Notice the G sounds happy and the G minor sounds sad. Notice the D sounds happy and the D minor sounds sad. Notice the A sounds happy and the A minor sounds sad. You will hear each chord strummed three (3) times. The recordings below will help you recognize the differences between Major, Minor & 7th chords. Remember “voice” is considered an musical instrument, both lead as well as background vocals.Įach of our 12 Major chords (A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#) has a relative Minor & Seventh. Then ask yourself if these sounds are low in pitch (bass) or high in pitch (treble)? Also how fast or slow is siren’s rhythm is? Hear that bird tweeting in a tree? See if you can sing or whistle those same notes (melody)?Īnother basic exercise is to identify what instruments you can hear when listening to music. Through a window you may hear a siren, cars going by, birds tweeting, a baby crying, an airplane, or blowing wind. EXERCISE #1Īsk yourself what sounds can hear right now? Perhaps you hear music in the background, a washing machine, or a clock ticking as examples. Among the most important and effective things you can do is regularly remind yourself to be a more “active” listener. The internet is replete with apps and other digital tools designed to help you improve your listening skills. You will not only become a better and more confident musician, you’ll enjoy playing music a whole lot more and at a much higher level.Įar Training Exercises help you to sharpen your aural skills for music and better develop your musical ear. Ear training gives you the confidence to trust your own ears and play more by ear. Boosting your aural skills promises huge benefits you will notice right off the bat. In fact it’s the most important component in becoming an increasingly better musician. You must identify the major scale degree of each note in the melody.How well you play guitar or any musical instrument really comes down to how well you hear.
Your goal is to identify the name of the note. Perfect Pitch: In this exercise, you will hear a single note.Your goal is to identify each chord that you heard. Chord Progressions: In this exercise, you will hear a chord progression.
Your goal is to identify the name of the scale that you heard. Scales: In this exercise, you will hear a scale.Your goal is to identify the type of chord that you heard. Chords: In this exercise, you will hear a chord.Your goal is to identify the interval between the two notes. Intervals: In this exercise, you will hear two notes in sequence.For best results, practice a little bit every day: These exercises will improve your musical ability by developing a more intuitive understanding of what you hear.