If you haven’t read Part One of this article, here’s a quick summation: in ear training, as in most musical pursuits, some of the most productive moments don’t come from dedicated practice time or specific exercises. In fact, they come from those fleeting moments of inspiration that strike you powerfully when hearing a surprisingly great song, seeing a favorite band live, and myriad other unexpected and seemingly random musical occurrences.

It follows, then, that a great deal can be accomplished by creating personal methods for capitalizing on these moments, rather than letting them pass by (and eventually fade).

I also mentioned that the operative word in this approach is “personal” – hence why this advice should be taken as informal suggestions for developing methods that work with your creative process.

The tricks we’ll look at today, along with those from Part One, are ways I’ve found helpful in reframing ear training as a constant daily process. In order to make any of them fit snugly with the rest of your daily responsibilities and pursuits, it will probably have to be tweaked!

So let’s continue, with some ideas that might inspire you to approach ear training, composition, and learning music theory in less orthodox and more personal ways…

Suggestion #3: Theory’s Not Math – It’s Grammar!

Musicians have an unfortunate tendency to compare theory with mathematical rules and equations. It’s easy to see why: in a theory class it’s likely that you’ll be graded on your ability to follow the rules (e.g. of proper part-writing), stick to guidelines (e.g. for clear notation), and obey other (arguably arcane) specificities.

The trouble is that unlike, say, the quadratic formula, we can look around after class… and find a nearly unlimited body of music that intentionally breaks any of these rules!

It’s more accurate, therefore, to compare the rules of theory (which, of course, define what we are attempting to train our ears for) to a proper dialect – like “Standard Written English”.

In English, there are all sorts of arguments for and against obeying rules (like avoiding split infinitives, and so on). Somehow I can’t help but think of corresponding musical issues (like the dreaded ‘parallel fifths’) when I remember my old English classes.

Treat musical styles as dialects

Click to read the rest…

Learning about chords can be overwhelming.

Want to learn to play guitar? Trying to learn how to write pop songs? Need to analyse a 14th Century composition for music theory class? Understanding the world of chords is essential for all of these, but there’s so much to learn.

I’m going to share a particular way to look at chords which is simple – but actually provides the bulk of the understanding you’ll need to build these musical skills!

From the 24 major and minor chords, to all the variants (augmented, extended, and power chords, just to name a few types!), to knowing which can be used when according to complex rules of harmony… There is an awful lot to know about chords! But most of the music we listen to sounds so simple and so natural – surely things can’t be all that complicated?

It turns there are just three chords which are most important to any piece of music. If you want to really improve your music appreciation, learn about these 3 chords.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

This lesson will discuss the I, IV and V chords and their importance in music.

Don’t be discouraged by the use of these strange symbols I, IV and V! If you’re not familiar with roman numerals, that’s just a way of writing “the one, four and five chords”. As you follow this article, just read I as “one”, IV as “four” and V as “five”.

We’ll use the famous song “Imagine” by John Lennon as our example of a I–V-IV (“one five four”) progression.

Whether you are just starting to explore music or have been playing an instrument for many years, you have surely heard or read about the I, IV and V chords. These chords are extensively talked about in music theory and for a very good reason; in short, they represent the fundamentals of classical and popular music.

These three chords are considered the Click to read the rest…

You know that feeling when you hear a mind-blowing song: that bittersweet mix of awe and… dejection?

The immediate listening experience can be immensely rewarding, but to hear a composition which takes advantage of music theory to a greater degree than we’re capable of can also be a truly humbling experience.

At times it can make the road ahead seem so long and arduous that we forget the musicians we’re listening to still put on great records themselves and feel much the same thing.

There are essentially two responses an aspiring musician can choose between when faced with this situation. Either we look up to them, or we assume they’d look down on us. The first is a path of infinite inspiration, but it seems to be the latter option that is most often our default reaction.

Most of us have doubts we could ever reach such great heights, which can considerably limit our growth as artists. The humbled musician begins to see the worlds of music theory, ear training, and instrumental skill as a giant web of untranslatable complexity. We start thinking about notes on a staff in terms of mathematical equations, and become intimidated by our own conceptions of what is, in reality, nowhere near as complicated as we’ve convinced ourselves.

The first type of response, a positive one, is much more difficult to cultivate. There are however methods that can help optimize this passive listening experience, and ideally turn that otherwise fleeting inspiration into a moment as educational as any formal theory class. Well, at least as valuable as the classes I’ve taken (which, to be fair, have not set the bar very high!)

What follows are a couple of tricks I use on a daily basis. Click to read the rest…