When people think of playing music by ear they think some have it and others do not. But truthfully this is a skill that can be developed at any age. If you can hum a tune you can play by ear.
For anyone that has considered music education in any formal setting you will find that basic ear training is a part of the typical program. Ear training relies on the person being able to recognize musical intervals. This is something that can be taught and learned with practice even if you did not start out playing music when you were young. Learning to recognize intervals by ear will allow you to easily play with other musicians, learn guitar chords and solos with greater speed and accuracy, and better help you create your own music.
Our Brain And Music
An interesting fact about modern brain research shows that the brain responds to music training, developing parts of its functional areas that would not otherwise be used. So, when we sit down to practice guitar we are literally developing parts of the brain. Think of the brain as a muscle. When you learn something knew it may seem difficult at first but the more you practice it, the easier it will become.
Motivation for learning to play by ear
For every musician that can play by ear the motivation was different. Some developed there ear to better jam with friends, or compose there own songs and solos.
For me, my ear for music is what allowed me to develop as a musician in the first place. Being blind I did not have the ability to read printed music.
I did try to learn braille music for a bit but did not get very far as it was like learning another language. So developing my ear for music was a nessisary thing in my case.
But whatever your motivation keep that in mind as it will help you if you feel you aren’t making progress. Once you are able to pick up things by ear you never lose that ability.
How long will it take to learn to play by ear?
For most people learning to play by ear does not happen over night. Even though I had started out very young on piano, it still took practice for my ear to develop as it is now.
I can remember when I first started to play guitar and began to play along with the radio. I still had trouble figureing out basic chord changes. But as I practiced and played along with songs more I began to recognize what a G, C, D progression was supposed to sound like.
Once you get that in your head there will be no stopping you when you want to change keys and add other chords to your progressions. But the key thing in all of this is to have fun. Once you can play by ear you will enjoy learning new songs and playing along with different types of music.
Here are just a few of the benefits you will gain as a musician when learning to play by ear:
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- A better understanding of music theory and how music works
- Able to play songs without the aid of sheet music or tablature
- Able to play along with songs quickly after hearing them
- Able to improvise chords and solos at jam sessions
- Able to anticipate chord changes before they happen
- Easily compose your own music
- Deeper range of expression when playing
Learning Basic Music Intervals
The first thing that you must learn when playing by ear is basic musical intervals. After learning what the basic intervals sound like you will be able to combine the intervals to identify the key of any song along with its chords.
The more intervals that are put together the more complex the chord is. But first you must be able to identify the basic interval tones.
Do not get discouraged if you can’t do this right away but keep practicing it and you will develop an excellent ear for music! Eventually you will be able to identify intervals on the spot. Learning to play by ear along with the basic theory of music will make you a very well-rounded musician.
What are musical Intervals?
Think of intervals as the basic building blocks to western music. A musical interval is any two notes played at the same time.
Musical intervals are always red from the lowest tone to the highest or from left to right. It is to the advantage of every guitarist to be able to play and recognize musical intervals at will.
The Tones Of Intervals
As you become familiar with the sound of different musical intervals, you will realize each of them have a different characteristic. These different tonal characteristics are what give western music its feel and movement for the listener.
For example, the major third interval has a bright and lively sound and gives the feel of happiness. While the minor interval has a darker feel and gives the feel of sadness. Other intervals such as the minor second and diminished fifth are full of tension and unrest. But let’s begin by understanding the basic half and whole step intervals.
The Half And Whole Step
The first thing that must be understood is the half and whole step. A half step is the smallest musical interval in western music. C to C sharp is a half-step. C to D is a whole step. C to E is 4 half steps or 2 whole steps.
A better example is the chromatic scale. The chromatic scale in the key of C would be C, C sharp, D, D sharp, E, F, F sharp, G, G sharp, A, A sharp, him B, and him B. If we play this scale, we will find that it was made up of all half steps and consists of all 12 notes in an octave.
List Of The Intervals
Here is the list of basic intervals that you should memorize. They are in order from the smallest interval to the largest interval spanning one octave.
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- Minor second
- Major second
- Minor third
- Major third
- perfect fourth
- Augmented fourth also called diminished fifth
- Perfect fifth
- Minor sixth
- Major sixth
- Minor seventh
- Major seventh
- Octave
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Minor And Major Second
A half step is the smallest musical interval and it is called a minor second. If we combine two half steps, we now have the interval of a whole step. This interval of a whole step is called a major second.
If we play C and C sharp together, we have a minor second. If we play C and D we have a major second. If you play these tones you will notice that the minor second is full of tension and sounds dark and the major sounds livelier.
Notice that the interval of a minor second is one half step in width and a major second is one hole step which is the same as two half steps combined. The minor second is always a half step smaller then the major second. This is true of all major and minor intervals and is very important. This concept will become clearer as we go on to other intervals. So, let’s look at some more common intervals used in western music.
The Octave
The octave is an interval that comprises the distance from one letter named key to the repeat of that key. For example, if you play the open E string on the guitar and then play the 12 fret of the E string you have played an octave. If you play the first and sixth strings together you also have an E octave. The octave interval has a pure and restful tone.
The first part of the word Octave is oct which means 8. This interval is made of the distance covering 8 letter named keys. You may notice that 12 notes exist between an octave if all half steps are included. But since intervals take their names from the number of letter named keys that cover the distance of the interval, we do not count half steps. (Read on and you will understand why.)
Earlier we looked at the Major second. Let’s say from C to D. It is called a second because it contains two letter named tones. The minor second, that is a half step smaller, would be from C to D flat. This interval still contains two letter names so it is a second but it is not a whole step it is a half step smaller so it is called a minor second.
THE Minor And MAJOR THIRD
So from what we have learned so far what do you think would be the note that is a major third above C?
Since the term third means three we know that the interval must contain three letter named keys. If starting on C we will call that note 1, D is the second, and E is the third. So from C to E is a major third.
If you play this interval you you will notice it has a bright and lively tone. This interval is the most common when dealing with major chords and was the most common interval in classical music.
What do you think we would do to make this into a minor third? The answer is to lower e to E flat. This third from C to E flat is still three letter names but it is not the same as from C to E.
Playing the minor third gives a sad dark tone and is the main interval when dealing with minor chords.
Avoiding Confusion Between Minor And Major Thirds
One way to help avoid the confusion between major and minor intervals is to memorize the number of keys in the interval. The width of a major third is 5 frets, C, C sharp, D, D sharp, and E. This is four half-steps. To make the interval into a minor third make it a half step smaller. This means that minor thirds are 4 frets wide or three half steps.
THE PERFECT FIFTH
So far all the intervals we have looked at are either major or minor with the exception of the octave. There is another group of intervals that are not major or minor. These intervals are fourths and fifths. Lets look at the perfect fifth.
Hopefully it is becoming obvious the interval must contain the number of letter named keys indicated by its name so a perfect fifth must contain 5 letter named keys. If I start on C the top tone of the interval would be G.
Count the letter named notes and you will find there are 5 of them. You could also count the number of notes in the interval and you would find that there are 8 notes inclusive with 7 half steps.
Playing the perfect fifth gives you a pure and restful tone but quite different than the octave. Much of Gregorian music was composed in pure fifths as they thought it was the purest of intervals. Perhaps they were right as it does sound quite relaxing.
AUGMENTED AND DIMINISHED INTERVALS
Fourths and fifths have three states Perfect, Diminished, and Augmented. Perfect means the natural state. In the example used above from C to G the interval contains 5 letter named notes, 8 notes in all and 7 half steps.
If we augment this interval we increase its size by one half step from C to G sharp. So the interval would still be comprised of 5 letter names but it would be one half step larger.
The tone of this interval is full of a lot of tension and unrest. It’s use is normally in jazz or fusion.
DIMINISHED INTERVALS
If we take the same perfect fifth as above C and G and lower the top tone by one half step to G flat we have a diminished interval. Notice that the interval still contains 5 letter named keys so it is still a fifth.
This interval is also used a lot in jazz and fusion.
PERFECT FOURTHS
Lets look at the interval of a perfect fourth. If we play C and F natural we have a perfect fourth. It contains four letter named notes C, D, E, and F. This interval covers a total of 6 notes and 5 half steps. This interval can be augmented or diminished just as the perfect fifth was and produces some rather strange results.
Notice what happens if we diminish the perfect fourth C and F natural; this would be C and F flat. It must be called F flat in order to obey the rules of intervals. It must contain 4 letter names. F flat is the same thing as E natural so this interval would sound like a major third but it is spelled like a diminished fourth.
These kinds of things are what cause some confusion in music but the rules make some things like this occur. Playing this interval also gives you a pure restful sound but in a different way than fifths.
THE MAJOR And Minor SIXTH
The interval of a major sixth is played from C to A natural. This interval contains 6 letter named notes and covers 10 frets. It is 9 half steps wide. It can also be made into a minor interval by lowering the top tone by one half step called a minor sixth.
These intervals are full of tension but in a different way than previously discussed. These intervals want to resolve themselves.
THE MAJOR And Minor SEVENTH
The interval from C to B natural is a major seventh. notice that it contains 7 letter named tones, 12 frets and 11 half steps. this interval can also be made minor by lowering the top tone to B flat called a minor seventh.
Playing this interval gives you a restful tone of sorts. This interval is usually part of a major seventh chord normally used in Jazz.
Final note on intervals
One final note on intervals: An interval can be changed by moving the top or bottom note. For example, I can make the major third C E natural into a minor third by lowering the E to E flat or raising the C to C sharp it makes no difference as long as the rules are obeyed.
Learning To Recognize Intervals
You can learn to recognize intervals by finding a simple musical tune that starts with the interval you want to learn to identify. If you can recognize the tune you can learn to recognize the interval.
For example, if you want to recognize the interval of a major third you could use the tune “Michael Rowed the Boat a Shore” we could use the tones C and E to start playing this song. This is a major third.
No matter what letter names you use if the interval is a major third you will hear in your mind the first two notes of “Michael Rowed the Boat a Shore.”
Conclusion
So now that you know what all of these intervals sound like you will have a deeper understanding of music. The more you know the tones of intervals the easier it will be to pick up things by ear. As said before this make take a bit of practice but keep at it and you will develop an excellent ear for music!
At first you may not see any connection between memorizing the tones of basic intervals and composing your own solos, but as you progress you will understand how all of this fits together. When listening to intervals take a mintal note of the emotion that it gives off.
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