At this time of year it’s easy to get distracted by all kinds of holiday fun. Decorating the tree, wrapping presents, writing Christmas cards… Or celebrating Hanukkah or just some time off work, as the case may be! But all these fun activities needn’t put a stop to your ear training: Use our new Christmas-themed Unravelling Music track to help you improve your ears and get in the festive spirit.

The new Unravelling Music ear training track March of the Candy Cane Soldiers teaches you about key modulation, chord progressions, rhythmic figures, musical codas and the circle of fifths – no music theory required! Download the tracks below and get in that festive ear training mood:

Click to download “March of the Candy Cane Soldiers” Unravelling Music pack (or right-click and “Save as…”)

Contents

• 14-page liner notes PDF with track-by-track info
• 1 full-length MP3 file, “March of the Candy Cane Soldiers”
• 6 supporting MP3 files teaching you to hear more in the song

Did you enjoy our Christmas special? Have you spotted extra musical details in the track you want to share? Leave your comment below!

Find out the interesting things which have been happening in the world of aural skills development and ear training. Have we missed any?

Jump to:

• Making Time for Improvisation
• The most relaxing song ever created?
• Silent Practice: The Art of Inner Listening
• Free Jazz Visualisation eBook
• Why Sound?

Making Time for Improvisation

In the post “Making Time for Improvisation” Joy Morin recently advised teachers to “encourage the student to play whatever sounds good to them” and provided some examples of simple exercises which can be used to draw out the student’s creativity at the keyboard.

The most relaxing song ever created?

The band Marconi Union have worked together with Click to read the rest…

Music matters.

If you’re visiting this site, you probably don’t need to be convinced of that! But how often do we give music the attention it deserves?

Today, find a moment and choose a song.

Close your eyes.

And just… listen.




Whether you’re a musician or music-fan, music is undoubtedly around you for a large part of every day.

How much of it do you really hear?

When you play that piano sonata for the 57th time this week, do you hear the music – or do you just hear the mistakes made and the room for improvement? Deliberate practice is wonderful for improving your skills – but rarely musical.

When you hear your favourite song on the radio or on your iPod, do you really listen to it – or do you just hear the top layer of sound? The melody, the lyrics, the driving beat… And your mind wanders to whatever it is inside you that made this song a favourite. The song is barely heard at all because you know it so well.

Or do you?

Active listening is a core part of musicianship training and aural skills development, but even more importantly it increases your potential to enjoy music. Partly this comes from developing your ability to hear detail in songs, but equally importantly it develops the habit and the mindset of truly listening to music instead of just hearing it.

So, choose a track.

Choose a song you know, or a song you don’t. That song that’s been on your “to listen” playlist for weeks now. The song that just came on the radio and caught your ear.

Take a few minutes.

It won’t take long, but you’ll experience more in these few minutes than the countless minutes of unfocused attention before them.

Put on headphones or turn up your speakers.

They each have their advantages. The key thing is have privacy from interruption and clarity of sound.

Turn up the volume.

Find a level that lets the sound encompass your senses.

But don’t damage your hearing!

And let the thoughts of the day disappear for a moment.

Let the song be all that you pay attention to.



Allow your attention to wander through the sound.

Try to listen in to different instruments, different timbres, different textures in the sound.

Listen out for a melody or harmony line and follow it until it disappears again.

Feel the rhythm and how it intertwines with the other elements of the song.



Breathe slowly.



Hear more.



And savour the sound.