We are excited to announce our new ear training app for iPhone and iPod Touch:

Step and a Half will be released on the App Store this Thursday, 8th July, and we wanted to give EasyEarTraining.com readers a sneak peak of the new app in advance!

What’s it for?

One of the most common requests we’ve heard from RelativePitch users has been to provide training of more than one interval in a row. It’s the natural progression – once you can recognise each interval correctly, you want to start using that to figure out tunes, chord progressions, new improvisations, and so on. But it can be a bit of a stretch from identifying an interval in isolation to identifying it in among other notes of a melody, especially if it’s a long melody or you’re trying to work it out live.
Click to read the rest…

You might like to check out the guest post I just wrote over at MusicLessons4YouOnline.com, entitled “Want to play it? Hear it first!”

It’s about how you need to hear music in your head to be able to really bring life to your playing, and create new compositions or improvisations. I outline the steps to doing this, and how you can use ear training to help you hear more complex music in your head and connect it with your instrument. Here’s an excerpt:

“It may sound like a contradiction, but if you want to create music when you play you must be able to hear the music first – in your head. This goes doubly if you want to improvise, compose or play by ear!

Ever noticed how great jazz improvisers often sing along with their own solo? Or how rock guitarists’ mouths move as if they’re singing out each note they play? These players know exactly what sounds their instruments will make before they move their fingers to make it happen. It’s no coincidence that this is a habit shared by many of the greats!”
Read more…

Make sure you check out all the other great posts on MusicLessons4YouOnline.com too, there’s an incredible wealth of information, tutorials, and videos to help you learn music and instruments. Here’s a few starting points:

• How to Play Piano By Ear
• Guitar Practice Tip for Success (Most of these are helpful hints for any instrument, or indeed ear training!)
• 7 Reasons to Learn Music Theory

There’s also an associated site at MusicLessonsOnDVD.com which sells some great instrumental lesson DVDs.

So, take a look at the guest post and let me know what you think – in the comments here or there!