ass" and started ear training. I have developed quite well, currently I know diatonic notes on all octaves almost 100% certainty (not very fast, but I guess speed improves over time). But non-diatonic notes are more difficult (around 70-80% right) and I started to do first exercises in Fanatic's Guide to make myself progress faster.

Problem is that I really have only 1 octave voice range (Starting C on third fret at 5th string on my guitar and highest note is C at the first fret on 2nd string).

So practically I can only sing notes on the key of C, since all other keys are too high or low for me.

Will this limited practice help me to recognize those difficult non-diatonic notes on ALL keys? If I have understood correctly, even this limited singing should be better than to do no singing at all?
A Well I think we can work around your limited vocal range. What we should do is just move all notes out of your range into the octave that you can sing in. This won't be a problem for most of the work in the Fanatic's Guide book because most exercises are within your range and cover only a few pitches not a complete scale. But in general when you are trying to sing, let's say, a Bb below your low C, just move it up an octave and you should be able to sing it. In some cases this might make melodies a little harder to do but it's good practice.
 
Q I have a freeware software program that seems to do what your one note books and CDs are doing. It plays a cadence in a set key or random key, then a note, and requires a guess as to what the note is. It keeps track of the percentage correct for the session. It is called Functional Ear Trainer.

I am getting about 75% correct by just feeling the note and not trying to listen for the resolution. I can do this for most notes in under 1 second, although some notes (C#, F#, G# in key of C, mainly) are slower and are the ones I am getting wrong.

I would like to start working with your series, but want to invest my limited funds wisely. I believe the Fanatic's Guide plus the software program would be a good place for me to start. Can you make some recommendations?

I am a low-intermediate level Jazz guitar player, playing guitar for 25 years, but seriously studying Jazz for under two years. One of those years was spent at the Ithaca College Jazz program back in 1986. I learned a lot back then but was not really ready for serious music study, so dropped out.

Most of my current ear training work (just for the last three months really) has been around interval recognition, dictation and chord and inversion recognition (the ear master pro software, which I am going to stop doing for now). I am also doing a lot of singing and playing (separately and together) of root triads through the chord changes of tunes. This has seemed to help a lot - I can now sing and/or play root triads (with 7ths and flat 9s thrown in sometimes) with voice leading over "All the things you are" (slowly). A lot of this practice involves using a pitch pipe in the car to get a starting note for a progression I am working on and then singing through the change and then checking my ending note with the pipe again. I try to do this in a way that I am not always resolving to a new chord from the same note in the previous chord.

I am concerned after reading your FAQ that I may be "putting the cart before the horse" and possibly creating some bad habits by singing through changes. Also, while I can sing through the modulation like Am7 D7 Gma7 F#mi7 B7 Ema7, I don't know really get a sense that I am really hearing the modulation from Gmaj to Emaj.
A That's great that you are doing well with the Functional Ear Training program. My concerns are as follows. If I understand correctly you are using the FAQs and the Functional Ear Trainer as you sole means of understanding the one note method. I think you are missing out on the fact the the one note book contains information on how to hear that is not contained in the FAQs. If this is indeed true then you don't know what you are doing and that can have a devastating effect on your ear training ability. The absolute worse thing you can do is practice ear training wrong. Even if people own the books they many times do the wrong thing that's why I have the FAQs so I can try and catch these problems early. Furthermore your progress would be much enhanced if you had CDs that you could use with a Discman so you can practice these exercises away from the computer.

So this is what I recommend. Get Ear Training One Note Advanced and Fanatic's Guide. Read the books and then contact me so I can get you started in the right direction. Please stop all of these other exercises until you understand what you are doing. You're like a kid with a bunch of prescription drugs just randomly taking them in hopes that they will help without understanding their immediate or long term effect. By the way, the exercises in the Functional Ear Trainer have nothing to do with the exercises in the Fanatic's Guide and the directions given with the Functional Ear Trainer are incomplete enough that I would classify them as completely wrong. I'm not telling you not to use the program, I'm just telling you that it doesn't give you all the information you need, it's limited in it's scope. Please remember you only need to do one little thing wrong with ear training and you won't develop properly.

I certainly understand having limited funds and wanting to improve. To help folks with that I've created a member's area that has a ridiculous amount of free information and 100's of videos to help you get it right. This is were you can save money. But by all means contact me if your wondering about which books you need and which books you can skip and just use the website. It should be pretty obvious by looking in the member's area that we are not here to wring every dime out of your pocket but truly want you to learn and learn correctly.
 
Q I am trying to improve my skills to build up and make my melodies and solos more compeling! I need some exercises and advanced theory! I play a mix of bluegrass, funk and rock! How can you help?
A I'll do my best to help you. You might want to think about the limited amount of information you have given me to go on. The relevance of my comments are always inversely proportionate to the amount of knowledge I have about a students past education and specific goals.

First if you don't know the notes on your instrument or how to build and find complex chords on the guitar I would recommend Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One.

Second if you don't know all the 23 scales most used in improvisation I would recommend Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two.

Third I would recommend you start working on some ear training so any advanced theory you might learn isn't just a mental process but is accompanied by an ability to also hear these relationships in a musical situation. For this I would recommend Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to SIght Singing and Ear Training.

Fourth if you don't know all the chords on the guitar and how they are used in a musical situation I would recommend the Chord Workbooks for Guitar Volumes One and Two. These books also contain advanced theories of reharmonization which is one of the corner stones of what I anyway would call advanced music theory.

Overall most of my books are not stylistic. For instance the Music Theory Workbooks are not specifically for a rock, jazz or bluegrass player. While certainly idioms use more of one type of scale or one set of chord types I'm figuring you will get this information by transcribing solos etc. from CDs. My books concentrate on teaching the basic building blocks of music which you can then apply to the style of music you are interested in.
 
Q I finally have both Ear Training One Note and Fanatic's Guide. I have a good idea as to how use them separately (I've read most of the FAQs), but could you tell me how to effectively use both of them together? You do suggest using them together.
A I would work out of each book 5 to 10 times a day for about 10 minutes each time and always keep a positive attitude about your progress.
 
Q In the Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training book after the cadence finishes the chord is repeatedly played and I don't understand why you do this?

What is the point of this repeating chord? Am I supposed to try to sing a note with the chord playing OR should I stop the track after the cadence finishes then sing the note.
A The repeated chord is there to reinforce the tonal center. Many students have problems retaining the key center after the cadence. This repeating chord keeps the key center strong so they can hear how each note sounds unique over the key center. So to clarify, you wait till the cadence is over then you sing the exercises as the one chord repeats. You could turn the CD off if you feel you have super strong key retention but I wouldn't recommend it because I'm not there to judge your key retention abilities.
 
Q My son is 18, a senior in High School, has been taking voice lessons for less than a year and has already received two scholarship offers to study music beyond high school. He is a bass baritone with a natural talent. I want to help him with ear training and sight singing in preparation for college auditions -- he has studied neither. After reading reviews of your books, I believe this is the direction we should take -- but which one? He reads music -- sight singing comes fairly easily, ear training is what we need to concentrate on. Any suggestions?
A I would recommend Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. While I believe this to be the best type of ear training your son could do to become a great musician it is not the kind of ear training commonly taught in colleges. Therefore he should keep in mind that the "interval" based ear training method will most likely be his course of study once he enters a University. I would still recommend he work out of my books first because it is harder for students to start with intervals and then go to the sound of each note within a key center. Overall I believe that he should work on things that will improve his musicianship which sometimes will be in direct conflict with what he learns in music school. Ear Training is a prime example. An analogy I commonly think of is the teaching that the world is flat and the sun revolves around the earth. It took along time after it was proven wrong before people accepted it. Ear Training is the same way. Many heads of ear training departments know their ear training programs don't work but are usually forced to stay with their current method because of class size considerations, ignorance or lack of caring about their student's development. This is the unfortunate state of college music education now days.
 
Q I've been doing as much as I can of the ear training since my last email, and here's where I'm at.

Ear Training Advanced CD: I've been getting 90% or more correct answers for at least 3 weeks except for the occasional bad day. However I still feel that certain notes need more time to really nail them. I was listening 5-6 times a day but now I've cut back to 4 times a day in order to dedicate more time to the Key note Recognition.

Key Note Recognition: I'm getting the major/minor keys mostly right, and slowly I'm starting to get the notes too. I was listening 1-2 daily, but now, since getting 90% correct answers on the Advanced Ear Training CD, I have increased to 3-4 times/day.

Fanatic's Guide: I'm on my last week (key of G) of the 4 note exercise, singing the first 2 notes up an octave and the other 2 notes as written. I sing up and down, down and up for a total of 10' x 3 daily. I'm able to sing at 75 bpm pre-hearing the notes. What next, continue with the 5 notes? I've now identified my 3 weak notes: C sharp (Di), D sharp (Ri) and G sharp.

Single String Studies Vol One: I'm finishing my last key (of G) after doing all the keys cycle 5. To vary the material I progress through all the E string examples and I consider the key signature of the exercise always as Key of C (I ignore the flats and sharps in the key signature) and change key each week (cycle 5) so that I'm replacing one note each week (therefore B natural in key of F becomes "Fi" ). No need to worry I am doing it right! I do this for 10' x 3 daily. I'm currently starting each new key at quarter note = 40 bpms and in a week can bring it up to 70 bpms.

Right Hand Technique: I've been reviewing and increasing the bpm's on the basic techniqe exercises, forearm and elbow movement (single string and 6 string). I've had many false starts with the scale exercises. I've only reached the Dorian scale (gasp!).

It really took me some time to reorganize my approach to the C major scale. Before downloading your scales, I'd always played patterns using hand stretches to play the notes, always starting from the tonic of the key, and I wasn't used to thinking (singing) the notes I was playing.

Now I've gotten better at your approach. It does make sense to think/sing the notes with a chord progression or drone chord playing ... It ties it all toghether with the ear training part.

Time is also a factor. I'm dedicating as much time as possible to the ear training that I'm only able to practice the scales a few times a week (it takes me at least 30' to go through scales in all positions with the modal sequencing ascending 3rds up and down the scale

I would also like to improvise using the grooves I've downloaded from your website, but rarely have enough time to do that too.

One question: When I'm listening to the downloaded grooves (for example C Dorian as I play the C Dorian scale and do the modal sequencing), what I'm playing doesn't sound as nice as when I'm just playing the scale over a Cmin7 drone chord. Of course the grooves sound better with the improvisation because I can pick which notes I like from the Dorian scale. Should I keep using the grooves for the scale and modal sequencing?
A Seems like your doing well and on the right track. For the Fanatic's Guide just continue on to 5 notes.

For the downloadable grooves you can use them with so many things. I recommend:

1. Playing scales in 7 positions with the groove going to keep your ear in the right key.

2. Improvising with the groove to improve your improvisation and help you develop a musical application of scales or other techniques.

3. Use the vamps along with the direct application CD (available from the muse-eek.com website) as a backing track as you play and listen to the direction application CD. Remember this would require two CD players.

Keep up the good work I'm very proud of you for your dedication. I'm sure you are starting to feel some of the benefits in your playing so keep it up it only gets better.
 
Q Please help me understand the correct method for singing a pitch using Fanatic's Guide.

At the moment, I am working on singing one note in each key, just the root or major third, and also thinking and singing C over all keys.

When I listen to the major chord vamp, my mind's tendency is to listen for the note I am looking for in the chord that is being played. If I do this isolation listening, I can hear these notes quite easily and then hear them internally and reproduce them vocally.

Of course this works extremely well when the note is actually there, but this method will fail for the rest of the tones, and sure would not work in a live music setting, I would think. I suspect that when I get to non-chord tones, my mind will want to use interval tricks. For instance, to get a tritone, I would prehear a fifth, then prehear down a semitone, then sing. I know this is not correct, and want to get the learning process started correctly with the easy pitches.

Is the learning process really the same as in the one note series? That is, guess as quickly as I can, then check the pitch against an instrument? And, how do I guess by prehearing? Just sing the first note that pops in my head, then check it? How do I avoid my tendency to try to hear the tone in the chord I am looking for? Or maybe this is not a problem?

I have to say that the ear training has already improved my playing after just a few weeks, so I am very satisfied. Prior to working with your series, even playing a simple melody like "All the Things You Are" was almost impossible, even though it is technically easy. It's sounding a lot better now. Trying to improvise without a trained ear is like trying to speak a foreign language using just a translation guide.
A You definitely do not want to listen for the note you are about to sing. The chord progression is there to put you in a key center - nothing more. Trying using this sequence. Play the chord progression from the CD. As the chord starts to repeat then decide which note you are going to sing. It's probably best for you to do the 2nd, 4th or 6th because those aren't in the repeating chord. Try singing the note you need. If you sing the wrong note play the correct note then wait a few seconds and try singing it again. Keep doing this until you can sing the right pitch. Once you can sing the right pitch you want to see how long you can keep this pitch in your head and sing it on command. So wait longer and longer periods of time while the chord continues to sound and see if you can hold the pitch in your mind and sing it on command.
 
Q I'm a tenor singer. I can sing fairly well a classical piece after hearing it a few times from a CD (My favorite material is Renaissance and Baroque and especially Henry Purcell). My problem is that I can't sing notes and rhythms from a music sheet. (I believe that skill is called solfege? Is solfege and sight-singing are basically the same thing?)

I also work with a private teacher which teaches me vocal training and theory and some solfege and rhythm. I don't worry about the vocal part but I feel I could use your advice concerning how to make a leap in singing notes and rhythms.
A Sounds like you need some work with rhythm. I recommend you work with my Rhythm Series of books. I would start with Rhythm Primer. You can clap or sing the rhythms on each page. Inside the book there is a complete guide to how to practice the exercises. In your case you might also do this book in combination with the Fanatic's Guide CD. Basically play the 1st track on the CD and do the One Note singing exercise found in the Fanatic's Guide but do it singing the rhythms in Rhythm Primer this will help you with your rhythm and your aural skills.
 
Q Thank you for your reply. And what about developing the ability to sing the correct pitch by looking at a music sheet?
A A couple of things to keep in mind for developing the ability to sing the correct pitch when looking at sheet music. First sheet music is a combination of notes and rhythms so developing the abilities you learn in the Fanatic's Guide and Rhythm Books will go a long way to helping you master this important skill. Another very important thing to keep in mind is that the music you are singing is in a key and you need to figure out what that key is. A knowledge of music theory can help you with this but experience and developing your ear through my books will help you quickly figure out the key for a piece or section of a piece of music by listening to the notes you sing. Once you know the key then it's just a matter of singing the sounds that you memorize from the ear training. So I think you are on the right path to developing this skill just keep working from the ear training and rhythm books and I think you will find it will all come together over time.
 
Q I followed your advice (a bit more I admit) and I now have in my possession your following books:

Ear Training One Note Complete Method
A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sightsinging
Rhythm Primer
Rhythms Volume One
Music Theory for All Instruments (Will arrive in 2 weeks from amazon)

So now that I have the books I'll be glad to receive some study plan for them so I can be organized with my studies. I already for 2 days listen to the One Note CD trying to identify notes.

I just want to stress that my sole (soul) aim right now in the musical world is to be able to read/sing from a music sheet as if I was reading a text book. I know it's a high aim right now but I'm willing to work hard to attain it provided the working plan is clear in my mind. I'll appreciate any advice you could give.
A Hoping that you would have a couple of hours a day to practice. Here is the schedule I would recommend.

Rhythm primer and Rhythms Volume One do 3 pages a week. Read the rhythms at a tempo that you feel you are getting about 80% of the rhythms right. Use the midifiles or the mp3 files for these books found on the muse-eek.com website under the books title to aid your progress. Use a metronome. You can start with the metronome on every beat but over time you want to work towards using the metronome on beat 2 and 4 especially with the Rhythms Volume One book. You should also read the suggested ways of study in the Rhythm Primer for a more detailed practice schedule.

Music theory for all instruments I would do one page a day. You may have to build up to that but that is your goal.

With the Fanatic's Guide and the Ear Training One Note Complete you should work from these books many times throughout the day. They are good books to work with when you are taking a brake from practicing or anytime when you have 5 to 10 minutes.
 
Q I'm an advanced musician preparing for graduate school auditions. Initial rounds will emphasize non-tonal dictation. I'm training my ear independently and have devoted a great deal of thought to how I process pitch relationships. I'm fluent in tonal idioms and this is because I process the melodic progression, "G" followed by "C" as dominant followed by tonic for instance, not as a falling fifth or rising fourth. In other words, I've internalized the function of the fifth degree as it relates to the tonic instead of training my ear to always recognize the melodic skip of a fifth regardless of its function. So, in C Major, when I hear "A" falling to "D," I hear a pitch two degrees below "C" followed by a pitch one degree above "C," not an independent melodic progression. Unfortunately, my mind shuts down when a central key is avoided. My mind stalls with a melodic progression like "A up to Eb down to E natural down to F# up a ninth to G natural" and so on. Do you see what I mean? My problem isn't understanding the interval of a tritone or a descending major seventh or anything else, it's that the tritone doesn't resolve to a Tonic chord for instance. So I can notate something like Schoenberg's Transfigured Night by ear but not his Pierrot Lunaire. The former, while highly chromatic, always clearly defines a tonal center; the latter often avoids them altogether. Is this the opposition you refer to with the terms, "key-based" and "interval-based," respectively? Can your texts help me in this area? In your experience, do students who approach dictation in the above manner show rapid progress with your method? If so, which collection of texts do you suggest? Any insight is greatly appreciated.
A Yes my system can help you a lot. There are a few problems you need to overcome. First you need a stronger key retention ability and second you need to learn to modulate better using key based ear training. Singing Schoenberg's is right up there in difficulty, I sang through his 5 movements for piano and it's very difficult to keep your key centers intact but it is possible and luckily gets easier over time. So the quick answer is yes my ear training will help you but where to start is a little more difficult to pinpoint. I think the best route would be to get the following books

Ear Training One Note Advanced
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training

I'm hoping that the Ear Training One Note Advanced is going to be easy for you but you need to understand this method from the ground up. All it takes is one little misunderstanding and you will mess up your progress. So read those books and work on the exercises then get back to me. Hopefully we can then quickly move on to exercises that directly attack your problems. I should mention in your case I will be giving you book assignments and other assignments not from books so it's important that you keep in touch and let me know your progress so I can help you attain your goals.
 
Q I'm still approaching my ear training with a Zen like attitude, i.e. with no expectation of an outcome, and just experiencing the total moments of frustration for what they are. I'm trying to learn all the pitches and how they relate to the key of C as you suggest. I just had some general questions, and I am hoping that you can help me out or point me in the right direction.

1. For starters, am I supposed to memorize every note in the key of C, with C humming along in the background? Am I hoping to; with who knows how much amount of time, eventually have these notes so engrained, zapped, in my head because I've been listening to these notes every freaking day like a lunatic, that when I hear a note, I can instantly say that's a sharp 5, or b3, or a 2? It seems that I have to be relating this to the key of C, because this is the only way that I can really relate or come to know these notes right? What I'm really wondering is, is this the correct approach that I should be taking? Is this why they call it "relative pitch?"

2. Once I have these notes in my head, I should be able to sing all 12 pitches, however at this point it doesn't really seem like I can really sing yet because I don't know how all of these 12 pitches relate to each other in their respective key? For example, if I hear a note, I will instantly know what note it is because of my fanatical memorization of the Key of C, but how will I be able so sing it so that it fits in with whatever Key (other than C) that I'm in? When I do my ear training I have a tendency to not only sing the note, but I'll attempt to sing its volume (if that makes sense) and its degree as it relates to the key of C. I have trouble singing the same note in different octaves. Is this a problem? Should I just blindly sing the pitch and not worry about how melodic it sounds, and just focus on matching the pitch?

3. I hope these questions don't seem too elementary; I simply need some guidance as to whether or not I'm approaching this correctly. Is this the direction that I should be taking? As a final question, when you play something in your head, or a musical idea enters your mind, are you also figuring out its time? Since I first began learning music I have never bothered to keep time, I simply would play anything that sounded nice to me. Should I fit the time with the tune, or make the tune fit the time? I always have little musical ideas that I'll play on my guitar, but I never really play them in time, I just play them because they sound good. Should I fix this?
A 1. You need to memorize all 12 notes against a key center which is humming along in the background. This is what you get with the Fanatic's Guide CD and the exercises contained within. You shouldn't think of it like lunatic behavior though. They have done studies that show that the right frame of mind definitely helps your memory, so keep a positive spirit when listening. Basically you have the correct approach. They would call both this type of ear training and ear training with intervals "relative pitch" ear training.

2. There are multiple ways of interpreting what you are saying in this paragraph and I don't want to assume anything. I think the best thing for you do to is give me a specific instance of when you hear a note. For example, is this a note by itself, a note within a band that is playing, if you are in a band situation do you know what key is being played or is this something you need to figure out too? The point of the singing exercises is to sing the sound a pitch as it relates to a key center. you say, "I have a tendency to not only sing the note, but I'll attempt tossing its volume (if that makes sense) and its degree as it relates to the key of C." These are three things, you are only supposes to being doing one, so you should elaborate on that too.

3. Once again this could have a few meanings but you should develop your time and your ear training. I would recommend the rhythm series of books and would recommend you start with Rhythm Primer. When I figure what pitches are being played I'm also aware of the rhythm being played and I can see this rhythm in my mind as it would appear on a staff. This is from many years of playing through the rhythms found in my books.

Get back to me on the other questions and we will examine that further.
 
Q I'm a casual singer trying to get better at all my musical aspects. I also want to write songs as there are often the times when tunes come up in my head but I have no idea how to put them down. For this, I figure I need to train my skills in music theory and ear training, and that's how I found out about your books.

My preference leans toward rock, and there are times when I feel frustrated that I could only sing, so I decide I would pick up the guitar, too. (Seriously this time, because, in fact, I've played it on and, mostly, off for several years already but made little progress.) I also love the colors added to the music with the sound of synthesizers, as those found on electronic and progressive music, so I feel compelled to also learn the keyboard. All this should be valuable also when I later have the ability to compose my own music on computers, as I'll be able to perform most of the parts myself. I think I'm ready to put in 2-3 years or so before I'm at least beginning to be able to do that.

I've read through the FAQ archive, which took me a few days. And my questions are as follows:

1. I figure I need to start with the following books:

1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist
Ear Training: One Note Complete
A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing
Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1
Rhythm Primer

As for keyboard, I think I need to look elsewhere since I don't feel the Jazz Piano Vocabulary series are for a complete keyboard beginner like me. I also need a book to improve my singing, such as breathing techniques, resonance, range widening, etc ... I'm currently looking into "Singing for Dummies," "Singing for the Stars" and "Jeff Allen's Secrets of Singing: Male." Do you have any suggestion/recommendation for my selection, and for the books on keyboard and singing?

2. I'm currently working in the field of computing and I often have to do work over-time, so I think I could put in only at most 2-3 hours each day. Do you think that amount is enough for practicing the guitar, keyboard, and singing all together? Or would you recommend I choose only one or two? What is your recommended practice schedule?

3. As for Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1, which one would you recommend for people who play both the guitar and keyboard? What is in the "All Instruments" version that the "Guitar" version does not have, and vice versa?

4. Just my curiosity, do you still practice ear training everyday, or has this already become your second nature so that you don't need to practice anymore?
A 1. I don't have any recommendation for keyboard or singing. I think the books you picked for guitar and ear training are what I would recommend.

2. I think two would be just right.

3. I would do the guitar theory book.

4. In a way I do because I'm using it everyday to understand the music I encounter.
 
Q To sum it up, I decide to go for these books:

1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist
Ear Training: One Note Complete
A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing
Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1
Rhythm Primer
And other two books on keyboard and singing.

You've recommended that I choose only 2 of the 3 things (guitar, keyboard, and singing). I still feel like I would first give it a try doing all three. I think I have 2-3 hours each day for these, with several short breaks for ear training. Do you have any recommendation for a schedule for such a crazy undertaking?

Regarding your recommendation on Guitar version of Music Theory Workbook over the All Instruments version, does the Guitar version also include stuffs and practices on Bass Clef?
A Well here is what I would recommend for the books you want to get. I can't recommend a course of study for the other books because I don't know their method.

1. 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist

Learn a chord progression each week. You may have to first learn the chords which I would recommend learning 3 or 4 per week but it is always best to apply them to chord progressions. This book has multiple resources so join the "member's area" for additional help. I would study 30 minutes from this book daily.

2. Ear Training: One Note Complete

This should be done with a discman and listened to mulitple times throughout the day.

3. A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing

15 minute singing 2 to 3 times a day.

4. Music Theory Workbook Vol.1

One page a day would be great but at least one page a week. The time this takes greatly depends on your ability to understand music theory. At least 15 minutes a day

5. Rhythm Primer

At least 15 minutes a day developing your rhythmic understanding.

Both versions of the Music Theory books are trying to get you to know the notes in any chord. Neither book works on bass clef recognition. The most important resource you need first is a quick recognition of what notes are in any chord.
 
Q My current progress is a follows:

One note advanced: about 90+% correct. Still mixing up C# and G# frequently. Most other pitches are heard correctly all of the time, some most of the time.

A. Given this, I am using the One Note less and working with Key Note instead. I am getting less than 40% with keynote, and really having trouble with "habits", like silently singing to tonic or resolving pitches. I was thinking of editing the sound files to shorten the time before the answer comes to help with this, so that I don't have time to do habits, just to guess. Is that advisable?

B. My practice schedule is typically about three to five 15-minute practice sessions devoted to ear training of some type. I split that time between Fanatics, Keynote and One note, in order of frequency. I spend one hour per day on the guitar, practicing single note technique, chord voicings, comping, improvisation and time-sense.

C. I tried the Fanatic's exercise you gave me for about four weeks. I was able to prehear Do Ra Mi Fa Sol La Ti and Ri very easily and had them down in a few days each at most. Now I have been working on Fi for 3 weeks. I have no trouble holding the pitch in short term memory without singing for as long as I choose, even up to 10 minutes (or longer). I can only very rarely actually prehear Fi, so I am relying on a pitch pipe. I assume I should just keep going with this and eventually it will just come? I have not attempted any singing beyond the one note exercises.

Here are some questions about proper method:

1. Should I work on Fi by allowing the drone to play and holding the pitch in memory for awhile, perhaps five minutes (the length of the track)? Or, should I go through several or perhaps all 12 keys in a single practice session, attempting to prehear Fi and failing that, playing on the pitch pipe, hold in memory for a short time, then moving on to the next key? Or both?

2. Should I work on one pitch exclusive of the others until I can prehear it easily? Or should I review the other, easier pitches on occasion. How often? When and how should I attempt 2 note exercises?

3. I have been transcribing a Grant Green solo lately. Mostly my method is to slow it down and isolate a phrase and pick out on the guitar pitches and phrases after listening and singing the phrase several times. Lately I have been using a "One Note" approach by memorizing short phrases (Grant does a lot of that) and then singing the phrase while playing the chord of the moment on guitar, identify each note by its tension against the chord, then notating. Any suggestions? Do you have a method for transcribing?
A A) You could edit the files to see if that helps.

B) That all sounds good.

C) Some notes can take longer than others. Keep at it and let me how it develops.

1. I would try repeating the exercise of hearing the cadence and singing the pitch until you can do this a few times in a row and get it correct. (You may have to give yourself the pitch a few times to get your memory going). Then I would try doing a few other notes and coming back to the problem pitch to see if you can still remember it. Keep experimenting until you find how long you can remember the pitch and build up the time from there.

2. I would following the directions above for now. You wouldn't do the 2 note exercises until you can sing all pitches from memory and can get 100% correct with the Key Note Recognition.

3. Excellent idea. Applying your ear training is extremely important. Try applying it as often as you can to as many situations as you can come up with. Over time you will begin to be able to transcribe by hearing the notes in relationship to the underlying key. This will take awhile and certainly won't happen soon. But trying this with easy solos that or vamp or modal based is a good place to start.
 
Q I progressed through One Note Advanced and A Fanatic's Guide fine. Your work has been a blessing for me. I'd created a complex for myself thinking I'd have to abandon my key-based hearing and master interval based hearing -- you're absolutely right though, interval based training is really nonsense.

About mastering modulations, I've created exercises for myself where I play a series of chords in one key and then modulate to a new key to train myself to recognize the process quickly and without having to regroup for each new modulation. It seems like the trick is to know the function of a pitch in both tonalities. Am I on the right track?
A Yes you are on the right track.  Hearing how the note changes when a key changes tells you what the modulation is.  This is the technique used in the 2 note ear training books.  I would advise you to study a few of those volumes so you understand exactly how and what to listen for.
 
Q I have a question concerning one of the 4 note exercises in the Fanatic's book.

When singing C,F#,G#,B in the key of C# the last note always comes out as a 6th instead of b7. I just can't pre-hear it correctly in this case. My mind is creating some kind of aural illusion that initially lets me think that 6 is b7. I instantly know when hearing the note sung that it's 6 but my brain pre-hears 6 and tells me it b7. I have gone back to pre-hearing/singing the b7 individually as part of my routine. Is this a good idea? Are there any other things that you would suggest. Should I continue with the 4 note exercises? When one encounters problems with note groupings, is it good to go back and practice the first exercise in the Fanatic's book as some remedial work? I still have to combat the habits of interval training at times. Those habits sneak up unknowingly at times.

Another 4 note group that threw me a bit was singing E,F#,G#,A in the key of C. When I sang the A it sounded like 1 instead of 6. Looking at that it seems like a logical error - modulating to A minor. I'm going to go back and sing that one some more to see if it can be heard clearly as 6 instead of 1.

I was going through my stuff as we were remodeling our bedroom I came across my old Burdge Relative Pitch, interval based, tapes. For a moment I though about selling them, cost me ~ $100, but then thought about how much that system screwed me up that their getting thrown away!
A I'd take those notes C,F#,G#,B in the key of C# and sing them through a bunch of permutations. So rather than

C,F#,G#,B

Do

C,F#,G#,B F#,G#,B,C G#,B,C,F# B,C,F#,G#
C,F#,B,G# F#,G#,C,B G#,B,F#,C B,C,G#,F#
C,G#,F#,B F#,C, B,G# G#,C,F#,B B,G#,F#,C
C,G#,B,F# F#,C,G#,B G#,C,B,F# B,G#,C,F#
C,B,F#,G# F#,B,C,G# G#,F#,C,B B,F#,G#,C
C,B,G#,F# F#,B,G#,C G#,F#,B,C B,F#,C,G#

Basically 24 permutations. This will help you to overcome the problem you are currently having.
 
Q I am a choral singer who has been relying extensively on memory to sing choral works. My poor sight reading/singing skills are holding me back in audition situations. Do you have suggestions as to how to improve my sight reading skills so that I can continue to become the best musician that I am able to be? As you know, most choral auditions require fairly good to excellent sight reading ability. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
A To be a great sight singer you need to work in the following areas:

1. Rhythm
2. Pitch Recognition
3. Intonation
4. Key Retention

It will take awhile to get all of these things together. I would start with the following books:

1. Rhythm Primer
2. Ear Training One Note Complete
3. Fanatic's Guide to sight singing and ear training.

I would suggest that once you get these books you contact me and give me a run down on how much time you have to practice each day. I will then give you a suggested course of study. I would also strongly suggest that you keep in touch and let me know your progress so I can help you improve at your fastest rate.
 
Q I am developing a proposal to include the Muse Eek Ear Training library in a new ear training class being developed at Spokane Falls Community College. Could you tell me how many colleges are using your ear training books as reqired educational material? You include Princeton and NYU on your book covers but is there any others of note?
A Besides NYU, Princeton, New School University, NYS City College the following Colleges using our ear training materials:

College of the Ozarks
Highway V
Point Lookout, MO

Bloomsburg University
University Store
400 East 2nd Street
Bloomsburg, PA 17815

Northwest Vista Campus
3535 North Ellison Drive
San Antonio, Texas 78251

Community College Southern Nevada
3200 East Cheyenne Avenue
North Las Vegas, NV 89030-4296

California State University Bookstore
6049 East 7th Street
Long Beach, CA 90840

University of Nevada Reno
JOT Travis Student Union Building
Reno, NV 89507

Emery-Pratt
1966 West Main Street
Owosso, MI 488671397

Lee University
Paul Conn Student Union
120 11th Street NE
Cleveland, TN 37311

Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst.
Sage Ave. & 15th St.
Troy, NY 12180
 
Q Got your email concerning the use of the functional ear program. I have been using it and found it helpful. You said that for example the MI sounds the same in every key so you do not need to practice it in every key. Would it not be better to practice the different "relative notes" in different keys? Why not?

Please tell me you opinion on my summary:
1. Learn the "functional sound" for each of the 12 notes in many keys
2. At the same time: learn how to "inner hear" and sing out loud the functional notes in many keys.

i.e
1. Play tonic (or accord sequence to establish tonic) then play a note. Say note.
2. Play tonic (...) and then sing a certain functional note. For example, pick MI and then play tonic and sing MI play another tonic and sing MI (for that Tonic) etc ... All MI's will, should sound "similar." Then choose SO etc ... and do all 12 notes.

The above 2 can be called functional hearing and functional singing.

For more advanced: 1. play faster 2. Play tonic once and then play more than 1 note (mini dictation to full dictation). Play notes harmonically etc ...

For some of these exercises the fuctional trainer can really help. What do you think?
A You can work on hearing MI in all keys. It's not better but it won't hurt you. Personally I have found it's a waste of time but if you have time to burn then go ahead. The exercise you refer to in number two is one of the exercises in Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training.

I applaud your willingness to try and figure this ear training out on your own. I think your questioning of things is a positive thing. But I have to say that it is very easy to do the wrong thing or to waste time with ear training. I have set up a method that I think uses your time in an efficient and practical way and avoids many of the problems that students run into. Some aspects of Functional Ear Training will compliment my ear training but for example:

"Play tonic once and then play more than 1 note (mini dictation to full dictation)"

Can possibly lead to problems if done at the wrong time in your development. You of course are free to do whatever you want but as a good teacher I must warn you that practicing the wrong thing or practicing something good at the wrong time in your development can lead to bad habits that you will have to spend time unlearning later. I think the thing that inexperienced students don't realize is that just because something seems to be working doesn't mean it's the right thing to be doing. Only hindsight will tell you whether your practicing regimen was correct.

I hope these comments help you to understand that logic isn't always the best method to use when deciding what to practice with ear training. Many times things seem to make logical sense only later to find out that they don't make logical sense because you didn't fully understand your current ability and/or the ability and direction you need to get to for the next level.
 
Q I have a pretty good grasp on theory, but my ability to name the notes in uncommon keys isn't very fast, I'd appreciate any advice.

The One Note Ear Training and Fanatic's Guide are very helpful and challenging... I just started working with these books about a week ago. I've been doing interval training for the past 2 or 3 years, I didn't realize how weak my ear was until I took a background vocal class (I'm a guitar player)where I had to sing harmonies, it was virtually impossible. I'm able to sing in key (for the most part), because my ear can hear the notes as I sing them...I have to "slide" to the right note quite a bit. I think this is do to my inner voice being very weak and not being able to hear the notes before I sing them.

I also have a very difficult time hearing individual pitches in a chord, I can identify the quality of the chord, but not hear each note. I can't sing any of the notes until my voice finds them, then I'm not sure which pitch it is I'm singing, but can somehow tell that I'm singing a note in the chord (if that makes sense).

Anyway, your method seems to directly address this problem... I'm going to stick with it!
A You could work out of the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One to strengthen your quick knowledge of all notes and there relationship to all keys. This applies the information directly to the guitar so it will help your guitar playing too.

Two note ear training will help you to hear each note from within a chord. You first need to master the One Note Ear Training and the Key Note Recognition work first.
 
Q I'm a choral singer - working on the Rachmaninoff "Vespers" at the moment - and also a folky-rocky guitarist/singer, who's trying to learn to sight-read, and Bruce Arnold's books have come to my attention, and I'm intrigued. But there appear to be many of them, and from e.g. the Amazon descriptions it's not exactly clear to me which to start with, where one leaves off and another picks up, etc. Is there a horse's-mouth description somewhere of the intended audience for each volume and what the hierarchy among them is, if any?
A Sight Reading really involves 3 things. Rhythm, note recognition and ear training. To get all 3 of those things working together for a singer takes a few years of study. I would be glad to recommend some books to get started with this but first I just wanted you to know that it won't happen over night. Give me a more detailed description of your abilities and past educational experience with music and I'll recommend some books for you.
 
Q I've been singing in a chorus for a couple of years now and can "kind of" get along - i.e. I can read the rhythms (I'm sloppy and lazy about it, but when I put my mind to it I can get the rhythmic part right), but am fairly at sea about the other two elements. If I "lean" and listen to the record long enough, the rising and falling notes on the page start reminding me of the melody I've practiced, but I don't really read them. (I sing bass, by the way, so I use the term melody very, very loosely.) By concert time, I can get the notes, pretty much, but the entire rehearsal period is devoted to learning them instead of singing them well, which should be the point. Is that enough to suggest where I am?
A I'd start your work with:

Ear Training One Note Complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training

These two you definitely need I would also highly recommend you improve your rhythm recognition for this I would get

Rhythm Primer

With the ear training books try to practice out of them many times through out the day. Make these practice periods 10 to 15 minutes. But if you only have 5 minutes do that multiple times. With the rhythm work if you could spend 15 minutes a day on that and work your way through the Rhythm Series of books you will be all set.
 
Q I looked through your FAQ section and found some great information, but I do have a question for you regarding my specific situation. I am a classically trained vocalist looking to improve my sight reading skills. I also have some experience playing piano, and guitar, mostly self-taught by ear. My strong suit is that I have always been able to learn music when I hear it, have strong relative pitch and good pitch recognition, but because of it, my sight reading skills have suffered. I would like to be able to sight read music off the sheet, so I can learn music more easily without always having to hear a recording of it, and so I can do this better at auditions that require it, etc ... I found your books and website, and would like to implement your program but I have a couple of questions:

1. I am planning on going back to university to get my degree in music in a few months. I have had some musical theory training, enough to know the basics, but not enough to say I learned the interval training method that is most taught in schools today. If I begin with your course of study, will I be totally confused when I then take a college music class where they teach the other method? I have about 4 months or so of lead-in time, do you think this would be enough time to get grounded in some of the basics of your program with diligent practice?

2. Which books would you recommend I start with, and how should I use them? I would like to order them ASAP so I can get started. I am not afraid to work hard at it, I love music, have just started to get back into lessons again and am excited to be back on the musical path again after being absent from it for several years. I just want to be the best musician that I can be in every aspect.
A I would work out of the following books:

1. Music Theory Workbook for all Instruments. This will help you get your theory working quicker which will help in all aspects of musical training.

2. Ear Training One Note Complete. I'd start with the intermediate CD (book contains 3 CDs).

3. Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. Both of the previous mentioned books will go against your learning in school. I look at school as a place to learn as much as you can and to also realize that everything that is taught is not particularly to your advantage but is dictated by poorly run programs and poorly educated teachers. Don't let their mistakes be yours. Always question everything you learn and remember the best place to hang out at school is the library. The library will give you alternate sources of education to help you find the truth.

4. I'd work through the Rhythm Series of books to get your rhythm totally happening. I'd start with

Rhythm Primer
Rhythms Volume One and Two

If you can play/sing the rhythms in these books you will be well on your way to feeling comfortable with the common rhythms you will run into. I'd also recommend you work through Odd Meters once you get these basic rhythms together.

With the Music Theory Work try to do one page a day. With the Ear Training do it many times through out the day in 15-20 minute increments. With the Rhythm books spend 15 minutes a day working from each book.

This will really give you an advantage on your musical ability. It won't always jive with what you are required to do at school but it will make you a better musician. I think being a better musician should be your goal not how well you do in school. Unfortunately they don't always coincide.
 
Q I have been working through singing one-note exercises.

Progress with Fi had been very slow until I emailed you, and received some suggestions regarding how to work.

You suggested I sing other pitches and then return to Fi, to test my memory.

I did a some of that, but mostly what I ended up doing was switching back and forth between two keys until I could remember Fi against each key. Once that became easy, I started progressively adding keys around the circle of 5ths. When I was able to remember Fi against 6 keys, it seemed that suddenly I was able to do so against all 12 keys. (and this only took a week, where I had been struggling with Fi for over a month). I repeated this process with Ri and had very similar results. Once I get all 12 keys, I play the tracks randomly to test my memory.

Do you have any idea why this method would seem so effective? Does it exercise memory in a different way such that the pitches enter long term memory more quickly? Why would it be that memorizing a pitch in 6 keys would seem to immediately transfer to all 12?

Also, at what point can I declare victory for a specific scale degree? Ie, is there an effective way to test that a pitch relationship has indeed entered long term memory? (at least for where I am at now in the one note singing). I do realize that ear-training is a long term commitment, and that I will be reviewing old things and practicing new ones constantly. But there must be a point where I have mastered one note singing to the point where I can move on to two-note singing. When is that point?

One thing I have found - since I have moved on from Fi - when I go back to review it, I find that I sometimes cannot recall it immediately and that I need a pitch reference. Once I get the reference, then it seems I can get Fi against all 12 keys with out any help.
A The exercise you describe of course is one of the first exercises in the Fanatic's Guide. Your mind remembers things that are repeated a lot especially if this is throughout a days work. The reason you now know Fi in all keys even though you only worked through half of the keys is because Fi sounds the same in every key. I get a lot of email from students wondering why the one note ear training CDs don't come in all keys. This is precisely the reason. All keys are the same. The Fanatic Guide exercises help you memorize the notes by working through all keys. As you can see this helps you memorize theoretically what each note is i.e. what is the flatted 6th of Gb but also helps you not to use vocal tension to know what a note is.

Hopefully now you have Fi memorized but don't be surprised if it slips a little as you learn other notes. Your mind is still categorizing these sounds so as new ones are introduced sometimes others will slip. Overtime you will remember them all permanently. Best thing to do is keep reviewing your memory of each note through the exercises in the Fanatic's Guide and listening to the One Note Ear Training CD. Once you can do the one note exercise in Fanatic's Guide it's time to move on to the two note. It doesn't have to be perfect to move on but make sure you are in the 80 to 90% range.

When you say "sometimes cannot recall it immediately and that I need a pitch reference" I'm not sure what you are referring to. The only reference you are using is the key center you have established before you attempt to sing or hear a note. Any other pitch reference is bogus.
 
Q I've been focusing on pre-hearing both diatonic and non-diatonic notes following my playing a the progression or playing a drone. I do this a few minutes in the morning and again at night before I go to sleep. I've made some headway - I am pretty accurate prehearing the diatonic notes, and am starting to hear the non-diatonic notes. Just need to work on speed and consistency. I've also been listening to the one note complete intermediate CD in my car twice daily to and from work. I would say my accuracy is around 30-40% depending on the day. It's the non-diatonic notes that really throw me off.

Currently my practice time is limited, and I am looking to change things up a bit to maximize my skill development as well as start applying my ear training to playing the guitar. My ultimate goal is to be able to play by ear - to think of a melody in my head and be able to play it on the guitar.

One idea I had was to use the Single String Studies volume I book and do the following:

Starting with the low E string in the key of C, I play the C major drone from the fanatics guide CD, and sight read the notes on the page by pre-hearing them in my mind and them playing them on the low E string without looking.

I would think this is great practice at pre-hearing what I am going to play. However, my speed is very slow and I find myself using mostly my first finger to jump from note to note. I know my speed will pick up with time, but do not want to develop any bad fingering habits. Any suggestions?

I also have the random note CD and was wondering if that was a better tool to utilize for helping my progress. If so, might you have any exercise suggestions on how to use it?

Lastly, Single String Studies volume one does not have any non-diatonic notes. I wanted to figure out a way to incorporate them so that I do not fall any more behind knowing them from the diatonic notes. Any suggestions?
A I commonly recommend people use single string studies as an ear training supplement you can do this by using a drone from Fanatic's Guide or from other vamps. If you want to use non-diatonic notes you have two choices. You can get Single String Studies for Guitar Volume Two or you can for example sing the F# examples in single string studies volume one over a C drone.

As far as fingering goes with single string studies. I'd use your first finger when you are on the lower pitches, your 2nd and 3rd fingers in the middle of the neck and your pinky for the high notes.

If by the random note CD you mean the Direct Application CD I would use the MP3 vamps found in the member's area under Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two as a backing track as you improvise with the Direct Application CD being played in a CD player. As you hear new notes on the CD try to find them and/or incorporate them into your improvisation.
 
Q I am practicing five 30 min sessions on the week days and three 30 min sessions on the weekend. Split up into 10 min of Fanatic's singing one scale degree among many keys, 10 min of Beginning One Note (around 75% correct), and 10 of singing many scale degrees against a C major drone (careful no resolution or melody tricks). What do you think?

I am now to the point where I feel like I want to start improvising (major scale) with my new hearing skills. When I hear a line in my mind it is melody and when I try to pinpoint the scale degrees I am hearing I lose the line. Also the melodies I am hearing are "mushy" i.e. when I am trying to pinpoint the scale degrees sometimes I feel as if I have changed the original line or that the line becomes something else. Do you have any remedies?

Also, will the scale degree sound start to become so automatic that the lines that I hear will be intuitively made up from them. I am having a hard time explaining this. Currently melody and the scale degrees are two different things. Will that subside? (Thats better).
A I think it is a good idea to start improvising and trying to follow what you hear. Keep in mind this will take sometime before it becomes proficient. I would of course also work with the Direct Application CD while you improvise to help this process along.

I understand what you are saying by "will the scale degree sound start to become so automatic that the lines that I hear will be intuitively made up from them." There are so many things converging when you hear things and then play them on your instrument. The most important thing to do is to improvise everyday and work on hearing melodies and finding the melodies you hear. Overtime this will become a more natural process. Keep in mind that you tend to hear only the types of sounds you have practiced. Therefore if you have only practiced scales then you tend to only hear scales. This is why adding new types of improvisation is important once you feel comfortable with the scales.
 
Q Earlier you stated:

"I want you to learn all open position chords and be able to switch between them fast."

My original question was "What did you mean by all chords and change between them. My question was basically: "Certainly you are not saying that I need to memorize every chord and be able to make any change between them including all major, minor, 7th, maj7th, 9th, aug, dim, including inversions, etc. for every possible chord A through G, flats and sharps included." That does not seem realistic to me. Now that I actually have the book. I have to assume that you meant to learn all the chords in the ten progressions in the book and be able to make those 10 sets of changes quickly. Did I understand correctly?

Anyway, I now have all of your books that I ordered and am ready to get started on a very comprehensive practice schedule as you mentioned. I have copies of the following books:

1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Vol 1
Music Theory Workbook For Guitar Vol 1
Ear Training One Note Complete Method
A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing Vol 1
Single String Studies for Guitar
The Essentials

I have looked through the books and Fanatic's Guide and Single String Studies seem over my head completely right now. Essentials looks like simply reference material all gathered into one place. Therefore, I would assume I will be working with mostly 1st Steps for now and beginning Music Theory Workbook shortly. The Ear Training beginning seems to be something almost separate from the other two topics. So I guess that I will be working with technique, theory, and ear training simultaneously (eventually)? Getting through 1st Steps should be fairly fast since I know a good number of the chords already. That is the book I plan to begin with, using the videos to ensure technique. Any other guidance that you might have to offer? Did I misunderstand any part of what I was to do?

Yes, I still have issues with playing back the videos but can work around the problem. I have not found any real fix yet. I can open them in a separate window (just takes several extra steps each time) or save to my disk (inconvenient as well); but I can see them. I will let you know if I find the solution to just viewing them in the open browser.
A Yes you want to learn the chord progressions 1-10. So it would be great if you could work through one chord progression every few weeks. I'm not there to know your ability with each progression so you are going to have to police yourself and make sure you are able to play each progression. I'm sure you noticed that each progression has 3 different ways to play it each getting progressively harder. See how you do with each progression and remember there are ton's of audio files and video files to help you learn these progression in the muse-eek.com member's area.

Music Theory Workbook for Guitar you should try and do one page a week. So 3 or 4 exercises each day just to keep you thinking about how chords and intervals are build and how to find them on the guitar.

The two ear training books should be done throughout the day in short 10-15 minute intervals. Once again I don't know your daily schedule but it would be great for instance if you had a CD discman and could listen to the Ear Training CD while commuting, eating lunch etc. The singing stuff will have to be done at home but if you could find 3 or 4 five minute spaces of time throughout the day that you could work on the first exercise entitled "One Note" that will really help you over time. Keep in mind that the Ear Training and the Music Theory will take sometime before it sinks in so be patient.

I would also like you to download some scales from the member's area and learn how to play them. Go to the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two folder in the member's area and follow the links to Video Scale Files. You should watch the movie for all the positions of the C major scale and also download the C major fingering chart. I'd like you to learn the C scale in all 7 positions. I'd learn a new position each week. You could also download some of the vamps that are listed in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two folder and improvise using the scale you are learning that week so you get some real application of the scale you are learning.

You should skip the Single String Study and Essentials for now.

I know you are having video problems but there is a lot of information in those movies so if possible use them they will help a lot.
 
Q I have a question about my practice routine with Fanatic's Guide. I've spent the past week or two focusing on just singing the root of each key. Hearing the root in my head before I sing it is very hard, I almost always hear and sing the fifth for some reason. I can recognize this as soon as I physically sing it, but in my head it's really hard to pick the right note without thinking of triads or intervals (which I'm trying very hard not to do). I'm slowly getting better at singing the root (usually in the upper octaves), should I continue with just this exercise until I get it 100% or should I start working on the other notes. When should I start with the two note exercises?
A I recommend you continue with the root until your at least 50% but it doesn't really matter which note you start on or how many notes you work on at once. The important thing is to work on this exercise many times through out the day so you start to remember the sounds internally. The fact that you are messing up the root and the 5th is thee most common mistake so don't worry about it just keep practicing.
 
Q I recently bought your two books One Note Ear Training and Fanatics Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing. This material is a fraction of the cost of the David Lucas Burges course and is infinitely better. It also makes a hell of a lot more sense and even after a couple of weeks I am getting a lot out of it. I have, however, a couple of questions and it would be really helpful if you could address them;

1. I play the violin. The excercises use the piano. There is quite a bit of difference in the timbre. Are there excercises that I could do on the violin itself?

2. The course is designed to teach note recognition within a key. The notes in an actual piece are dynamic. When playing in C , for example, scale step 4 in its subdominant tuning compared to its role as a seventh of a Gm7 chord is a very different note. They ARE NOT the same notes and they have very different roles. How do I resolve this (pardon the pun)? The problem compounds because it is typically around these points that the key can be changed and one needs to lock in on a new tonic quickly (ie. in this case switching from C to G).
A There are some exercises you could do on the violin but I really think you should first develop your aural recognition on the One Note CD with a piano sound. You will find there will be a period of time when you are better at hearing notes on a piano but in a very short time you will see that this ability begins to happen for all instruments.

When you feel you are getting about 80% on the advanced CD I would recommend you get the Direct Application CD which is available on our website. This CD will allow you to play the violin and identify notes on your instrument as you improvise. I really think you should wait for this until you have more skill with the Ear Training One Note CD and then move on to the Direct Application CD. When you begin the Direct Application CD I would also recommend moving on to the Key Note Recognition book.

In your second question you have a few misunderstandings of how this ear training method works. If you are in the key of C and you hear the 4th you will identify it as the fourth. If you were to hear a Gminor chord and heard that chord in the key of C then the F in the Gminor chord would still sound like the 4th. If you heard the F in the Gminor chord as the b7 then you are hearing the Gminor chord in the key of G not the key of C. In order to hear the change of the F (4th) in C to an F (b7) in Gminor you would have to modulate. You will learn modulation when you do the 2 note ear training CDs. For now I'd recommend concentrating on the One Note CD and singing out of the Fanatic's Guide. As you gain ability and work through the other books you will begin to understand modulation and hearing multiple note structures etc...
 
Q If you don't mind I would like to rephrase my question.

Assume we are in the key of C. We hear the subdomonant chord IV. No problem, I hear the 4th. Then comes the V7 chord and the same note has changed - it's flattened. In memorizing the chromatic scale do I just categorize in my mind this note as simply the b7? I may be getting confused because I have taken the Burges Perfect Pitch course and in my playing I definitely have and use perfect pitch on the violin (I don't have this ability on the piano which I don't play). Your approach is definitely much more superior in a sense that it puts all this in context. The only remaining problem is this sticky issue of the dominant seventh chord and how to categorize it in my mind.

After two weeks I am getting about 40% on your beginning One note course.

Finally, one last question - are you familiar with Gerald Eskelin's books? If you are, what do you think of his work?

P.S. From your phone number it seems that you are in NYC. I work here and was wondering if you have any courses that may speed up my progress.
A When you go from the IV chord to the V chord the 4th does not change it still sounds like the 4th in the key of C. The V chord is 5, 7, 9, and 4th in the key of C major. If you are hearing the 4th as b7 then you have modulated to the key of G.

I don't teach any courses in ear training in New York. I do give private lessons in ear training.
 
Q We are in the key of C. We are NOT modulating to G. Dominant seventh chord sounds. The seventh of the V7 chord is flattened 4. Do I think of it as flattened fourth in the context of the chromatic scale?
A The seventh of the V7 chord in the key of C is the 4th not the flatted fourth. The flatted 4th is the 3rd (E natural). The 7th of the G7 chord is an F. If you hear the G7 chord in the key of C major then the F is the 4th. This has nothing to do with a chromatic scale. If you hear a G7 in the key of C then all notes in that chord are heard in that key. Therefore the G7 notes G, B, D, F are all heard in the key of C major and would be heard as degrees 5, 7, 9, 4.
 
Q When listening to the CD I am associating the sound of different notes within the C scale (the sound of A, A# and so on). When I switch to another scale I will have to transpose those letters to different scale names (letters) within that scale. As you point out the individual notes (ie dominant, subdominant, mediant etc) sound the same in each scale. Wouldn't it be more efficient to call out notes in the CDs as 4, 4 sharp, etc so that one doesn't have to transpose and get confused later on. Also it kind of locks in the actual sound in ones mind more permanently.

Am I getting this right?
A You can call the notes either way. By name or by degree. If your music theory is up to stuff it shouldn't matter which method you use because you should have developed the skills to use either method in any key. If you need further work on this part of your music theory let me know and I'll recommend a book.
 
Q I am wondering if I am doing this right. After you play the cadence I listen to the note played and then try to fit it within one of the chords played. So if a note sounds like its a part of IV I try to then determine if it is a F, A, C and then finally if it is sharp or not. I find that I am around 60%+ and very quick. Also I can cross reference between chords to zero in on the specific note ( ie C in I and IV, G in I and V etc).

Am I doing this correctly?
A No that is not correct and I strongly recommend you don't do that. I would also suggest you read the FAQs for both the

Ear Training One Note Complete

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html

and the Fanatic's Guide

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/lower.html

Along with the information in both books. You will find that I don't at anytime recommend your course of action.
 
Q Does listening to the CD while doing other things have any beneficial results? I am thinking of it in terms of connecting to the subconscious memory.
A Yes listening while doing other things is fine. Just remember you want to just guess if you don't know. You are just trying to memorize the sound of each note by repetition and nothing else. So just listen a lot and you will get it. It just takes patience and perseverance.
 
Q I have a question or two about the One Note series (and all the ear training series for that matter). I understand the concept of learning to recognize a note from a sense of key to some extent, although I have not worked with the cd (One Note Beginning) enough to yet be successful at all. It will come in time, I realize. I also understand how the concept will work in different keys, once one learns to do it in the key of C Major. What I don't understand is how it will work for different chord progressions. I don't even see how it will work for the key of C if other chords progressions are played after conditioning oneself to a key center progression. Obviously, this must go beyond the scope of One Note and Fanatic's Guide.

The basic question is: How does this work when you start getting into music using chords other than the Major chords? How does one get that same sense of keys if the progression does not follow a pattern that one has programmed in their head as the way to acquire a sense of key? What about Minor chords or 7ths?

I am not questioning your method. It is very obvious that you know your material and more importantly know how to impart it to students. I just want to understand how it is going to work.

Also, I have not had ear training before so in a sense, I think I am at an advantage to those who have had interval-based ear training. I do have to say that it is not simple though. Perhaps the entire concept of ear training is just a bit foreign to me. I always thought that you either had it or didn't (referring to relative pitch or perfect pitch). It is refreshing to find out that it can be learned.
A The Ear Training CD uses a cadence to put your mind into a key center. Overtime what happens is you develop a sense of key and this sense of key will happen without you playing a cadence. So for example if you heard a few notes randomly you would say, "I hear that as the b3rd and the 5th," for example. As you progress in your ability and work through the 2 note ear training books you will be able to recognize whole chords and then chord progressions. This is a long way down the road but it really all works the same. If you knew you were in the key of C major and you heard a chord and the notes within the chord sounds like the 6th, b9, 3rd and 5th then you would know that someone is playing a A7 chord.

Key Centers can certainly be more than just major. Any combination of notes can form a key center so you can have dominant 7th centers, l-7b5 key centers etc... When you begin to work on Key Note Recognition you will be introduced to minor key centers. When you do the 2 note books you will be introduced to multiple types of key centers.

For now you shouldn't worry to much about this stuff you should just concentrate on learning the sounds of each note within a key center. It may also help to read the FAQs for Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide because there are answers to a lot of concerns that students have had over the years.
 
Q I will take your advice and just not worry about that for now. I am a very analytical person and always want to understand everything about what I am working on and that is not realistic. I am sure that it will all fall into place eventually if I put enough effort into it. Walk before you run.

I will admit one difficulty right now, besides finding enough time (holidays only complicate it). I am finding that I am a little burned out on only reading and doing exercises and workbooks. I was working in other workbooks (mainly piano) before I started yours and I don't remember the last time I sat down and learned a whole new song for fun. Do you have any suggestions for balancing that out? For me (as I am sure it is with most others), there has to be some time that I play for fun. Otherwise, it becomes a chore and I will eventually lose interest. I have to emphasize the word play as opposed to practice. Conversely, it is easy to get caught up in just playing, losing track of one's studies, and not improving. Any words of wisdom on that topic such as allowing X amount of time for play for every 2X amount of time practicing or whatever?

It is particularly pertinent to people like me that are doing this for fun and not a career. It also seems like a silly question to me even as I type it, but I know that I am not the only person that faces that quandary. There has to be some balance where I can play and still keep my thirst for learning. At the same time taking enough time away from practice so that I don't burn out. I once read in a forum where another person had asked basically the same thing of another instructor (that did not give what I considered to be any answer at all). That person said he had gotten to where he had forgotten how to play and only practiced now. He was obviously not enjoying it but forcing himself to continue out of determination. I have not quite reached that point.

I know that I used to enjoy playing more when I was not hung up on improvement. However, I got frustrated with not being able to do what I wanted on the guitar. Quite the paradox, isn't it?
A I think everyone is different when they come to balancing practicing with just playing. In general I'd say I practice 1/3 of the time and play 2/3. But in that 2/3 there are many short little practice times when I realize I need to improve something for a few minutes. But like I said everyone is different. I think the most important thing is to always feel like you want to play so whatever balance does that is the right balance.
 
Q Somewhere in our correspondence I thought I remembered your saying to use the "vamps" in conjunction with learning scales. Did I remember incorrectly? I cannot find that statement and as I review the videos and the C scale videos, I can not understand what I am supposed to use the vamps for and how? And which vamp? They just seem like little looping motifs or something and I don't understand what to do with them. Sorry for the dumb questions.

I have to admit that at this juncture, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. The chord progressions will not be a big deal and will not take long, if I can stay in town long enough to sit down with a guitar and practice. Holidays will be rough. The theory information and the scales, on the other hand, will take some time. The ear training seems absolutely beyond me, but I know that it takes time and patience is required. It is just a lot of info at one time. I am just taking it slow.

What I don't know is how one will get proficient with the scales if they don't learn them as patterns. Unless I misunderstood, I am to learn them as note names or degrees of the scale (the degrees thing seems even more difficult). To play a scale quickly, don't you eventually have to know it as a pattern? I know the pentatonic scale was that way. Every book taught it as patterns ... or boxes. Is that simply bad practice? Or is it that I need to learn it as notes (even if it is agonizingly slow to learn or play) and eventually the pattern is engrained and the note names come naturally? Please say yes... at least to the part about it eventually coming naturally.
A Yes you should improvise with the vamps. As you learn each new position of the scale you should should first spend a little time thinking slowly about what each note is and it's degree. After you have done that for awhile then you want to improvise with that scale using the vamps on the website. Go to the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two folder in the member's area and follow the links to the MP3 vamp files. Pick an MP3 file that matches the scale you are working on. Play along with one of the vamps and improvise and get to know the scale by trying to make some music with it rather than thinking about it so much. Give yourself time to develop the improvisation part it won't sound great right away but if you keep at it you will find it very enjoyable. I usually suggest picking 4 or 5 notes on the upper (high pitch) strings and just play around with those notes and see if you can hear some melodies. Might take time but it will happen.

Just take everything slow. It's a lot of information but if you keep at it you will find great success over time. Remember learning patterns is fine once you know the notes.
 
Q You suggest to pick four or five of the higher notes. Isn't that something like what the pentatonic scale does? I think I remember that it is basically the diatonic scale in a key leaving out the 4th and (I don't remember the other degree, maybe 2nd?) of the scale ... As I recall, they were the notes most likely to clash with a chord progression within that key. Therefore, that is why the scale works so well for improvisation; it is not easy to hit a wrong note due to the nature of the scale. Then the blues scale is (if I remember correctly) just the pentatonic scale with a flatted fifth added in for good measure (no pun intended). Maybe I am getting things all mixed up. Happens at my age...

Anyway, the important thing is that I understand what you want me to do with the vamps (is vamp an acronym?). When I feel that I know the notes as well as I do the pattern I will start experimenting with the vamps. I have tinkered around for years with the standard 12-barr blues and improvised over it with the pentatonic box and the occasional blue note thrown in. But I can see that this way is much more fundamental and I will eventually have a better foundation to work with. Most of the time I can not tell you what note I am on, I only know where I want the solo to go. I think that a lot of us hobbyists go through our playing lives doing just that ... knowing what sound (pitch) we want the next note to be but not having a clue what the name of it is or why we want to go there.

Thank you again for all of your patience with me. I think I have finally found a way that I can actually learn this stuff. I have a shelf full of books and literally hundreds of dollars invested in books that give me a little piece here and a little piece there of what I want to know; but I think your methods just may be the way to go.
A Here is some information on the word Vamp:

It has nothing to do with vampires, but its origin is almost equally weird. The word comes from the medieval French avant-pied, literally "before the foot", in reference to the forepart of the foot, in particular the part of hose or stockings below the ankle. It became corrupted in English to vampe, said as two syllables, and then vamp. (In the eighteenth century the old pronunciation was revived through a fashion for short stockings that covered only the foot and ankle, which were called vampeys.) This sense of vamp is preserved in the meaning that denotes the part of a boot or shoe that covers the upper front part of the foot.

It seems that in the middle seventeenth century the word came to be used for anything that had been patched up or refurbished (like darned stockings, we may guess), as in the old phrase to vamp something up for repairing or improving something. This is more commonly now found in the verb to revamp, an American term invented in the 1850s from this existing sense of vamp. Nearer the end of the nineteenth century vamp was adopted by musicians for those short simple phrases, usually improvised, that one plays quietly in the background or as an introduction, presumably because they were patching up a gap or silence.
 
Q I want to get back to learning/playing the piano after 20 years, having stopped due to a finger injury. I want to get back into it by concentrating on ear training and have read good reviews on the net about your training books. I have the following questions:
 
1) Are the Ear Training One Note and Fanatic's Guide books meant to be used together? I'd rather start out with just the One Note guide and than progress to the other books later.

2) Can I practice the method using a synthesizer or do I also need to sing the notes?

3) Can you give me a ball park figure on how much time is needed, e.g., daily or x minutes or x times a week?

4) I travel a lot for my job. Is it possible to use a chromatic scale pitch pipe with your method when I am on the road?
A Yes the Ear Training One Note and Fanatic's Guide books are meant to be used together. You will listen to the CDs with the Ear Training One Note and sing with the Fanatic's Guide. You will not need a synthesizer just yet. I would recommend many short 5 to 15 minute sessions a day. The more you do it the quicker you will improve. This method is perfect for travel and a chromatic scale pitch pipe would be a great addition to use with the Fanatic's Guide book.

Hope you enjoy the method and improve quickly. I recommend you read the FAQs at:

Ear Training One Note Complete

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html

and the Fanatic's Guide

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/lower.html


They can help to understand the method better.
 
Q I took a quick look at the FAQ and saw that the training requires an enormous time effort. I was figuring on perhaps a 10-20 minute per day time investment, but it seems that an hour or more is required. So now I'm wondering if the time-reward will be worth doing. Here is my dilemma. I am not a music student or have any desire to play music professionally. I just want to play the piano for my own enjoyment. When I first started to learn, I did scales and sight reading, which I hated. Then I had a piano teacher who taught me that each chord type had its own unique formula no matter what the key and about chord inversions. My playing and practicing then turned into pure joy as I would just ignore the bass line and only look at the melody, playing that with my right hand, with some improvisation, and with my left hand by improvising using this chord theory. Gone was the rigidity of sight reading and trying to play exactly what was written with both hands. My playing noticeably improved and it was fun. Unfortunately, a finger injury occurred that caused me to quit playing. That was 20 years ago, but now, thankfully, my finger isn't locking up anymore, and although it will never be 100%, I am able to comfortably play again. So, considering my humble goals, is the ear training worth doing? By doing it, could I realize much quicker gains with my chord theory style of putzing around on the piano for my own enjoyment? Could it possibly enable me to learn to play by ear? That would be my goal.
A The method will help you play by ear. The amount of time you put into it is equal to how quickly you improve. I can't guarantee improvement with 10-20 minutes a day. But then again any time is better than none and you might be surprised how you find more time once some things start to click and you begin to play better by ear.
 
Q I have bought your book One note Complete Method and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing... And I'm doing it for 3 days since I got it.. What is the difference between your method and moveable solfege? Sometimes I think I'm guessing using the distance of the interval. Sometimes too, the pitch will resolve itself going to c (because I ever practice to resolve all to the key center) but I stop it, how to deal with it? And, when I'm guessing.. sometimes my mind makes two or three decisions. Sometimes too I'm guessing with only one note for many times in my practice session. Is this okay? And when I'm practicing it when I'm doing other work, sometimes I can't put my mind to guess the pitch.. What can I do about these problems?

And for the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing. I'm still doing for one. Sometimes I'm not sure what I'm hearing in my mind because I think my mind is disturbed by the voice of the chord. If I pause the cd, I can hear it in my mind easier. And another question, when will I move to the other pitch? If I can do it with ease? (But the hearing in the mind is the problem that makes it difficult). I have been playing in an amateur band as a keyboardist for 1 year and before playing in the band I couldn't hear chord progressions... but after playing in the band I think my ear is improving, and I can guess simple progressions (but sometimes I make mistakes) like I - IV - IIIm - VIm - V and some like that... And I like to train myself with playing a chord and make melodies from my mind with that chord. And I think I use distance for guessing the melodies in my mind... Do you think, I have to stop practicing like that? And why isn't your method widely used if it is good?

And then because I'm practing piano, what do you think must I learn in piano? For now I'm learning jazz chord and progression. Is this good, should I concentrate more on ear training because I want my ear become better? Yeah, maybe my questions are many, and my English is not good.
A It's good that you have stopped guessing using the interval distance between notes. It is common that people will have two or three notes that they think are the correct answer when doing my ear training. Overtime your correct answers will improve you just need to practice and be patient. It is also common that you may not have any idea what a pitch is. If that happens you can either guess or just wait till I give the answer on the CD and try to remember the name of the note with the sound you have heard.

It's OK if you want to stop the chord on the Fanatic's Guide CD because it's disturbing you. This problem will go away once the notes gets stronger inside of you. You can move to another pitch when you can sing the right note 80% of the time. But you could even work on more than one note at a time too. Which ever works for you is fine. I wouldn't do too many notes all at once but 2 or 3 is fine. With all notes you want to come back and review them even after you get better with hearing them. It will take your mind a while to organize and remember all 12 pitches. But remember you need to hear all notes against the tonality. This doesn't mean you can't turn off the Fanatic's Guide CD but just make sure you aren't hearing examples as melodies rather than the sound of each note and how it relates to the key center.

When you are trying to hear chord progressions for now you can use any method but over time you should start to change over to this new system. You of course are just starting so it will be awhile before you will have to tools to understand how to hear chord progressions. You will need to work through the 2 note method and then you will understand how to hear two or more notes.

I'm not sure exactly why my method isn't used more. I think partly it's because we don't advertise and also people might be afraid of a method that isn't like most other ear training methods. It's unfortunate because they are missing out on really hearing music but you can only hope that they realize this at some point.

For piano I would recommend Roberta Piket's Jazz Piano Method books. You can take a look at them on the www.muse-eek.com website. She is a great musician and teacher and her books really give you all the basic information that is so hard to come by. Like good chord voicings, how to finger scales and jazz improvisation concepts.
 
Q Point taken. You are correct. That is the sensation. "I am ___ing this up. I am almost never getting the right answers, therefore my method must be flawed. How can I fix it?" Okay... doesn't need fixing. I got it...

That is okay, there are plenty of things I can fix around my house to make me feel better about it!
A Start working on that one note exercise in the Fanatic's Guide. Also learn to be able to give yourself the cadence on the guitar so you can quickly check yourself and therefore do it may times throughout the day. Even if it's only for a minute. You could also get a pitch pipe

http://www.wwbw.com/Kratt-Master-Key-Pitch-Pipe-i19422.music

and a portable CD player and be able to use the Fanatic's CD when commuting or other places away from the home.
 
Q Okay... Now I am starting to understand. I am getting the root pitch about 60 to 80% of the time. Unfortunately, I need to be in my office at home with no distractions (I have to really listen). However, this is a start! I am getting some of this right! I lose the original tonic (C in this case) when I move to the next key as in the first example: Sing a C after hearing the C cadence and then sing it again over the key of F (now the C is the 5th of the key). However, I think that the first example is just a "try this" sort of thing since you say to be sure you have the root exercise down before moving on to 3rds, 5ths, etc. So, yes, I know that I just got one tiny piece of the puzzle but I am just excited that I am getting that! I also need to learn all the solfeggio syllables since I only know the standard Do, Re, Me... of a major scale and not the whole chromatic scale. I am ready to go buy a pitch pipe! Learning the cadences on the guitar will broaden my chord knowledge and allow me to do this exercise without a cd going. It will all take a significant effort and I know the rest will not come so quickly, but I am pleased with this much.

One question... Have you ever had a student say that he/she has trouble telling if they are hitting the pitch or perhaps a harmony... i.e. 5th or something? I checked myself with my guitar and then with the electronic tuner (checking the pitch I was singing), but was having a little trouble telling if it was the correct pitch or some harmonic.
A Glad to hear the exercise is making sense. It is common for students to either sing out of tune or sing notes that are a 3rd or 5th away from the correct pitch. This will all correct itself overtime so be patient!
 
Q Things are progressing well with my one note singing. I have all pitches memorized except Si and Di. Currently working on Si, which so far has been the slowest to make into long term memory (over a month of daily work now).

I ran across this document http://www.ranblake.com/pdf_files/PrimacyoftheEar.pdf

Ran Blake is at New England Conservatory. His ear training methods seem to emphasize the memorization of melodies by ear as a way of opening up the ears and hearing. A tape of 44 melodies from different styles of music is memorized by repeated listening.

This type of work seems also to be an important part of transcribing solos, in various opinions I have read. I have adopted this in my transcribing activities, first training myself to sing along with a recording before actually picking up a pencil to write things out. I don't go as far as memorizing the whole solo, however. I do try to identify pitches by their relationship to the key center, rather than by interval or by identifying notes with a pitch pipe.

Anyway, what is your opinion about this type of ear training and how it can interface with your methods? Are they in any way exclusive of each other? Can memorizing melodies and solos as method of ear training develop any bad habits as you see things?
A This type of ear training is excellent once you know what the sound of each note is against a key center. Also the melodies that you learn should be learned by recognizing the notes against a key center. I would start with melodies that have a key center behind them and as you improve you won't need the key center. My Direct Application CD does this with only one note which is very similiar to what you are doing with the CDs in the book but you do this with an instrument. Further volumes of the Direct Application CDs will do 2 and more note melodies.

Currently I wouldn't recommend the melodic ear training until you know what all 12 notes sound like against a key center.
 
Q I have not worked with hands-on stuff lately due to holiday schedules, but I am still working with the One Note Beginning. I tried the Fanatic's
material a few times as well. As an aside, I purchased your Chord Workbook Vol 1 and Music Theory Vol 2, I wanted the scale material to try to begin sorting out modes and such. I now have quite a collection of your material. I also left a glowing review on Amazon for First Steps. I felt that I had worked in it enough to write an accurate review. At any rate, now that the holidays are over and I almost have my office (at home) straightened out where I have room to really get down to work on the workbooks and practicing; I am lookingforward to some quality practice time.

I was reading some of the FAQs about ear training and ran across one where a student was having difficulty. You said he could reduce the set of notes down to a small number and try those. However, you said that most (or all, I don't recall) persons doing this usually end up back at the same place when they add back all the notes. I know that you are already aware of this, but frankly the entertainment value is wearing off of listening to these cd's about now. Don't get me wrong, I am determined. I just keep thinking there has to be a way to get my brain to start registering this stuff. By the way, I tried the intermediate CD as you recommended. That was even worse. Much too fast. I have the most difficulty on the very low and very high notes. If they are close to the cadence, I have a chance at guessing the note. I have thought about putting together progressive sets and work up through them. For example, from simplest to most difficult: first set would be about a half dozen naturals close to the key (obviously, that also puts them IN the key), second set could add the accidentals between the notes the first set, third level could add another 3 or 4 notes (natural and accidental), etc. until all the notes from the CD are included. My reservation of using this is that it would seem that it would be easier to begin using intervals to guess. There are simply so many tones to memorize and it is not as though I can remember from one time to the next when I hear the same tone. Right now, I find that I can almost always hear the root note in my head after the first chord in the cadence. This is why I can sometimes guess the C notes more often, if they are close to the cadence octave. Otherwise, I find myself thinking of the C note and trying to guess the note played based upon what it sounds like against the C, but that is still basically intervals.

I have honestly tried to ignore the C note ringing in my head and just listen to the note and guess. I get zero correct. Should I try not to catch the C note in the chord played? I don't mean to be so dense, but this just feels futile at the moment and I am trying to pump up my positive attitude on this.

And as for Fanatic's I can often sing the root, but that does not seem to have helped me with the One Note material.
A I think what is missing in your problem is the Fanatic's Guide practicing. Along with having a hard time identifying the notes you have weak key retention by working with the exercises in the Fanatic's Guide your key retention and your knowledge of the notes will improve.

One thing you can try is to play a track over and over again and just listen to sound. This sometimes also takes the pressure off from getting the note right because you know you are going to listen to it again to get the note more ingrained in your mind. You can't really expect much from the listening CD until you can sing at least the 1,3,5,7 (hopefully more) in any key at anytime using the Fanatic's Guide CD.

Also remember you haven't been doing this very long. Most students find if they religiously listen to the CD and do the Fanatic's Guide everyday that within a few months they start to remember notes. Not all the notes but occasionally they start getting them right.
 
Q I had misinterpreted the role of Fanatic's Guide. I considered it simply an adjunct to the One Note and not that important. I will put more effort into that. Additionally, it is easier for me to find 5 minutes here and there for listening to the One Note CD on headphones, but far more difficult to find the time and place to listen, sing, and check my pitch. I bought a pitch pipe for that, incidentally. That is the easiest way and it fits in my pocket better than a piano for the Fanatic's Guide material.

Could you please clarify one point for me? What I am not clear on is that you are telling me that my success with the One Note series is dependent upon being able to sing the 1,3,5,7 degree of major scales (minimally) in any key (the Fanatic's Guide material). Yet, I am not supposed to use intervals to identify the notes. I am sorry, but I don't understand. That seems contradictory. Could you please elaborate? If am singing intervals, that would seem to be the way I am going to identify the notes on the Single Note series.

You are welcome for the review. I will continue to provide feedback as I get far enough along in each book that I feel I can be accurate in my assessment. I am glad to take the time to do it. You earned it. I believe in promoting the work of those that really produce a quality product and care about their customers.
A You can hear the 1,3,5,7 or any note for that matter as a note within itself without thinking an interval. I think one problem here is that you are trying to rationalize something before you have worked on it. Therefore it's not going to make sense to you because you haven't put the time in to just learn the note as the Fanatic's Guide suggest. If this helps. All notes have their own sound. You will memorize this sound by continually singing and listening to the pitch. This pitch's interval distance from the tonic has nothing to do with memorizing the sound listening to it over and over does.
 
Q I have your Ear Training One Note Complete and the Fanatics Guide. I just started a month ago and I am slowly improving. I am finding that if I try to keep the sound of the root in my head after the cadence is played I can get more notes correct. However, I am not sure if I should be doing this. You mention in your FAQ that you shouldn't be humming or singing the C note while trying to recognize other notes, but is it ok to try to keep the C note in your head? Will this mess me up in the future, or is this actually what I should be trying to do?
A It seems kind of onerous to be listening to music in the future while trying to have the root drone on in your head, but perhaps this is how people with good ears work?

Keeping the sound of C note in your head will help you in the short run but not in the long run. I know it's more frustrating but I'd advise you not to do it.
 
Q I have been a student of your ear training on and off for about a year now. I am very motivated to learn the concepts presented in your book, and I am very grateful to the work and time you've put into creating the course. I have a question about tone retention and temporary tonicizations.

It seems to me that my tone retention is very weak. I realize that the main concept behind your ear training system is hearing the notes relative to the tonal center or tonic, and that modulations make hearing the notes more difficult. I know that later in the course I will be able to identify modulations, but it goes without saying that the more a piece of music stays on a certain tonal center the easier it will be to identify the notes. In certain pieces when the music comes to a temporary tonicization, I cannot help but feel a full blown modulation. I realize that there is no real boundary between tonicizations and modulations, but it seems that to me that certain passages that one person would consider a tonicization come across to me as a little more permanent. The only conclusion that I can draw from this is that my tone retention is somewhat weaker than most people's. What sort of things can I do to help improve my tone retention? Do you see problems like this in your own students?

P.S. I would have sent this to your muse eek members area address, but it has been a while since I last accessed it, and I have since lost my password. You may certainly post the answer in the member's area, but I would appreciate it if you would send a reply my email address. Thanks again for all the work you've put into this method, and thanks for being so accessible to everyone.
A A couple things to keep in mind.

1. Everyone hears modulations and tonicizations differently. In any given song at any given moment it is common that different people will hear that moment in different keys. In other words there is no correct way to hear. But on the other hand if you have a ii V7 I repeating over and over at a fairly quick tempo then you should hear this all in one key. As the tempo slows down you will start to hear each chord of the ii V7 I as a different key. Exactly when this happens will vary by individual.

The best thing you can do is to just continue to work on the Ear Training One Note CDs, sing out of the Fanatic's Guide and move on to the Key Note Recognition when you get around 90% correct answers on the One Note CDs. Once you get past Key Note Recognition I'll be able to recommend a lot of other things you can do to strengthen your sense of key.

Most importantly you need to change the working on and off to working every day religiously. This will greatly speed up your progress so that we can get into the stuff you are worried about in your email.
 
Q At this time, I feel I have gotten the one note singing exercise down pretty well. I can prehear most pitches in all keys 100%.

Key Note is nearly 100% for major and about 75% for minor. I edited your files to make them shorter by 50% (cut 2 of the 3 cadences and shorted the time before the answer), and made a CD that had my more difficult keys in greater number so that they play more frequently. Doing this greatly accelerated my progress with keynote.

I have purchased two note volume one and hope to start that soon.

My question is regarding two note singing. How do I proceed at this point? There are more choices in how to work, so I find myself working on one thing for a day or two, then moving on. I sang Major 2nds around the cycle, then major thirds. (I do understand that I need to prehear then sing and not just sing intervals). Today I discovered that I have a hard time prehearing "La" after hearing and Singing "Si" (I hear "Li" instead). I imagine that there are probably several such relationships between two notes that confuse my ear. Normally "La" by itself is very easy for me.

So, should I work systematically through each two note interval exercise until I master it in all keys and all possible combinations? (ie major seconds: Do Re, Di Ri, Re Mi, Ri Fa, etc) Or is it ok or better to skip around?

Also, I read in the FAQ regarding using a metronome with singing exercises. At what point do I start doing that and how?

Am I ready for the Lines book?
A I would recommend continuing the 2 note singing. Many students use the two notes to sing while commuting in a car because you don't need to look at the book for the examples. On the other hand it's also OK to jump around. I would recommend doing the 3 note singing examples they really help you find problem not combination.

You can start using a metronome at any point. It a very simple application, just sing each note for each click of the metronome. Start slow and make sure you are pre-hearing each note.

Actually I wouldn't recommend the LINES book next. I would recommend you get Single Strings Studies for Guitar Volume One. I will have you singing out of this book without a drone to improve your key retention. When you get the book let me know and I'll give you the exercises.
 
Q I'm now working on Fanatic's Guide. You recommend to do two exercises ... at the beginning trying to prehear and sing C in several keys, and in parallel working with CC#D in C major. In fact, I find the C quite all the time so I want to pass to E ... but I don't prehear the C# in second exercise.

So should I pass to E ,and in parallel work with EFF# or pass to E and continue with CC#D?

Also, at what time should I work with the metronome?
A If you are having problems singing particular notes I would recommend taking the 3 note examples in the Fanatic's Guide and singing them where the 1st note is your problem note. For example if you are having problems hearing b2 then sing all the 3 note examples in the key of B so that you are always starting on b2. Make sure to sing up and down each example.

You can incorporate a metronome at any point. The metronome will help you monitor your improvement because the faster you can pre-hear and sing a note the stronger that note is inside you.
 
Q I have had some correspondence with you before but it has been a while, since then I have improved a lot. My practice regimen consists of 5 30 min sessions of ear training. 15 of Fanatics and 15 of one note. I am still on the One Note beginning CD (I have an easier time with the intermediate but I have read that you have to have a better sense of key when using the beginners) but I have about 75 to 80 % average and split my time between the altered notes subgroup and the full CD. My Fanatics work is still on the one note (although sometimes I do groups) I have all the diatonic notes down but am still working on the altered notes. I do another 45 to an hour of improvisation practice (just rehearing melodies and playing them) or transcribing.

I have been transcribing simple tunes that don't change key. These tend to be the "Jam Band" thing such as some Scofield tunes and fusion songs I have found. I want to start transcribing some jazz blues (today I tried a benson version of All Blues) but I am swimming. I want to hear the whole tune in the key of G. The reason I say that is because especially when I play a G note I immediately hear tonic regardless of what chord in the tune I am in. Many of the other notes my ears do not seem to register in my brain as a note of any key (I just think "I don't know").

1) I am not playing this tune fast so should I be hearing a key change?
2) Is this too much of a step forward for me currently?
3) Lastly my training regimen is getting stale (I have been doing this for a while). I can tell by my rate of improvement. Do you have any suggestions (I can't increase training time though). I am pretty hard nosed I can keep plugging away if that's what it takes.
A I really wouldn't attempt any transcription with more than one chord until you are into 2 note ear training. You might try changing from day to day from the Beginning to Intermediate to Advanced CD. Each will help you in different ways. When you get 80 to 90% on the advanced CD you should move on to the Key Note Recognition book. To change up the singing I would try various singing exercises from the Fanatic's Guide. In any case keep plugging away because it sounds like you are getting close to getting the one note ear training.
 
Q I just recieved your One Note Complete Method and Fanatic's Guide books. First off let me say that I'm excited about developing my ear through your techniques.

I have a couple of questions. First, I noticed that in both books you mentioned that if you are more of a classical musician, that perfect pitch is probably better to develop. I've looked through your FAQ and I saw that you mentioned that perfect pitch takes less time to develop, but how does one develop it. Do you have any books or references on acheiving this?

My second question relates to school. I am going to take music theory I and ear training I at my school in fall 2005. If taking this course will this become a detriment to my ear training since you disagree with the ways they teach relative pitch?
A Perfect Pitch is a completely different way of hearing notes. I have a method for this but haven't put it into book form. Obviously it's more than what I can write in an email. There are plenty of methods out there some of them much better than others but I believe most of them miss the mark as far as addressing all students and their affinities.

My ear training will certainly conflict with most music theory/ear training courses. I believe you could work within these courses if your have developed my method to a point that you can use it to give answers rather than the interval methods they will present.

I also wouldn't recommend trying to develop perfect pitch and relative pitch at the same time unless you have 3 to 4 hours a day to do ear training. Even if you do have that much time I think most students don't have the mental understanding of what to listen for and how to organize such a challenge.
 
Q I think I have completed the one note exercises in Fanatic's Guide. I can prehear all pitches about 80%-100% of the time, depending on the pitch and key.

The last exercise you gave me, singing 3 note exercises always starting on "di" was very helpful for unblocking progress with that pitch.

At this point I feel I need to keep reviewing one note singing. I have created a practice routine that includes 4 different pitches each day of the week, with the more difficult pitches (di, fi, si, mainly) getting plenty of extra slots in the routine.

I am also singing these as 4 note singing exercises, rather than just individually.

I get 95% correct on one note recognition (very high pitches give me the most trouble, plus si and di). I get about 90% of major keys and 40% of minor keys correct in keynote recognition.

Questions:

1. Should I make up a CD of minor key resolutions to practice prehearing/singing all 12 pitches against a minor key? With the keynote recognition it seems I have the most trouble with keys where C is the Major 3rd and Major 6th, as well as others.

2. When doing sight singing exercises with a chord progression, why do we use a drone? Why wouldn't you record the chord progression itself and sing against that?

3. When prehearing multinote exercises, should I hear the first note then sing, 2nd note, sing, etc or is it also ok to prehear all the notes together (sequentially), then sing? Seems to me both ways of working would be valuable.

4. You say not to sing multinote exercises as a melody. What really does that mean? Don't use vocal tension?

5. Any creative suggestions for working, other than what is in the book?
A 1. Yes you could do that or you could also work with the direct application CD (see www.muse-eek.com)

2. You could use progressions BUT you would want to make sure those progressions are heard in the right key and don't modulate

3. One note at a time for now as you get better you can hear them all then sing

4. You can memorize a melody and not have a clue about what you are singing. Best to stay away from that until you are very solid with the ear training skills

5. Use direct application CD. Apply to any music you listen to. Start with one chord vamp music.

There will be much more application once you get into the 2 note books.
 
Q I've been working on ear training on an ongoing basis. I've made a lot of progress with the diatonic notes, however the non-diatonic notes have been coming a lot slower. Unfortunately my current work schedule limits my ear training time. I do 10 minutes or so in the morning before I leave, 30-45 minutes on the bus ride home, and 10-15 minutes before I go to sleep.

I have been working exclusively with the one note complete CD. In order to practice pre-hearing notes (in addition to listening), I have been trying to pre-hear and guess the note immediately following the cadence before your voice on the CD gives the answer. On the weekends when I have time I try to practice more. One thing I just started doing is using the Fanatic's Guide CD to play the C drone and singing and screaming the non-diatonic notes out over the drone to get them in my head (as I recall reading this could be helpful). My questions are how to best fine tune my regimen to get these non-diatonic notes in my head.

1) I read in the book an exercise that talked about using intervals or intervallic movement to help with this. However I am unclear how this works.

2) Is my pre-hearing practice method of trying to pre-hear and guess the note after the cadence an effective way to practice pre-hearing the notes? Unfortunately, my time schedule doesn't allow me to use the Fanatic's Guide exercises and methods of prehearing over the drone, and having an instrument handy to double check myself. So in essence I use the CD player to double check myself, but am limited to doing one note at a time.

3) Another thing I did is burn a one-note complete CD of just the non-diatonic notes to emphasize them more. I am wondering if this is helpful or hindering me.

This summer I am changing jobs and hope to have a lot more time to practice. I hope to dive into the single sing strudies book and really start working on applying all this to the instrument. But I really want to get a better grasp on the non-diatonic notes before then.
A You can use the interval based methods on page 10 and 11 to help learn the notes. Just remember you always have a drone chord going on underneath the exercises and you are only hearing the notes by how they sound in the key not by their intervallic distance. If you want to do this type of ear training when traveling I would recommend getting a Chromatic Pitched Instrument so you can check the notes you sing.

I'd get the C to C model

http://www.encoremusic.com/piano/6630002.html

Sometimes making a tape or CD of the non-diatonic notes helps students and sometimes it doesn't. I do think it's a good idea to go back and listen to any note that you miss on the regular CD so you reinforce the sound.

Overall I think your real problem is not having enough time to practice. Sounds like the summer which will be here soon will be the time that you can really apply yourself. Remember each person is different and sometimes it takes some intense practice periods to get over humps in your musical training. I once spent 12 hours a day for two weeks working on b6 because I just couldn't get it. After the 2 weeks I had it. Pretty drastic stuff but I just got sick and tired of not getting the note right.
 
Q I am looking to do some ear training. Primarily I would like to do this in my car during my commute, but I don't want to have to reference the book during that time. I can certainly review the book at home, but would like to know if the bulk of work can be done using the CD alone. Hope that makes some sense...
A That's great then I would recommend Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training.
 
Q I'm a student using your One Note Ear Training CD's to approach my ear training. My teacher has strongly emphasised using sight singing in combination with the CDs, but I am uncertain of how to approach sight singing to get the best results.

Essentially, I am wondering if I should practice all twelve intervals on a daily basis, or instead pick one interval and focus on that for a whole week, singing it say 2-3 times per day.
A To work on Sight Singing I would use the Fanatic's Guide Book. The first thing I would like you to do is stop calling the notes intervals. Intervals implies that there is a distance and that two notes are involved. Remember you are trying to hear one sound over a key center which has nothing to do with intervals.

You can work on multiple notes and even multiple exercises from the Fanatic's Guide this all depends on the amount of time you have and how your mind best works in a daily practice situation. If you are just getting started with the singing part of the ear training I would start with the exercise on page 6 and work with the number of notes you feel comfortable with. Remember the best thing to do is practice this exercise multiple times throughout the day. The more the better. Each practice session doesn't have to be for a long time.

The important thing to remember is learning ear training is doing the correct exercises enough so that the information is permantly logged into your memory. This is why consistency and multiple practice sessions will bring about the best results.
 
Q I've been working on ear training for almost 8 months now, it seems to be coming along slowly. I've completed One Note Advanced, get very close to 100% each time, and have spent the last three months working on key note recognition, I get close to 100% correct, but I'm not hearing the minor keys totally correct just yet. I often hear their relative majors (C sounds like 4 on E min), but I can always identify it as E minor, even though it doesn't sound like the flat 6 yet (although it's starting to).

I've been working with the first four, three note exercises from Fanatic's Guide, I've gone through starting the exercises on 1, 3, 5, 7, 2, and now I'm on 4. I also try singing a tone (relative) over the different keys, usually one tone a week. I'm starting to pre-hear some of the notes while I'm doing the 3 note exercises, usually the diatonic ones. I still struggle pre-hearing the one note over the different keys, especially the non-diatonic ones.

It seems that my voice isn't quite connecting with my internal ear, sometimes when I can pre-hear a note, it is hard to sing it correctly without singing a random note first to get my bearings (if that makes sense). Lots of times my voice will default to the root even if I can hear the note I want in my head. Also, trying to sing a line independently of what I'm hearing is very difficult (harmonies). So, my questions are:

1. Should I start on Two Note or keep working on Key Note Recognition until the minor tones sound like the major tones?

2. Do I continue with the 3 note exercises, starting on a new note as I progress, eventually having started on all 12 notes in the key of C? After that do I move on to the next 4 exercises staring on 1?

3. Would you recommend Lines Volume One, it sounds like it will help with singing harmonies independently and connecting my voice to my ear?

4. Am I missing anything?
A Sounds like you have been doing quite well and your problems are normal so you should be proud of yourself that you have gotten this far.

You can start the Two Note but be prepared it could take some time.

I think you should start working on the Blues Progression listed under the 2 note exercise. You should start by singing m7ths through the progression. If this doesn't make sense let me know and I'll explain further.

I wouldn't recommend LINES right now but I would recommend getting it.

Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One. This is a guitar book but I often use it to help students gain a better key retention ability. Let me know when you have it and I'll give you an assignment.
 
Q I am a totally amateur 'play along to my CDs in the house' type of guitar player. Since I don't have much contact with other musicians I was wondering if you can give me some indications regarding the possibilities of acquiring what I call 'direct apprehension of musical content' as a result of ear-training from the starting position of a typically aurally endowed person (cf. Mozart, Pierre Boulez etc) and what techniques would be best for this.

By direct apprehension I mean that in listening you are directly and uncalculating aware of what the content is without having to make overt inner additional mental representations and simplifications (mental 'humming along') and then reading the content off from these. I started ear-training a few years back using totally home improvised methods (intervals up and down, melodic and harmonic etc. and I specifically focused on what I called chain-interval recognition using a deck of cards to randomly generated note sequences since I figured this was the ultimate skill level - now I have picked up on alternative approach of contextual listening and have ordered your Key Note recognition book to see if I need to graduate down to the one note etc. I play everything by ear and largely 'refind' a piece each time I play along to it. I can play straight off fairly competent versions of stuff that many would regard as hard (Zappa, Hendrix, fast country James Burton, Jerry Reed etc.) but most of the time I feel I am relying on my on the orientation from my own guitar notes my than I would like. Ideally I would like to just be able to hear the content from the music without using the guitar probe notes to get me under way.
A I think my method will work well for you considering your goals. I don't think you are going about it correctly though. I strongly urge you not to start with Key Note Recognition. I would get Ear Training One Note Complete or Ear Training One Note Advanced and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. I would make sure you can do the exercises and understand completely what you are supposed to be doing. I would also read all the FAQs for these books on line at www.muse-eek.com

Only after gaining a 90% or above ability on the one note CD would I move on to Key Note Recognition.

You don't want to approach this ear training haphazardly. It is important to understand it from the ground up so that you don't make a mistake and have to either start over or spend months/years reprogramming your mind if you train the wrong way.
 
Q As far as I can see none of the note sequences in Fanatic's has any notes lower in pitch than the initial tonic - is there a reason for this; my initial impression is that to sing down into the octave below using purely 'sound in a key' method is more of a challenge than keeping above the original tonic.
A You are correct that many students find it hard to sing down rather than up the exercises in the Fanatic's Guide. I often recommend to my students that they sing each exercise in the book both up and down. I also will often have them start with the last pitch of each exercise and then sing down and then back up.
 
Q I just got One Note Complete a couple of weeks back. I found I could get 90+% straight off on the advanced disk ( I also have Fanatic's but I have not as yet delved too far into this). Despite this I think I am definitely going to forestall 2 note for a good while - it seems to me that there might be an intermediate step for me that needs a lot of attention, especially for a current interval-based-play-by-ear person like myself. Here's a few notions I came up with which perhaps you can confirm as being ok/ wrong etc.

How do you combat using interval identification - possibly the answer is to slow down to such an extent that it becomes impractial to use intervals? I made a sequence where the progression plays followed by the tonic-chord droning on for 15 minutes or so. On top of this I played identification notes only about once every 30 seconds (also I used separated octaves to further counteract interval use). Attempt ID using keyboard asap - don't use the 30 seconds to think about it! Although I can do fairly well on this it is obviously not as good as on One Note and the imperfections with more problematic intervals (min2, dim5, min6) in particular show themselves - as well as the interval thing I suppose this is removing a possibly short term memory cheat being used by me in One Note whereby I get it because it is the same as a one I heard a few back earlier. The next stage would be to gradually reduce the time intervals so that I eventually come back to normal tempo hopefully keeping the proper identification method.

A way of thinking about your concept that I came up with (possibly reinventing the wheel!) is that is in some ways a form of modulating absolute pitch. A note can/should be identified totally in isolation purely by the subjective sound quality (qualia, phenomenology!) that results from it's current position relative the key centre. Unlike true absolute pitch a different pitch can be assigned to each sound quality but this should only happen when a modulation occurs. If key-offset-qualia and key centre stabilisation are well developed then you should be able to go on naming pitches indefinitely regardless whether the could progression is playing or not ? I have tried this with Functional Ear Trainer by playing a dozen or so with a progression and then switching to the note just by itself mode (Basically One Note but you just keep on going with more notes to identify instead replaying the progression) I find I can do this to a certain extent, however, the score level is much lower. Factors coming in seem to be repeating non-tonics cause de-stabilisation so I have to play a tonic to get me reorientated. Also the fourth often sounds funny in a way that never occurs if the progression has just been played - especially if it is coming of the maj 7 it will sound like a 'tritone'. However, after even a few tries I can feel this improving so it seems like a good stabilisation route to follow before attempting Two Note ?

Last question concerns what you have found to be general upper the limits in this area in terms of tempos, complexity of music etc. In general people can instantly hear and recognise a number if someone speaks or shouts it out - however there is still going to be a limit to how you can respond as the speed of delivery increases... and then if more than one person starts speaking at once all sorts of confusion will arise! Have you ever thought of doing a DVD or something showing the results of different innate ability students etc. - one of the things that is problematic for the isolated non-academic environment person like myself is knowing whether my expectations are actually in line with reality - Flight of the Bumblebee, Captain Senor Mouse, Inca Roads!
A If you are getting 90% correct on the one note advanced CD and you are not doing this by thinking intervals then it is time to move on the Key Note Recognition book. Before you go there though you might check out some of the various exercises in the Fanatic's Guide and see how well you do.

You are very creative in your various ear training exercises you invent on the fly. It's cool that you are creative but I don't always find that to be the best solution for actually improving with this method. Many times students read a little about this ear training method and it spurs creative ideas on exercises that they might try. If I might give you an analogy imagine you found out that you could cure diseases by making a drug out of bread mold. Your creative mind then starts making drugs out of every mold you can find. Well some might be helpful and some might kill you. My point being that I have found that most students don't understand this ear training until they have worked through all the books I offer and communicated with me extensively. You on the other hand are filling your mind with all kinds of alternate exercises and from your descriptions I don't feel you understand my method yet. This makes me worry that you will not get the great benefit that this course of study has to offer.

So my suggestion is to work through the exercises in Fanatic's Guide and get the Key Note Recognition book. Also read through the FAQs for all these books on the muse-eek.com website.
 
Q My goal is very specific... improve my ear for hearing "good" chords for backing up traditional irish music, e.g. in pub sessions. I already know the fundamentals of theory, and can typically identify the key, though not always the mode (irish music uses mixolydian and dorian a lot, in addition to major and minor)... and most of the tunes are in G, D, or A (or relative minors thereof).

Often, I hear that the chord is changing, but have trouble telling if it went to the IV, the V, the iii, etc.

I play in a non-standard tuning (DADEAE), so books specific to EADGBE aren't so helpful.

I have a trial version of Ear Master Pro software... but I'm not sure if what I'm learning from it are really the most directly useful skills... and it also doesn't explain HOW to hear the differences... you just keep practicing trying to hear them.
A The only books I would recommend are:

Ear Training One Note Complete
Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing

You won't notice an immediate change in your ability to hear but over time you will be able to tell what people are playing and then adjust your chords to fit their melodies.

Once you get the books I would also suggest you read the FAQs for these books on www.muse-eek.com website so that you can learn from the many questions I've answered.
 
Q I use two of your books, One Note Complete Method and A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing. In addition I work with Berklee's Essential Ear Training and I recognized how these methods are unlocking my ears.

But there's a questions I have. When a key is established by a cadence and you play a tone, I realize this tone in relation to the keynote of the key. As you described it, the keynote colours the note that is played over it after the cadence was established.

I understand the keynote of a key as a gravitation center in a tonal universe which gravitates the tones that are played around it. Like the sun gravitates the earth, the mars, the jupiter etc. So what you want me to hear is not the tones themselves (the planets), but rather their gravitation to the gravitation center, the sun, the keynote of the key. Is that right? The frequency of the keynote and a played tone around it, results in a frequency conflict of these two tones, implicating a gravitation between them, a colour, which can be heard by ear.

Now my problem. I'm listening to a piece of music. Let it be a jazz standard and the band establishes a key and it's keynote by a cadence. Now the band stays in the key and plays the different harmonies of the key while a melody is played by a saxophone. How do I have to listen to every single tone of the melody, the saxophone plays, when I want to indentify it? Do I still have to relate every single tone of the melody to the keynote of the key or to the current keytone of the harmony, that is played? I hope you understand what I mean. I have a relation problem when listening.

I do a lot of transcription besides the work with your ear training methods. One of my main aims is to transcripe melodies of records by ear only, to strenghten my listening skills. I don't use a piano for reference because I only want to concentrate on how the melody relations are sounding. The problem is, that I don't know in what relation I have to listen to the melody tones when transcriping them. In relation to the keynote of the key or in relation to the keynote of the current harmony that is played when a melody tone occurs? I don't know how to perceive the melody tones when transcriping them. What's the right approach? A melody tone is now coloured twice in the tonale room. It is coloured by it's relation to the keynote of the current harmony and the keynote of the key itself. Which relation of the tone I have to listen for, when I want to indentify it, and transcribe, it in the right way?

I hope you can help me with that question, because I want to apply your teaching method to real music, but I don't know which way to go. I know that this question is not directly on your ear training method. It's more on it's appliance to everydays music. So I hope my question is still ok.
A I think the main problem with your understanding is you are trying to apply a skill before you have it. You also want to understand what that skill will be in the future and how it will relate to real music. This puts me in a awkward position because there are many answers to your questions depending on the musical circumstance and your personal affinities to sound. Obviously I can't go into every musical situation and how you might or might not hear something but let me give you a few examples and a little explanation.

FIrst while your planet metaphors are good you need to understand that you memorize the sound of each note until you just hear notes in relation to a key whether one has been played or not.

Second the tempo at which a given musical example exists effects the key, therefore when transcribing a small amount of music it can move into other key centers in many ways depending on the situation.

Third your best bet at this point is to improve your One Note Ear Training CD and sing out of the Fanatic's Guide until you are able to move on to the next step. At each step in the method you will gain a little more insight into how "you" hear. Remember everyone hears differently so in many cases there isn't a right or wrong answer to a given musical situation. "Although many times people hear things similarly."

Fourth I would suggest you read through the FAQs for all the ear training books on the muse-eek website. I think you will get some clarification from that experience.
 
Q Well it's been nine months. No breakthroughs yet but I have days when my percentages are up there. I am not consistent, however, and still mostly miss by fifths and half steps.

I have a question. In establishing a key the two most important chords are I and V7. Would playing a cadence with V7 be more effective in terms of locking in the key in ones mind/ear so to speak. In other words would it not make it easier to identify the individual notes using V7.
A I don't believe that will make a big difference. I think singing more out of the Fanatic's Guide book would help you develop a better sense of key in general which is part of your problem. Also keep in mind that it takes some people quite a while to get a foot hold with this ear training. It took me 1 and 1/2 years to get one note ear training and I have other students that have taken longer. Usually in all cases it's because they either don't do it everyday or they only work on the listening rather than both the listening and the singing.
 
Q Well it's been nine months. No breakthroughs yet but I have days when my percentages are up there. I am not consistent, however, and still mostly miss by fifths and half steps.

I have a question. In establishing a key the two most important chords are I and V7. Would playing a cadence with V7 be more effective in terms of locking in the key in ones mind/ear so to speak. In other words would it not make it easier to identify the individual notes using V7.
A I don't believe that will make a big difference. I think singing more out of the Fanatic's Guide book would help you develop a better sense of key in general which is part of your problem. Also keep in mind that it takes some people quite a while to get a foot hold with this ear training. It took me 1 and 1/2 years to get one note ear training and I have other students that have taken longer. Usually in all cases it's because they either don't do it everyday or they only work on the listening rather than both the listening and the singing.
 
Q I took your advice and decided to get both One Note Complete and the Fanatic's Guide. I finally received my copies of and am so excited and enthusiastic about working through them.

Already have had a taste of literally guessing and getting so many answers wrong, but I know this is normal and I'm not going to give up! The more I listen to One Note, the more I realise that sometimes when I do get it right, I really do feel as if I knew that it had to be that. Does this mean that I'm on the right track?

Also in singing along to the Fanatic's Guide CD, I'm currently attempting one of the first few exercises that involves my listening and singing the tonic with the drone in the background. I'm taking quite a while, but finding a good success rate with identifying, pre-hearing and singing the tonic. What I found especially helpful was how in taking the short time to listen to the cadence, I begin to find that a particular pitch resonates and the whole chord feels like it's built up on it. And in singing against the chord, after checking of course to make sure it actually is the tonic, I find it helpful to listen to what it feels like when I sing with the backing and it enhances and confirms what I just described, as if the backing and singing the right pitch within me interact in a very resonant way that feels right. I also try to think of the same tonic an octave up, prehear it first, and sing whilst checking it.

Hehz to cut a long story short, because I'm so new to all of this and have never attempted any form of ear training. Am I on the right track? I'm happy to keep working at it, just needed some reassurance that this is what it should feel like.

Oh one last question, I think I'm beginning to see how this will help in sight-singing, but just wanted to clarify.

Does it mean that when one has better developed his ear to listen contextually, in future when he looks at a new piece of sheet music and plays a cadence to have a feel for the key, using his knowledge of music theory and scales, he will be able to identify for eg, the A is the 3rd in F Major so it should sound like this (recalling the right pitch) and since that process happens very quickly, he should be able to map his memories of the pitches to the written score, prehear everything in his head, and then sing it accordingly?

If so then this must feel so different from trying to sight-sing by intervals!
A You are right on track with your observations. That's great most students don't understand so quickly. Keep practicing and great things will happen.
 
Q I've been in love with guitar for so long, and in ignorant isolation learned to play some classical guitar on my own, and then with some private instruction. While I can play some pretty sounding things, I feel I am an imposter when it comes to really playing the instrument. I never developed myself as a real musician. I discovered your site a while back but didn't think I could do what you recommended. But my desire to become a real musician will not go away, so here I am trying again. I want to come out of this limited little closet I've been stuck in and interact with others. I want to be able to play in any key, to do interesting strums with interesting progressions, to really know chords and scales and to improvise. I've been doing your recommended ear training and the singing (Ear Training One Note and A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training), and working my way through the first theory book and the 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist to fill in the huge gaps I have. The first questions I am discovering have to do with improvising with scales:

1. Should I really concentrate on knowing which note I am actually playing, or can I just play around in the scale pattern? Sort of let my fingers randomly come up with something.

2. When I hear where I want to go in my head with a melody, should I know which note it is by ear? Shoujld I first hear and know what I am going to play? I hope these questions make sense to you. I am so appreciative of what you are offering with your books and website.

Also, I saw that you have a book called Comping Styles for Guitar Vol. 2 and I was wondering if there was a Volume 1?
A You should concentrate on which note you are playing when you are practicing the scales. I would do this in two ways. First I'd play the scales saying the note names (A, Bb, C etc...). Second I would play the scales saying the note degrees (7, 1, 2 etc...). You could alternate these methods every other day. Each day after you have finished playing the scales like this I would then just improvise with them over some sort of chord vamp that you make up or one that I recommend in Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. There are also many vamps that you can use in the member's area of the muse-eek.com website under the Help files for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two.

In the long run you will find that the ear training (specifically the Fanatic's Guide work) will help you to identify what notes you are hearing when you improvise or compose. This usually takes of few years or more so you should just do your best in the meantime as your ear improves.

There is no Volume One in the comping series. Maybe in the future but it would be awhile because I'm in the middle of some other projects. Volume Two is really useful for learning how to play funky rhythms and develop a pick/finger style of playing chords.

I think you are on the right track. If you learn all the theory presented in the books you have and improve your ear you will be among a the select few musicians that really know what they are doing and are able to communicate effectively with other musicians.
 
Q I've been skimming through the FAQs and the Music Theory 2 book to try to find the answers, but haven't seen them yet. I have a huge gap in what must be some very basic understanding that most guitarists have, that of having to do with the relationship of all these scales to keys. I'm literally confused as to the reason for the use of all these modes when playing in a key. If a piece of music is in C major, why would we need to think in terms of dorian and lydian, etc.? Wouldn't we just need to know the notes and play what sounds good? Is this something specific or unique to guitar, this way of thinking? I genuinely want to understand something here and will put in all the time necessary once I do, so please bear with me.

Also, here's another very basic question. When improvising, which is *very* new to me, so I'm starting with the very first C major scale starting on G with the vamp on your website, should I make sure the fingering I use is exactly that of the one learned with the scale, even if it's a little awkward? For instance, if I want to go back and forth quickly between the E on the second string (played with 3), to the C on the fourth string (played with 4), it can feel tangled.
A All the scales you find in the Music Theory book can be key centers. So you could have a C major key center but you also could have a C dorian key center etc.... You will also have situations where there are a few chords being played in a progression and all those chords will be heard in one key. For instance a chord progression which is moving by fairly fast with the following chord changes C, A-7, D-7 and G7. You would probably hear all those chords in the key of C so you would just play those notes and "think" those notes in the key of C major. But you could have a progression that was moving really really slow with those same chords and you might modulate on each chord so then you would have C major scale for the 1st chord, an A Aeolian scale for the 2nd chord, a D Dorian Scale for the 3rd chord and a G mixolydian scale for the 4th chord. Yes all of those modes/scales really just contain the notes in C major BUT you should think of the notes like you hear them and when you modulate in the slow example above you should also think of each scale in it's own key.

How do you know if you have modulated or not? Well that's where the ear training books come in so if you don't have the Ear Training One Note Complete Book you should get that and getting working on improving your ear so you can hear as well as you can play.

When improving with these scales you can use any fingering that you want.
 
Q I've been skimming through the FAQs and the Music Theory 2 book to try to find the answers, but haven't seen them yet. I have a huge gap in what must be some very basic understanding that most guitarists have, that of having to do with the relationship of all these scales to keys. I'm literally confused as to the reason for the use of all these modes when playing in a key. If a piece of music is in C major, why would we need to think in terms of dorian and lydian, etc.? Wouldn't we just need to know the notes and play what sounds good? Is this something specific or unique to guitar, this way of thinking? I genuinely want to understand something here and will put in all the time necessary once I do, so please bear with me.

Also, here's another very basic question. When improvising, which is *very* new to me, so I'm starting with the very first C major scale starting on G with the vamp on your website, should I make sure the fingering I use is exactly that of the one learned with the scale, even if it's a little awkward? For instance, if I want to go back and forth quickly between the E on the second string (played with 3), to the C on the fourth string (played with 4), it can feel tangled.
A All the scales you find in the Music Theory book can be key centers. So you could have a C major key center but you also could have a C dorian key center etc.... You will also have situations where there are a few chords being played in a progression and all those chords will be heard in one key. For instance a chord progression which is moving by fairly fast with the following chord changes C, A-7, D-7 and G7. You would probably hear all those chords in the key of C so you would just play those notes and "think" those notes in the key of C major. But you could have a progression that was moving really really slow with those same chords and you might modulate on each chord so then you would have C major scale for the 1st chord, an A Aeolian scale for the 2nd chord, a D Dorian Scale for the 3rd chord and a G mixolydian scale for the 4th chord. Yes all of those modes/scales really just contain the notes in C major BUT you should think of the notes like you hear them and when you modulate in the slow example above you should also think of each scale in it's own key.

How do you know if you have modulated or not? Well that's where the ear training books come in so if you don't have the Ear Training One Note Complete Book you should get that and getting working on improving your ear so you can hear as well as you can play.

When improving with these scales you can use any fingering that you want.
 
Q It's still hard for me to put my finger on what's gone askew in my thinking. I've had a couple of years of college-level music theory, so I do understand about modes and scales being the same thing and about modulation, usually with various modes of major and minor (ionian and aeolian). And when I said an acknowledged key center within a key center, I was trying to make sense of analyzing a piece that was in the key of C with the changes you mentioned: C A-7 D-7 G7, and depending on the speed of the changes, whether you hear it in changing modes or the overall C. It sounds like there's something really basic I'm not getting, some simple duh moment. Perhaps you could recommend two pieces to listen to that you hear the difference in. Maybe it's that in all the pieces I've analyzed I haven't come across all these modes being used, perhaps because I've studied Western classical music? Or again, maybe this is specific to the way a guitarist thinks in order to hear and efficiently use patterns of scales with improvisation? Like I said, I'm new to improvisation, and maybe my classical background is tripping me up and blinding me unnecessarily to the use of these modes.
A Well I think we are getting closer. Here is a couple of more things to think about:

Just because a chord, group of chords or notes can be intellectually analyzed and determined that they all exist in a key center doesn't mean that they in-fact do exist in that key center. Theory and ear training courses tend to use intellectual analysis to determine key center rather than teaching students how to hear key centers and determine for themselves how they hear a passage of music. This is mostly because any two students could hear a passage differently based on their ear training skills, past listening experience and cultural upbringing. On top of this tempo, range, and even melodic contour can effect perceived key center. This usually doesn't make that much difference unless you want to improvise over a piece of music then the key center considerations become extremely important because you want to think and hear the appropriate scales the same way. In other-words if the musical passage is heard by you in C major then you want to think C major so that when you hear a melody in your mind that you want to play you hear it in the proper key and can then find it on your instrument. If we go back and look at our example of C A-7 D-7 G7 C this progression could be analyzed as a progression in C major. If it was moving at an extremely slow tempo each chord would become a new key. This does not mean that these new key centers are key centers within a key center it means that you are modulating to a new key center on each chord. Intellectually you could say that all the chords are derived from the diatonic chords of the key of C major but that doesn't mean once again that you are hearing a key center within a key center.
 
Q First was wondering where I say that getting key note assures that any cheating is behind you. If you could give me the quote from the website I'd appreciate it.

I got that from reading through this quote on the KNR faq site:

"I think you will know that most of your interval problems are behind you when you can do the Key Note Recognition book."

Perhaps that answer was specific to the questioner's problem of interval habits, but I guess those habits might also be the problem I am still having to fight off.

"Do not think the root of the key after the cadence with either one note ear training or key note. If you are ever going to use this with real music you can be hunting around in your mind for the key center and then listening to the note(s). This is stated all over the website and mentioned to you multiple times while you were in New York so I'm not sure why this is even a subject."

I figured that, but I was worrying that I might not be modulating between the example. I had no intention of singing up from the root or anything like that. In a sense what I was trying to do is force myself to modulate. What I meant to say was to focus on the sound of the key in my head while hearing the cadence, as you put it on the FAQ (last sentence):

"It is common for students - particularly those with previous interval training - to have interval relationships popping up in their mind. This is one of many reasons why I feel that interval training can be detrimental to your progress with this type of key based ear training. When you are listening to the CD what you want to keep in your head is the sound of the key not the sound of the note in the previous example."

Perhaps "thinking" the root while hearing the cadence is the wrong way of saying it. But in that case I am a bit lost about the difference.

In any case, I have not needed to do this at all over the last few days and am getting about 80% correct.

About playing multiple single notes: wouldn't the vamp in the background prevent any modulation? I will stop doing this though.

I recently have been singing more than in the past. I am dividing it up 50%-50% with listening. The only thing is that listening is more convenient as I can do it on the go. Just yesterday, I bought a metronome that can generate pitches. It has an earphone jack so I will start using it against the FG's cd.
A First let me put it this way. If you had cancer and someone told you you have two choices.

A. People can be assured that they will die from cancer
B. Most people die from cancer

Which would you choose?

You have obviously misquoted me and even after pointing it out to you you still insist. To me this shows a lack of understanding language which is what we are using to communicate and what you use to guide yourself through learning music. I have thought for sometime now and particularly after your lesson in New York that communicating with you can be a very fruitless endeavor. From playing patterns on the guitar to working on made up ear training exercises you consistently go against my advice and do things that are harmful to your development. It has it's consequences too. For instance this is why your ear training has taken so long and why your guitar playing is behind where it should be. You consistently try things I haven't recommended and misunderstand the things I do recommend. This is highly unusual and have never had a student that was so misguided. Sorry for the harsh words but someone has to tell you that you are your own worse enemy when it comes to learning music and you have to control your impulses, think don't assume, and follow not change directions if you ever hope to succeed.

Second your "current" problem has nothing to do with intervals it has to do with singing or thinking the tonic after the cadence. The sound of the key is not the tonic. When you do the one note ear training and you hear the 3rd, you don't know it's the 3rd because you have the sound of the tonic in your mind. You know it's the tonic because you have the sense of the key in your mind which makes the 3rd sound like the 3rd. This also doesn't mean you are sitting there holding something consciously in your mind. It's like when it's daytime you have a sense that it's daytime because you are awake, generally there are more sounds around you and you have more energy etc.... You don't have to go outside and look in the sky and say "Oh gee it's daytime now".

In any case because of this history I wouldn't recommend moving from one note to Key Note Recognition until you get all notes 100% right consistently for weeks. Same is true with the Key Note. 100% correct for a sustained period before moving on to two notes. I would continue singing as much as possible because this will help your sense of key and I would really think about the things I've said above.
 
Q I've been working diligently out of both one note complete and fanatic's guide to sight-singing.

3 x 15min/day of one note (first thing in the morning, midday and before bed) 2 x 15min/day of sight singing (all keys, certain pitch, eg. tonic in every key)

It's been about 16 days now... Not looking for quick progress but haven't noticed much improvement.

Strangely enough, 2 evenings ago late at night I consistently kept getting all the answers right immediately, "just knowing", as you said and not having to think about it at all. But the very next day, I had dropped to maybe 50% or less and now it's even worse... in the most recent set I had got almost none right!

Is it just that I'm tired with everything else in life to juggle with or am I not practicing hard enough?
A Sounds like you have been hard at work but to expect much progress after 16 days I find amusing. Some students take months before things start to work at all. Sounds like you at least had a glimmer of it working for one evening. It is common to have a small breakthrough and then find it gone the next day. Over time these breakthroughs will last longer. One thing I will say is your practice schedule looks good but keep in mind that my recommendations are only a guidepost. Each person is different and some people have to practice 10 X 15 singing, 10 X 15 listening before they break through. So if you don't see any progress after a few months then you need to start doing it more until you do see progress. Keep in mind that EVERYONE gets this ear training that sticks with it. I do find that people (maybe you) that expect progress quickly, get upset that their learning isn't linear (maybe you) or get emotionally upset (maybe you) when they don't get the answers right don't improve very quickly at all. This is in part due to the fact that your mind puts up memory inhibitors when it gets upset as a natural defense. Therefore practicing ear training or anything you want to memorize when you are emotionally upset is pretty much a waste of time.
 
Q I have been working on singing the head to Donna Lee with an Ab drone.

Could you please describe the process of prehearing while singing?

One of the things I have found is that I can consciously evoke hearing the next note while singing the current one. Is this the method to use while singing a melody where there is little time to prehear, sing, prehear sing etc?

Also, it is always necessary to prehear? For example, some phrases in Donna Lee are very diatonic and easy to prehear. Is it safe to assume that these note combinations are already so internalized that prehearing is happening unconsiously?

I have been practicing Donna Lee in a variety of ways :
-sing all the way through in time
-sing all the way through with no time and careful prehearing
-isolate tricky phrases and sing them repeatedly with careful prehearing and in all keys.

Would you add to or remove any of these methods?
A The notes that you are trying to pre-hear in our current "drone based" singing will point out which notes are still weak. As this point you are not looking for speed but the ability to sing all notes equally as well. Usually this exercise points out which note(s) are still weak and gets you using your singing/ear training in a musical context. By practicing this assignment each day it will help to strengthen those weak notes.

You should understand pre-hearing at this point because that is what you should have been doing with all singing so far. So I think a better thing would be for you to tell me what pre-hearing is and I'll correct any misconceptions.
 
Q OK, I get it. Prehear everything. Its about the notes against the drone, not the melody or my singing chops. I also get that it is time to move on. At this point Donna Lee is starting to become a memorized melody - I had started singing it backwards to counteract any tendency to use vocal tension or memorized melodic patterns.

Why then did you suggest that I practice till I could sing it at 80 bpm? Is that a skill that really should come later?
A One of the reasons we are moving on to a new tune is so you don't start just singing the melody as a "melody". The reason I gave you a tempo marking is because I wanted to give you a general idea as opposed to the tempo at which this tune was actually performed. To goal of this work is ear training not performance so I'm not worried about singing or playing these tunes at performance level.

You are going to working on quite a few songs. We will be changing how you are singing these tunes over time. The important thing is to develop you own personal ability to know how you are hearing the music you are singing. This will be unique to yourself and also may vary from day to day.
 
Q I guess it has been a couple of weeks, so I am firing this email about the Fanatic's Guide CD back to you, but I think I have solved the commuting problem for now. I just stay on the same key/track until I stop the car. In case you are interested, I bought both your guitar theory workbooks and I have been through a few pages of the first volume. I think it will help me out a lot. It almost feels like a physical workout sometimes. I don't see why every guitar player doesn't buy one.

I am making very slow but certain progress with the One Note Beginning CD and with the first exercise in Fanatic's Guide. Many times I hear notes on the One Note CD and they sound so familiar, but I can't remember their names. It is like the feeling I get when I see a face in a crowd that I remember from somewhere. I can't put a name to the face, but the familiarity keeps me upbeat about the One Note progress. I just had a little epiphany the other day. I noticed that when I really, really concentrate on the cadence, the name of the note after the cadence just forms itself in my mouth. I don't have to concentrate on the note so much if I have the cadence in me. I suspect it has something to do with key retention. I have resisted taking your advice in the FAQ's about going to the intermediate or advanced CD's to make it easier. I might get the answers more often if I tried the other CD's, but I would just be ignoring the real problem which I believe is the development of key retention. Instead I have been working with singing the Fanatic's Guide every day as well as listening to the One Note CD. Incidentally, I was reading an abstract in some science or medical journal about memory. The article claims that most of the memory experts have abandoned the idea of short term memory. They claim there is not a place in the memory for storing things in the short term. It all goes to one place. The difference in short term recall and long term is the accessability of information. What the article claimed was that there is an etching process that occurs in the part of memory that accesses stored information. The etching is intensified by repetition within certain time limits. A well etched bit of information is easily recalled. So, the application of the science to the study of music is the same; practice in short sessions throughout the day. Anyway, I have forgotten the name of the journal or the authors or even where I read the journal.
A If you are interested in my progress with One Note and Theory, I shall keep in touch. By the way, I have forgotten my username and password to the members' section of Muse-eek.com. If you could send it to me, I would write it in the front of the One Note book so I'll have it with me all the time.


It sounds like things are going well so continue on in the same direction. I'll forward your email to Muse Eek and have them send you your username and password.

The subject of memory is fascinating. One book to check out is "Mind to Molecules" by Eric Kandel.
 
Q I am a guitarist who has been playing for a few years, and have been constantly frustrated by my inability to relate music (heard either in my head or on a player) to my instrument. This often leads to me looking at tabs and memorizing solos or chord progressions.

I was often told to simply try and transcribe songs by ear and things would soon fall into place, but that doesn't work, especially when it comes to feeling the satisfaction.

Please give me your thoughts/inputs on the following:

1. Do I directly try all 12 notes against the key, or should I start with one note and add more as and when the feeling of each note gets ingrained? I tried the first set of exercises yesterday, and got nothing right, especially because I was trying to avoid listening for resolution. Resolution seems to be a hook to hold on to, and once that is gone, things seem to get pointless.

2. How will this method help me hear a chord progression in a song, and the additions to individual chords (like sevenths, ninths, etc)?
A FIrst I think I would go to the FAQs for these books and read the questions other students have asked.

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/fanaticsfaq.html

I'll give you some short answers to your questions below:

You can do the 12 notes or divide it up. Personally I have found that dividing it up is a mixed blessing but some students say it helps them. You definitely do not want to use resolution.

When you start to do the 2 note ear training you will develop an ability to hear two or more notes. This is when chord progressions will become easier to hear.

Best thing you can do is practice for many short periods throughout the day. Ear Training is like learning a language you have to hear it over and over again and then you will just remember the sound of the notes. THERE ARE NO TRICKS THAT HELP only listening to the point that you remember.
 
Q I've successfully gone through all your one note books. Toward the end I was getting 95-100% on different runs of the advanced CD.

Keynote has been a struggle though, and after months of trying to do it I've been making slow progress. I know keynote is supposed to be difficult for those that have bad habits, but I'm not aware that I had any with the advanced on note CD. My recognition of those notes is almost instantaneous.

The issue I have is that I still haven't been able to use my ear training skills to pick out melodies in the music that I listen to. I still have to noodle around on the guitar to figure out notes. I've noticed that I seem to noodle less than I used to, so maybe the ear training is helping, but I still can't listen to a long note against a key center and figure out what that note is without checking on the guitar.

Is there anything that I can do to improve this? After all, the whole point of this is to get train my ear so I can pick out notes of a song. I've always wished to have a good enough ear to transcribe music directly.

I have the Fanatic's Guide, and I know doing those exercises could help, but it is difficult for me to find time to do them. I have been thinking that maybe I should take songs that I know how to sing and notate them with their relative note values (1-7) and perhaps by going through this exercise I can start to hear how these notes sound sung. Do you think that would help?

I will continue on Keynote in any case, but I have to say that after all the months I spent working on the one note books, it's been discouraging that there hasn't been any concrete payoff.
A This whole process of developing ear training is a long term project. Think of the CDs and books I've written as your guide to "How" to hear. You then need to apply it to real musical situations in order to have practical benefits. Even if you didn't apply it this process of hearing music would develop over time using the books and CDs but you can considerable speed up the process by applying it to real world situations.

First thing I would do is start singing songs that you know and analyzing what pitches you are singing with the words. I would start with easier ones like Jingle Bells and work your way into White Christmas.

Most people put off the singing in the Fanatic's Guide and singing in general. Bad mistake. Once you do it for awhile you'll notice a marked improvement in your recognition skills, your creative abilities and your overall musicality.
 
Q Just got all my books and am getting started. Re: Ear training- For someone with an ear as bad as mine, the cd is much too high a gradient. I have no idea what note those sounds are, but an interesting thing happened while i was listening. I started making a game of something that i thought i might be able to do which was to tell if the notes were natural or sharp and found i was beginning to have some success with that. Any suggestions on how to get anywhere near the ballpark on what the actual notes themselves are?
A The ear training is a long process and should be attacked from a listening and singing practice schedule. It doesn't matter if you aren't getting the notes right now you will later if you apply yourself. The technique to learn this ear training is different that what you are use doing when you learn an instrument. You are just memorizing the sound just like you memorized language when you were little. At the beginning you will have no idea what the notes are but over time you will start to remember them. I would recommend listening to the beginning CD 10 times a day for 10 minutes and just guess if you don't know the correct answer. Do not try to find ways to help yourself get the correct answer just listen and over time you will remember just like you did with language when you were little. You can make a smaller list of notes to listen to if that helps. i.e. just listen to 3 or 4 notes in different octaves. For singing I'd work on the "One Note" exercise on page six. Once again 10 times a day for 10 minutes. You probably will have to work up to this amount of time for both books but ANY amount of time is better than no amount.

I would also read through the FAQs at:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/fanaticsfaq.html
 
Q I am finding your ear training method to be extremely helpful and productive, but I am wondering how much it will help me to hear harmonies as it seems that much of it is melody and single-line focused. After enough time and study, will it enable me to identify harmonies as well? I am wondering if you ever advise your students to take a similar approach to learning harmony, perhaps finding a CD that uses several progressions in different keys and inversions and encourages the student to identify them by listening to their sound, rather than identifying bass notes, etc. Do you recommend any additional studies for those of us who want to develop a better ear for harmony, or will this come after enough study of your method.
A The ear training method you are doing is working towards hearing both melody and harmony. Remember harmony can be thought of as just a bunch of melodies played at the same time. When you get to 2 note ear training this will begin the process of hearing multiple notes at once. See:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET%202-note-vol%201/lower.html

You would need to work on Key Note Recognition be you move on from One Note Ear Training:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/keynote_recognition/lower.html

Sound like it would be a good idea to read through the FAQs for all these books so that you understand the method better and realize what is involved. Here are the links:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/fanaticsfaq.html

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/keynote_recognition/eartrngfaq.html

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET%202-note-vol%201/ET2Nvol1faq.html

I will be giving you additional studies once you have completed these books so for now just buckle down and listen and sing.
 
Q 1. Ear Training. I'm confused. First, wouldn't you know what key you or yr group were playing in- I'm relatively new at this aspect of things, never having played music with anyone before, but I would think that the 1st thing you'd establish would be what key you were going to play in. If you know that and the basic theory of scales, don't you know which notes are best to play in each key.

2. Secondly what exactly is the purpose of ear training? Maybe that's part of my confusion.

3. Third, what is the difference between perfect pitch and relative pitch- seems like perfect pitch is just being able to identify which notes are being played by knowing the 12 different sounds by heart. If that's correct what then is relative pitch? Sorry to sound so lost but I really don't get what I'm doing or why. Help!!
A Some of your questions suggest that you haven't read the Ear Training One Note Complete book or the Fanatic's Guide book. Is this true? I give many many examples of how to use this ear training and why you should use this method within each book. Therefore some of your questions seem odd.

1. Many times people tell you what chords to play but not what key(s) these chords are in. Some times the key is obvious based on the chords but other times it is not. Also one person could hear a group of chords in one key while another could hear it differently. This is one reason why developing ear training helps you to know how you hear music. Once you know how you hear a group of chords you can then develop and remember your ideas in relationship to the key.

2. Good creative musicians hear melodies in their head and want to play these melodies. They also want to interact with other musicians so they need to know what the other musicians are doing. Ear Training helps you reach these goals.

3. Perfect Pitch is knowing the sound of all twelve notes regardless of key center. Relative pitch is either telling the relationship of one note to another (interval training) or identifying each note based on a perceived key center.
 
Q No need to respond to this email (unless to correct me perhaps) and I don't wish to take up much of your time but I thought I'd let you know that I was quite skeptical of your method when I first purchased the Fanatics Guide after initially thumbing through it and I wondered why so many faqs should be needed if the method is explained correctly. Since actually starting to use that book and now also the one note series I've had a complete, most welcomed, change of attitude. No small part of that change is due to the fact that you continue to interact with folks who have bought your books after the purchase and do your best to help them along. Believe me, that is not too common now-a-days and I'd like to say that I, and likely many others, appreciate that very much. Thank you.

I also believe that your method is better than others because it considers all notes in all keys and therefore is musically 'whole' in its approach which makes a lot of sense if you ask me.

As far as the exercises are concerned I think I have a good understanding of what is expected of me and also what I shouldn't be doing from re-reading the introduction several times. I can now see why the faqs are possibly the only way to correct students, i.e. namely because each of us has different 'cheating' thought processes. For example, at first, I tended to try to maintain the key chord in memory as long as possible in order to have notes present to compare the test note to, until I realized that this is not really a good mental process to identify the note even if it happened to be one that was in that chord and also would likely lead to my attempting to resolve the sharps a half step either way.

I seem to have better results if I don't really focus in on the cadence chords so much other than to generally set up the key center and then when it goes by I focus on hearing the note against that background.

With the Fanatic's Guide my biggest concern is singing the pitch well so a lot of checking will likely be required.

In closing I'd like to say that I'll give every effort in order to make this system work and gain better note recognition. I'm determined to improve my musical ear from now on until the day I die and I have the utmost confidence in you and your method.

P.S. In my original email I realize now that I may have sounded like a teacher but I am in fact the student. I was mainly asking if mimicking the process you have on the cd on the keyboard at times when practicing would help the pitch recognition along by more re-inforcement of the sounds as the cd interaction does. Perhaps also to concentrate on consistently incorrectly identified pitches.
A As I'm sure you have realized from reading the FAQs everyone learns differently and you can have two people read the same sentence and they will have two explanations of what it is saying no matter how well it is written.

You are correct to just let the sense of "key" envelope you rather than concentrate of specific notes within the progression. All though this ear training may seem like a simple process most students have some misunderstandings along the way so keep in touch as you progress so that you don't take a left turn.
 
Q A couple of questions on the two books I've recently purchased from Muse-eek: Ear Traning one note - I've read all the FAQs, but I still find that with certain notes (D, G, D#, B, Bb) I seem to be relating them to the tonic (as in thinking the given note, then the tonic, and knowing those intervals fairly well from previous training). Is this going to be detrimental to my learning? How would you suggest getting around this? I think it might benefit me to move up to the faster CDs so that I don't have time to think of those things.

Also, I have the latest Berkowitz sight singing book. Should I still order the muse-eek one, or will this suffice?

Right hand technique: So far I am only on the introductory excercises, but I am concerned because my right hand seems to tighten up and my right wrist and hand feel tense after the excercises (sometimes for the rest of the night, even when I only do them for 5 minutes a day). Am I doing something wrong? What should I do?

Lastly, for my left hand technique, the exercise to lighten my playing seems to help, but I don't know how to apply it to chords. It seems that my thumb still stiffens up after playing chords.
A I think two things will help you not relate notes to the tonic but rather hear them in relationship to the key center. 1st I would recommend the "one note" exercise found on page 6 of the Fanatic's Guide book and second you could move to a faster CD in the One Note Complete book.

Berkowitz sight singing book would not suffice as your singing method.

If you are tensing up doing the right hand exercises then you are doing something wrong. First you are probably trying to progress at too quick a rate by playing the exercises too fast. Working on these right hand exercises does require you to concentrate on relaxing your entire body as you play. This may require you to really think about where your tension is coming from. No technique will help you unless you take the time to control your physical behavior on the instrument.

To apply the lighter playing on the guitar use the same technique of pushing 10 times with each chord that you use in a song until you learn the least amount of tension needed to make a chord sound. After you feel you have this under control start to play from one chord to another. Keep in mind that your old habits will try to take over. This is once again a place where concentration and mind or matter control will help you in your progress.
 
Q I recently bought your books One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide. I have been using them for a few days . It seem to me that i have already made some progress . As you know guitar players have certain keys they prefer( c-a g-e-d) .Given that this is so would it be ok to just concentrate on these keys when using the Fanatic's Guide (tracks 1,9,10,11,12)
A It would be better if you worked in all keys. This is the way I set up the book so that each exercises you sing has a different relationship to the drone. Also remember that you will need knowledge of all keys for identifying notes when you get to "Key Note Recognition" and the "2 Note Ear Training" books. Remember that if you get a singer in your band they may need to sing in non-guitar keys. If you have problems thinking the notes in these keys then I would suggest working from the Music Theory Workbooks for Guitar Volumes One and Two to improve your theory knowledge.
 
Q When I listen to a song and say, in the key of D minor, and then there is a chord change to Gm, should I be trying to hear the notes against the G or the D? In some strange chord progressions like Emaj to Gm, something strange, the note E would sound completely different against the two chords. Also, all the exercises in the Ear Training One Note Method are Major, but wouldn't a minor 3rd sound completely different against a minor chord? So, should I practice against major chords, minor chords, diminished, dominant,etc...?
A If you have a song in D minor and then there is a chord change to G minor you may stay in the key of D minor or you may modulate. This will all depend on the tempo of the song and how long you stay on the G minor and your personal "key retention" abilities, your amount of ear training and your personal history of hearing various types of music. So as you can see there isn't an easy answer to your first question.

If you had a chord progression like E major to G minor you may hear the note E on the E chord as the "root" if the E chord lasts for a sufficient amount of time in order to create a sense of key in E major. When you hear the G minor you may modulate or you may hear the key of E major change to the key of E Locrian. Again this will depend on the different situations I mentioned in the first paragraph.

A minor 3rd sounds the same against a major, minor or any other modal tonality. This may not be be apparent to you now but it will be in the future if you continue to work on your contextual ear training skills.

When you state:

"should I practice against major chords, minor chords, diminished, dominant,etc...?"

I have no idea what exercise or book you are referring to so can not answer this question.

My recommendations is you follow the suggestions for practice exercises in the books. These exercises have been developed from over 30 years of teaching and have proven to work very well with students that apply themselves daily.

Over time you will work with all types of tonality and musical situations in order to apply your contextual ear training skills to different situations. The important thing is to first know the sound of each note against a key center. As this gains in strength your abilities in the various musical situations will become clearer.
 
Q The question I had wanted to ask is how the (wonderful) system in the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing relates to a minor key? Hearing a note against a minor tonic chord is different to hearing it against the major tonic chord isn't it?
A There is no difference between the sound of notes over a major or a minor tonality or any other modal tonality for that matter. When you are just starting with this course of study you may think there is a difference but over time you will realize that there isn't. You will begin to work with minor tonal centers when you start your work on "Key Note Recognition".
 
Q You mentioned that if a song has chord chages my ear may or not hear the melody against the new chord (it may hear it against the overall key), but which am I shooting for, to hear the melody over the key or each individual chord change? As a bass player, I am always hearing things from the root of whatever chord I am on, so it seems like it would be more logical to hear how the melody relates to each individual chord. Also, this method will eventually let me hear what any given tone is against a chord, but how am I supposed to go about hearing chord changes? Lastly, I am a fifteen year old student and between studying for school and practicing music, I have about no free time, I was wondering if you have heard of learning things as you sleep, for instance I know that while Steve Vai was with Frank Zappa, he would listen to music in his sleep. So my question is not only, do you think this would work, but what we be good to "asorb" while I sleep?
A You know I'm getting the feeling your going off track here. Your questions show me that you have not grasped the ear training method or at least you are jumping ahead of yourself. It's great that you are thinking about the method as it relates to music BUT if you don't understand it yet then most of my answers won't make sense. Many of your questions depend on the exact circumstance and don't have simple answers. I think our correspondence would be better served if you talked about where you are with the books. What exercises you're doing and how they are going. This will help us move you from a budding ear training student to a higher level where you will be able to answer many of the questions you ask yourself and/or bounce this realizations off from me so I can confirm your observations. I realize that you are young and it's really great your getting started so early with this ear training your going to be really great if you keep it up for a few years. But you have to organize yourself and keep your eye on the goal. This is hard when your young so keep at it.

As far as having very little time I would recommend listening to the ear training while commuting or other down time. You also may have to give up some things in order to gain other abilities.

Also as far as I know there is no evidence that you can learn in your sleep.
 
Q Just a note about my experience with the one note method for your general information. I started with the beginner cd about two months ago and started making progress very slowly, in my opinion....maybe because I spent the first few weeks cussing back at the cd (ha). It was frustrating at first being wrong so often and I really didn't gain anything until I adopted a better listening attitude. My guess became secondary to calm well focused listening to the tone just to absorb it (not analyze it, but just associate the tone with its name). Whether correct or incorrect on the guess I mentally hold the note and continue to label it correctly nearly to the end of the following cadence.

I'm still with the beginner cd but I find that I now know many of the notes and that has given me confidence that I will eventually learn them all if I keep at it. Of course, like others who have written in the faq the learning process has some ups and downs and some twists and turns. Some of the notes I knew first are now missed every so often and others that I had no clue on are now front and center. The low notes made no sense at all at first and now I find that they are clearer than the high ones. I suspect that this is part of the normal learning process. This is very interesting I have become an addict to the cd having to listen to it at various times for 20 or 30 minutes throughout the day.

My weakest ability, in my opinion, is having no confidence in voicing tones and for that reason have neglected the Fanatic's Guide cd. I had started that too a while back with the first tone in each key but was lost when it came to voicing a 3rd or 5th let alone the other tones...I would have no idea if I was voicing the tone correctly and thought it may be more harmful than helpful if I was off the tone. Your thoughts on that might be helpful.
A http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002M6N3O/qid=1138281076/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xglna/103-2829618-9723033?v=glance&n=507846
 
Q I am a 25 five year old conductor and you can be sure that I am a working fanatic. In the last time I have been sometimes slightly frustrated by the fact, that it is quite hard for me to play music by ear (or just play what I hear on the piano) and by difficulties in reading scores. The more complex the music gets, the more difficulties occur.

Now my question is: Can you honestly recommend your method for the whole repertoire there is (let´s say from Mozart to Strawinsky) or is the line until it works Bruckner, Mahler and Wagner with their extreme modulations?

The next thing is that my main problems start in imagining harmony and harmonical progressions (apart from easy cadencas or quintfall sequences), so my question here is if your method will lead me in the end to hearing and producing all harmonic sequences I want to, also romantic ones?

If it does, please give me suggestions on which book to buy and in which order to follow your ear training path. I am willing to put a lot of work into this, but want to be rewarded by being able to sight read scores without playing them on the piano (at least until end of 19th century) and by writing down all the music instantly that comes to my mind, even if it will take time to reach this goal.
A Yes my method will work with any style of music. Of course as you work your way further into the 20th century you will have to have mastered quite a bit of the ear training to take on Schoenberg and Webern. But it can be done and you would be surprised how tonal the 2nd viennese school becomes as your ear improves.

I would recommend starting with:

Ear Training One Note Complete
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Reading and Ear Training

As you get further along in the method I can also suggest various classical pieces to start singing but first we need to get you through the books mentioned then "Key Note Recognition" and once you start on the 2 note ear training books I can give you more specialized assignments to get you where you need to be. The 2 note books are where you will begin to understand harmonic progressions so we have a ways to go before that will make any sense to you.
 
Q I want to thank you, because I have only been on the program for about three weeks and I notice a big improvement. I have three questions, my first one is about the One Note Complete Method Series. Just to see how I would do, I popped in the intermediate cd (I am only on the beginner cd), and I started doing just as good or better on the Intermediate cd as I have ever done on the beginner cd. I will stay on the beginner cd until I can get it really well, but the actual question in this is, once I pass the beginner cd, will I progress through the Intemediate and advanced cds very quickly? This next question is about the Fanatic's Guide, you mention screaming a note is an effective way of learning to prehear a note, but everytime I try that, my voice goes way up in pitch, in otherwords I try singing, say, a root, and end up with a fifth. Is that something that I should see a vocal instructor about, or do you know what could be going wrong? My last question pertains to the Fanatic's Guide also, would it be bad for me to practice prehearing the root and prehearing the 3rd at the same time, and by the same time I mean, going through the entire cd and prehearing the root, then going through and prehearing the 3rd?
A People's progress really varies a lot but I'm glad to hear your moving into the intermediate CD.

As far as scream singing I think you should try and just sing very loud first that will also have a similar effect as the screaming. Also it's fine to go through the entire fanatic's guide cd and prehearing the root, then going through and prehearing the 3rd etc.
 
Q I have a question about memories. I remember reading one of your answers to another question a while back where you touched on this subject, but I can't seem to find it anymore. (Your FAQ section is getting quite large!)

Are one's previous musical memories translated (for lack of a better word) into this new way of hearing as one becomes more proficient? For instance, would I be able to hear the scale degrees of, say ... some melody from my childhood, even though I would not have listened to it since changing the way I hear? I'm trying to be specific; I realize that this is a broad topic.

I'm concerned about my ability to come up with ideas by ear with this method. I have no doubt that I will become much better at comprehending what I physically hear and hearing scale degrees that I read on paper or think of in my head. However, I wonder how my spontaneous, creative ability will be aided.

Let me put it this way. When I was little, I used to go to the piano and just start coming up with little songs by ear with no regard to theory. These songs were, necessarily, just little bits and pieces of songs from my memories put into a blender and spewed back out wherever my brain thought they fit. I imagine that this is true at all times when coming up with things by ear. Of course, hardly anyone composes music or improvises in a strictly analytical mindset; we all draw from inspiration and feel it out at least part of the time. I guess my question is this: how is this aspect of musicianship affected by changing the way I hear? Will I be able to use this method to identify things just popping into my head from a lifetime of musical memories?
A If you either sung a melody or heard a melody from your youth you would have to listen to it with your new ear training ability in the same way as you would any new melody you might hear. You ear/mind doesn't automatically know something. For an analogy, if you learned algebra you don't automatically know the answers to algebraic equations unless you do the math.

On the other hand once you can hear and you start listening to and processing melodies you will find they are easy to remember because you now have a system of organization of pitch via the contextual ear training.

Your creative ability will be revolutionized with this ear training. Once your mind has a firm grip on what notes sound like it will have a much greater ability to to put together melodies of higher complexity. But remember these things don't just magically happen you have to work with your creativity like it's a muscle to develop it. A good book to read on this is "Matisse on Art"

AUTHOR Matisse, Henri, 1869-1954
TITLE: Matisse on art / [edited and with an introduction by] Jack D.Flam.
EDITION: 2nd ed.
PUBLISHED: Oxford [England] : Phaidon, 1978.

Once your ability with the ear training improves you will be able to identify things just popping into your head from a lifetime of musical memories. Once again you need a conscious effort to do this it doesn't happen automatically until you are many years down the road and you just "hear" contextually as a natural event in your musical life. Once you get there you will still run into complex situations where it takes your ear time to grow into the situation. Take the improvisations I do over my 12 tone music or the music I record with the group Spooky Actions. see:

http://www.muse-eek.com/record/record.html

These note combinations and harmonies can take time to settle in your mind because of their complexity. I would also recommend you read Eric Kandel's book on memory so you start to understand what is going on up stairs in your mind.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805073450/qid=1138891810/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-2290163-0362448?v=glance&s=books
 
Q 1) Your audience seems to be mainly adults. At what age would it be appropriate to start ear training with your program? What's the youngest age that you would suggest?

2) If your books/CDs are not appropriate for children, is there some other resource that you could suggest? Or some other training besides formal ear training that would benefit a young person who may have some singing talent?
A I think with parent supervision a child around 5 or 6 could start on the One Note Ear Training CDs. I think a child would have to be 8-10 to understand the Fanatic's Guide Singing book. If a child could be exposed to the concept that all 12 notes have a unique sound and that they need to memorize that sound I think you would find small children would pick this up quickly. I know one friend who offered their child a quarter for every note they got right on the CD. Within six weeks they had to stop because the child could get all the notes.
 
Q Just a little update, I've received KNR and had a bit of a listen to it. Couldn't identify any pitches. They all sound the same. Realise that it will take a while for my ears to adjust but I think it's just a little too advanced for me right now and I'm happy to keep working on the fundamentals. Remember you advising someone in the FAQs to practice more out of the Fanatic's Guide till his key retention improves.

I've been working diligently out of One Note Advanced and am definitely averaging more than 80% and possibly 90% on good days. Experiencing some major phases where I'll drop to low 80% for a few days then climb back up again with greater clarity and a marked improvement. I suppose this is part of the process of reprogramming your aural perception that you speak about in your books.

Have had good progress with Fanatic's Guide and worked through the pitches as recommended 1, 3, 5, 2, 4, 6, 7, b3, b7, #4, but I'm stuck with #1. Have been keeping at it for about 3 weeks now with almost no improvement. Can't pre-hear the right pitch at all and can never remember the right pitch when I come back to it a few hours later. Only possible improvement has been that I can now sing it in tune most of the time, and if there's any slight wavering I notice and correct it immediately (checking with a pitch pipe).

Re-read relevant bits of your books just to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong and came across the particularly inspirational bit on 10% talent and 90% fanatical hard work.

Decided that I've got to increase my practice time:-
Started at 3x10min One Note Advanced and 2x15min Fanatic's
Increased to 4x10min One Note Advanced and 3x15min Fanatic's
=> Noticed improvement on One Note and slight progress on Fanatic's (but only very slight)
=> Can't concentrate for 15min stretch on Fanatic's, 10min works better and is more effective

And this evening just decided that after another week at the previous mentioned level that the practice time somehow isn't enough and I'm not really getting anywhere.

So... I remember you saying possibly an ideal schedule is 10x10min (5min One Note + 5min Fanatic's each time) spread out through the day.

Might seem a little extreme, and is going to take up loads of time. But I'm still going to work at it and think little steps each day.

Am I on the right track here? Hope so ... music is an all-consuming passion. But is also such hard work ... If it helps I've been working at this diligently for about 6 months now.
A That all sounds good. I would do some work out of the KNR everyday too. Think of the sound of each note as a sphere. The one note ear training and the singing show you one part of the sphere. KNR shows you another. At the end you will realize it's all the same sound but it takes time for your mind to hear sound in many contexts before it realizes it's all the same. I'd also recommend doing the Direct Application CD. That will give you another side of the Sphere.
 
Q I've been working on ear training for over a year now, it's slowly starting to come along. I can pre-hear the major scale pretty consistently (struggle with the 4 sometimes), and the non-diatonic notes are slowly coming in, not very consistent yet, I usually have to guess then sing up or down to find it. I can tell it's right when I get to it.

I've been working on two note for a month or two, volumes one and two. I can hear almost all of the modulations, regardless of the register. I'm starting to pick the notes apart as well, it's not very clear though. I've been singing out of the Lines book , I can usually hear the note I'm singing relative to the key center but can also hear it relative to the other note I'm playing, kind of like a way to check. The other exercise I do is singing each tone over a different key center (this is the pre-hearing that I mentioned in the first paragraph).

Basically, I just wanted to give you an update and see if there was anything I'm missing or should be doing differently.
A Please do not sing up or down to a note if you sing a note check it on a instrument if it is not correct do the exercise again.

If you are also hearing notes relative to one another then you are doing two processes one after another. Please do not listen for the distance relationship between notes.
 
Q I have almost passed the intermediate stage of the one note series. I am able to hit 90% overall (100% on the diatonic notes). There are two things that I needed to talk about.

I haven't been trying to hear resolution, but it is something that seems to have just happened (and I know that it is something that you frown upon). When I hear a note after the cadence is established, in my mind, I see something like a "horizontal scale or line", with the root "do" at the extremeties. The note that is played appears somewhere in the middle and I am able to tell what it is. If I am not able to tell immediately, the note seems to move towards one of the extremeties, telling me its identity. Note that I don't sing up or down to the root, it just happens in my mind. Is this something that I need to consciously work against?

I have also been trying to apply my training to a real song, and haven't quite got the idea of how I need to approach this. Take a simple song in the key of G. Assume it starts with a couple of bars of G, which establishes the root. Then the song moves to a D7. If
the bass plays the D note, I am able to tell the new chord quite easily. However, how is the C note in the D7 chord supposed to be heard? Is it as a minor seventh of the D chord or is it the 5th of the key, which is G? A progression like C-D7-G is often apparent because we hear it in so many songs, but that is not the way I want to approach transcription of songs?

How does it happen for you? I know that ear training is something to be repeated until the sounds get memorized, but I am trying to apply the one note studies to music that I listen to everyday.
A You need to consciously work against hearing a resolution it will be very bad for you and you will never properly understand nor profit from this ear training. You stop this by controlling your mind.

If you don't have the one note ear training down I don't think it's a great idea to start applying it to real music. That's like not knowing the alphabet but trying to read and write. If the C note in your example is heard in the key of G then you will hear it as the fourth.

If you go against my advice and still feel you must apply this before you understand it then please do it only to melody notes against a repeating one chord.
 
Q I do hear a difference between notes. I should just listen to the notes, memorize what each sounds like and worry about their relationships in music later? I'm just wondering if i need to know this stuff before hand to do the ear training correctly. if it's just a matter of memorizing what each note sounds like then I'm set.
A Yes it is just a matter of listening and memorizing the sounds to start with but as you develop through the various levels of this ear training program you are going to need to know many music theory relationships in order to use this ear training effectively. Here is an example. You hear a melody and you recognize that the notes are the 5th, b7 to the b3. You realize that these notes are in the key of Gb. Can you quickly recognize that these notes are 5th=Db, b7=Fb, b3=Bbb. If you don't know these notes in the key of Gb quickly then the ear training is not that useful. This is just one example of many where learning music theory will help you to apply your ear training abilities.
 
Q I have a lot of respect for anyone who forces us to regard music in a novel way especially if it adds to our understanding. I must say that after reading your Ear Training One Note Beginning Level, I can only conclude one thing: Your method is also about intervals but, quite rightly and cleverly, you are relating the intervals to the key center and not to different notes in the key.

The anology you give about learning colors as a child is not the best one or it needs clarification. Children probably learn blue is blue in relationship to other colours where the "color center" is probably white.

Your method is an interval method but the right one because it uses the key centre. What do you say?
A Glad you are finding the Ear Training helpful in developing your aural skills.

An interval is "the difference in pitch between two tones." A sense of key or a key center is not a tone therefore your understanding of the word interval is incorrect.

The purpose of the analogy about color is to get students to realize that they shouldn't use referential learning to memorize the sound of each note against a key center. It is also used to help students realize that they need to have instant recognition of a sound just like most humans have when they see a color. If you would like to learn more about recent developments in the understanding of how memory works in the human mind I would suggest the following book:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805073450/qid=1141358956/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/104-5388660-9935955?v=glance&s=books

or any of the other books by Eric Kandel

I would also suggest you read the FAQs about the ear training method on the muse-eek.com website. I'm sure the questions other students have asked will help you understand the method further. Here are a couple of links:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/fanaticsfaq.html
 
Q I went to the FAQ and read many of the questions related to perfect pitch. It's nice to know that only about 5% of your talented musician friends have PP. Despite playing guitar and studying music for over 20 years I always felt outside of the "inner circle" because I don't have PP, but no more! I will continue to work on relative pitch.

I once read that according to the overtone series, an A note in the key of C is not exactly the same pitch as an A note in some other keys. But with tempered tuning there is a kind of compromise to allow playing in all keys. As you mentioned, people with PP can tell if a C note is a little sharp or flat. Do you think a singer with PP sings/hears notes in agreement with the natural overtone series of a key center, while a guitarist with PP hears notes in relation to a guitar which uses tempered tuning?
A I think you are confusing the natural phenomena of the overtone series with how someone develops perfect pitch and identifies sound based on perfect pitch. You are not born with perfect pitch you develop it, usually in your childhood, by hearing pitches on a musical instrument and through hearing music. While the timbre of sound and our recognition of instrumental qualities has a lot to do with the overtone series people do not develop perfect pitch based on a system of frequencies that aren't represented in the 12 tempered notes used in western music.

I would also like to point out that the email support I offer for my books is suppose to be about the subjects in my books and not about tangential subjects. If you have a question related to one of my books I would be glad to answer it. If you have questions or want to learn more about the overtone series I suggest you read The Acoustical Foundation of Music by Backus, The Harvard Dictionary of Music and the Computer Music Tutorial by Curtis Roads. All these books will help understand the various aspect of music and sound.
 
Q I'm a guitarist and have played for many years. I recently decided to go back to school for music. I'm doing pretty good but I'm having trouble with my ear training class.The teacher seems like a good teacher but I'm struggling. My sight singing is getting better little by little but I tend to get intervals and chords wrong often. Some intervals I hit everytime but others I keep missing. I was figuring there has to be a better way and I came across your books.They seem like there what I'm looking for and they had good comments on the reviews. My question is what book or books do you recommend me starting on? Do they work on recognizing different seventh chords too?
A If you wanted to use my books to help your ear training I would recommend starting with

Ear Training One Note Complete
http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/lower.html

Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training
http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/lower.html

Since my type of ear training is different than the interval training taught in schools I'm not sure of the immediate benefits you will receive from my ear training. For instance you won't be identifying seventh chords until you do multiple note ear training which is quite a few years down the line for most people. On the other hand if you do work through my books you will find that you can actually hear music and know the pitches you are hearing. The interval method taught in schools will only bring you limited success. So I guess the bottom line is I can help you become a better musician but probably won't get you a better grade in school.
 
Q I have been listening to the one note advanced and working on A Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing for maybe seven months now. I have just been trying to do the first single note exercise in Fanatic's. I have read in your FAQ that you recommended that someone sing from the Single String book with and without the drone chord to improve their key retention, and I wondered if key retention was not a little problem that I am having with the one note CD. I can get, say thirty or forty percent of the notes right although I am really not keeping count. I have very little problem recognizing the C,E and G. Sometimes I surprise myself and guess the F and A correctly, but I am better with some of the strange ones like D# and A#. Anyway, I tried to sing a little in C major in the Single String volume one that I bought for the guitar with and without the drone. I was surprised to see that the very next day, the way that I heard the one note CD was really different. It sounded like it was clearer or louder. I don't think my correct guess rate improved, but I could be wrong. Then, I started to think that since I can't really sing all the notes reliably with a drone chord when I work on Fanatic's Guide, I might be doing more harm than good when I try Single String without a drone. What shall I do? Is it possible to improve key retention while just singing the Single Note exercise from Fanatic's Guide without a drone? I feel like I need to get that exercise together before I do anything else. By the way, I am coming along in all your books that I have bought. They are all very good books. I am getting comfortable with many of the scales on your website and in the Theory Voume two book. Although with the vamps I downloaded from you when I improvise I always want to throw in the flat seven in the jazz minor. I catch myself doing that a lot. I was also wondering when the volume three theory book might be out.
A You can do the SSS with or without a drone. I think it makes more sense to start with a drone and then remove it after you get better at singing all the pitches correctly.

I'm currently working on a book called Set Theory for Improvisation and Composition. Some day parts of that book will be in the NYGM Volume 3 along with hexatonic chord voicings and sweeps. Probably will be ready Summer 07.
 
Q I have a few questions regarding your ear training method and its application. I know little when it comes to ear training, but what I read from the Internet and other books puzzle me. Here they are:

1. Is your method in accord with what they call functional ear training? There's a book called functional hearing which seems to train one to hear notes and chords in the context of its key, but they use only a root note as opposed to the cadence used in your book. Does this sound more like interval training?

2. You teach how to hear the note degree in relation to the key. I think this works in ensemble context. But does it work for sole melody line? For example, will I know the degree of notes when I hear someone sing Amazing Grace without music accompaniment? Or, in other words, do I hear the key when I only hear melody?

3. Although you advise against interval training, aren't there any merits to it? I think interval training is not that bad and should be applicable to several situations, otherwise lots of musicians would also banish it. Perhaps singers can benefit when using it to harmonize the lead singer? Could you give some examples of when one method is better than the other? Although I can see that your method should be superior, but in every way? I'm not really sure about that.

My questions might seem like an attack, but please understand that these are out of my curiosity with no negative intention whatsoever.
A I haven't seen the functional hearing book so I'm unsure if it's the same. I would really doubt it because the exercise of hearing one note against a cadence is only one part of the series of books I have for ear training.

If you have music that doesn't have chords behind it you will develop a "sense of key" as you work more with my ear training so that you will recognize even one random note as some degree of a key center that is currently floating through your head.

There are merits to interval training though I'm not sure why you would need intervals if you know what the notes are in a key center. Please remember that if you hear an interval like a perfect 5th there are 12 possible 5ths in western music. So, hearing an interval in most cases doesn't do you much good. I find that many students that work or have worked a lot with intervals will have a very hard time with my ear training. This is especially true when they get to the 2 note exercises. An explanation of this goes well beyond what you would understand if you haven't worked through the ear training course.

Your concerns about the ear training are warranted but what I find with most people is they don't really understand ear training on a very deep level. I mean no attack on your understanding but most students really don't understand the subject. In some cases it takes people years of work with my method before they seem to really understand. Maybe that's a reflection of my teaching ability but I think it's mostly a reflection of ignorance of the subject and preconceived ideas. You can read some of the FAQs at:

http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html
http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/lower.html

By the way about musicians banishing interval training. Just remember that it took 2 or 3 hundred years after Galileo discovered that the earth was not the center of the universe or our solar system before it was accepted as truth. I find very few musicians in NYC that have much good to say about interval training. Mostly because they find it has limited use but I also find that many musician just develop the type of ear training I teach after 30 or 40 years on the bandstand. I'm just trying to speed up the process. So you can get it now or you most likely will get it later if you are lucky enough to have a career in music that allows you a lot of performing and interaction will high quality musicians.
 
Q
 Hey, I hope you don't mind my asking for a bit of direction, but I've been looking all over online for a list of all possible tone rows for further sight singing practice. I know that in terms of the 12 absolute pitches, the number of combinations is 12-factorial (a pretty big number), but I was thinking in terms of tone rows from a single key, in other words, removing the redundancies of transposition, retrograde, inversion (which I can and should be able to do in my head anyway). I figured this would narrow things down just a little bit.

Do you have any sort of compilation like this among your books?
A
     I would recommend Sonic Resource Guide:

http://muse-eek.com/books/sonicresource/lower.html

This will give you the 220 possible pitch class sets in prime form.  Your initial step would be to  work on each set and make each degree a key center.  Therefore if you had the pitch class 027 you would need to sing this where C, D and G were the key centers.  Obviously pitch classes with more notes would have more key centers.  For instance if you had an 027 C,D,G this could also be sung over an F#7 chord because C,D and G are available tensions on that chord so there would actually be many more possible key centers to apply these prime forms.  Sonic Resource Guide lists these possible key/chord superimpositions so each set could be practiced in all relevant key centers.  You could use the vamps in the member's area as backing tracks for singing each of these key/chord combinations.
    `Sonic Resource Guide would also give you all 3 and 4 note chords where applicable along with other unique set information for different groups of notes so that could also be included in your sight reading practice.  As you can see this would be a very long project but would be a great education into key centers and of course enrich your understand of how various pitch class sets can be used.  I would also recommend

MY MUSIC: Explorations in the Application of 12 Tone Techniques to Jazz Composition and Improvisation

http://muse-eek.com/books/musofba/lower.html

So you can see some examples of applying various pitch class sets to modern music which is really where all this would lead you to.