Bass players and ear training

If you are a bass player you might be wondering: do I need ear training? I mean, come on, I play a simple bass line in a band, what good will ear training do me?

It's often said that a bass player, besides the drummer, keeps the rhythm and the support for the entire band. I mean, when the bass player plays in sync with what's going on in the song it's wonderful. But when the bass player doesn't, it's awful. Ask me how I know, I've been there.

The difference usually boils down to whether or not the bass player has a good ear, that is, is ear trained in both perfect pitch and relative pitch.

It's way worth the effort for any bass player to acquire these skills for it will take his or her playing to a new level and enhance the experience of the entire band.

I highly recommend the following resources which have helped me when I played bass in a band:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

The following are helpful resources as well:

Music Theory Course

Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

I hope they help you as well and please let me know how and in what way these courses are helping you!

Vasili-

Ear Training and Drums

If you are a drummer, either in a classical setting, jazz, big band, or rock and roll band you might be thinking to yourself: "I don't really have to have a good ear for music, just a good feel of rhythm and time to be a good drummer."

Many drummers perhaps feel this way. But the superior drummers, those that are legends in their own right also have very acute musical ability and talent as well. This is the key to their being able to play more artistically. They understand music at a deep level and also have a good sense of musical hearing.

Many drummers play another instrument besides drums such as keyboard or guitar in order to reinforce their understanding of key musical concepts.

If you want to be a legendary superior drummer then learning about all aspects of music and being able to distinguish them by ear is a must. How can you accomplish this?

I highly recommend the following resources which have helped me personally:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

The following are helpful resources as well:

Music Theory Course

Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

I hope they help you as well and please let me know how and in what way these courses are helping you!

Vasili-

Do you really need ear training?

Ear training has been a lost skill that many musicians do not do or try to do on a systematic basis. They may think it unimportant or irrelevant to what they want to accomplish.

So, do you need it! The answer is: YES!!

Why? Because music is a HEARING art and your skill in music is directly linked to how well you can hear it when others are playing or you are playing your own music.

Being aware of the need for ear training is at the very core of the message I try to get across to every musician and student I teach.

If you want to progress to your maximum potential as a musician then you MUST involve yourself with some form of ear training.

I highly recommend the following resources which have helped me personally:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

The following are helpful resources as well:

Music Theory Course

Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

I hope they help you as well and please let me know how and in what way these courses are helping you!

Vasili-

Relative pitch - how long to establish?

I question I get asked often regarding relative pitch is: how long does it take to establish? Are there any shortcuts? Can I speed up the process?

These are good questions which deserve more than an answer like "it just depends".

First question: how long to establish? Well, for each person it is different. Some are quick to catch on and for others it takes more time. For some, 2 - 3 months or sooner and others it takes years.

Rather than ask such a question, the real question you should ask is: am I improving my musical ear awareness every day and learning to recognize and categorize what I learn better and better? That is, is my ear improving? Acquiring relative pitch may take months or years but having an ear like a great composer like Mozart takes a lifetime.

This leads to the answer to the second question: can I speed up the process? Sure you can by practicing more often your ear training drills, but the amount of time it will take depends on how fast your ear can grow accustom to the sounds you are hearing.

So I would advise to not take any shortcuts to your ear training and develop at a moderate pace that you set. If you haven't begun yet or don't know where to start the following resources will help:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

Music Theory Course

Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

I hope this helps and please let me know how these courses are helping you!

Vasili-

Is good ear training all you need?

Some have asked me about the value of ear training, is it all I need to be a well polished and accomplished musician?

The answer is if course not. To be a good musician you need to know your instrument, have a good technique, understand music theory, be exposed to a variety of genres, and develop your own artistic and interpretive style.

Ear training is merely a tool that will help you to get where you want to go faster and more effectively. It is not an end in itself but is a very good means to your musical end.

By having a well developed ear for music you can do much more than if you do not work on developing it. How do you begin?

The following links will provide you with what you need to start:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

Music Theory Course

Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

I hope this helps and please let me know how these courses are helping you!

Vasili-

How to get the most out of an ear training routine

So, you've started an ear training routine and you want to get the most out of it.

How do you do this?

First of all, you need to not stress out while doing any ear training. If it does not come natural and effortless then take it easy. The ear has to grow accustomed to the routine of training. It's sort of like working out. You don't go to the gym and do a 3 hour intense workout right at first. That would wear you out and perhaps be damaging.

Same with ear training. You must start gradual and slow, adding to your routine little by little. You should always do some sort of ear training every day and keep pushing yourself and challenging yourself. In this way your growth as a musician will continue and your horizons and opportunities will expand further and further.

What if you haven't even begun any ear training? What courses can help you begin?

The following links will provide you with what you need to start:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

Music Theory Course

Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

I hope this helps and please let me know how these courses are helping you!

Vasili-

Is interval training a waste of time?

I've read several articles about interval training which cast a bad light upon it basically saying that it's a waste of time. I'm going to personally debunk this line of reasoning.

When you learn any foreign language, you first learn its alphabet. Then combinations of letters and how they sound together. Then words, then sentences and then thoughts and ideas. You have to build your knowledge on a solid foundation and it must be progressive.

It's the same with music. The basic building blocks of all music are the intervals. When you learn them and learn how they formulate chords and scales this helps you to understand structure in music. Without it you are lost. There are no shortcuts to solid ear training.

Don't let anyone into suckering you into buying a shortcut "ear training course" which doesn't solidly drill every interval, up, down, melodic, and harmonic into you. This is what you will be building your musical foundation upon.

So what courses are there that will help you to set a real ear awareness foundation?

The following links will provide you with the education you need:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

Music Theory Course

Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

I hope this helps and please let me know how these courses are helping you!

Vasili-