With over 150 articles here at EasyEarTraining.com it would be easy to miss out on some that might be useful for your aural skills training.

Today we’re going to take a look at the 9 Training Series we have here on the site, and what each of them can offer you as a musician or audio professional.

Pitch & Harmony

Pitch & Harmony Series at EasyEarTraining.com

Pitch & Harmony by Thomas Evdokimoff introduces some fundamental concepts in musical ear training, teaching you to recognise and sing intervals and chords. You’ll learn about the solfege system for ear training, and how major and minor scales can be used as the basis for all relative pitch skills.

Listen Close

Listen Close Series at EasyEarTraining.com

Brad T. Bush chooses stand-out examples of songs to examine how they’re put together and what can make a track amazing instead of run-of-the-mill. Along the way he’ll point out the techniques used by song-writers, musicians and producers which you need to know for your own music. If you’re keen to hear and understand more in the music you love, Listen Close is a great place to start.

Music & Life

Music & Life Series at EasyEarTraining.com

Sabrina Peña Young takes a broad look at all the wonderful ways music influences our lives at every age, and how specific ear training can benefit us, as musicians and simply as people. Of particular interest for parents, Music & Life teaches you how best to nurture a child’s inner musician.

Open Your Ears

Open Your Ears Series at EasyEarTraining.com

Looking for some new musical avenues to explore? Part of being a great musician is having wide experience of musical styles and techniques, and being open to new sounds. Open Your Ears provides some interesting and unusual pointers to new musical experiences.

Bass Tone

Bass Tone Series at EasyEarTraining.com

If you’re a bass player, or (inspired by Open Your Ears) simply want to expand your knowledge of that low-down instrument, check out Nick Long‘s series Bass Tone. The series covers the different types of bass, from the original double bass through to modern electric bass, and all the other essential topics for crafting (or appreciating) a unique bass tone, including amplifiers and effects. There’s also a free 6-part Bass Tone Podcast if you prefer to learn by listening.

Frequency Fundamentals

Frequency Fundamentals Series at EasyEarTraining.com

Professional audio engineer and studio-owner Fotios Koulakos takes you from zero knowledge to being a master of the audio spectrum with his series Frequency Fundamentals. If you’ve ever wondered what “kilohertz” are, how studio engineers know which knobs to tweak, or struggled to get your recordings to sound professional, get stuck into this series on all things frequency.

Hearing Effects

Hearing Effects Series at EasyEarTraining.com

Picking up where Frequency Fundamentals left off, Hearing Effects dives into the wild world of audio effects, covering all the essential types of sound-processor, including delay, compression and modulation effects. All you guitarists and audio pros should not miss this one!

Wired for Sound

Wired for Sound Series at EasyEarTraining.com

Sometimes ear training can be hard work, and if your sound system’s not up to scratch you’re only making life harder for yourself! Don’t make silly mistakes with your hi-fi setup, learn the right way with Nick Long‘s Wired for Sound.

Listen to Les

Listen to Les Series at EasyEarTraining.com

Of all the musicians who’ve furthered the art of recorded music, probably none has contributed as much as Les Paul. From his iconic guitar, the Gibson Les Paul, to his innovation in recording techniques, to the audio effects he pioneered, Les Paul’s gift to the world of music has been remarkable, and the Listen to Les series will help you understand why.


Well, did any of those whet your appetite? Hopefully you’ve found something new to dive into. Remember, a topic doesn’t have to be central to your musical world for it to help open your eyes (and ears) to new possibilities, so don’t be afraid to branch out – especially from the music side to the audio side, or vice-versa.

We’re always keen to hear from our readers, so if there are any topics not covered above, or you have a great idea for a new series please do get in touch by email or leave a comment below.

Bass Tone

In episode 3 of the Bass Tone podcast, you’ll learn about the various playing techniques bass players can use to adjust their tone, including:

• Finger-style and plectrum playing
• Slap bass (slaps and pops)
• Hammer-ons and pull-offs (slurs)
• Tapping
• Slides
http://www.EasyEarTraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/3_-_Playing_Techniques

The episode is based on Playing Techniques Part 1 and Part 2 but Nick throws in plenty of new examples and demo riffs along the way, so even if you’ve read the corresponding Bass Tone articles, it’s definitely still worth listening to this episode.

You can subscribe to the Bass Tone podcast in iTunes, or your favourite podcasting program using the feeds below:

Subscribe to Bass Tone (iTunes)Bass Tone Podcast (iTunes)
Subscribe to Bass Tone (RSS)Bass Tone Podcast (RSS feed for other clients)

You can also download this episode directly:

Download
Bass Tone Podcast – Part 3
(right-click and “Save as…”)

The podcast is an M4A (AAC) file, which should play back on most modern audio software and portable music players. If you have any problems downloading or playing the file please let us know.

If you have any thoughts on the episode, or suggestions for future Bass Tone podcast episodes – leave a comment below!

Series Information
This is part 8 of 16 in the Bass Tone series.
Bass Tone

This week we’ll start looking at some of the playing techniques used by bassists to achieve different sounds with their instrument.

Bass players who migrate from the double bass typically continue to play with their fingers as they always had, but former guitarists typically favour a plectrum. “Finger-style” bass is typically played by plucking the strings alternately with the flesh of the index and middle fingers (not the fingernails as with a classical guitar) in a walking motion.

Rock players who need to sustain long passages of even notes at a very high tempo, which can be tiring when played finger style, usually favor pick bass. The slight click of a plastic pick adds articulation to distorted bass lines and ensures the notes stay distinct.

Some players prefer the feel of playing with their fingers, but like the aggressive sound of the pick. You can achieve something like this by striking the strings with the tips of the fingers and bouncing the strings off the fret wire, creating a nasty, percussive sound. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden popularised this technique.

Electric Bass Finger Then Plectrum

In this sample the same 140 BPM rock riff is played:

  1. With normal finger style
  2. With Steve Harris-style aggressive finger technique,
  3. And with a hard plastic pick (plectrum).

Can you hear the differences?

Slapping and Popping

In the late 1960s, Click to read the rest…

Series Information
This is part 6 of 16 in the Bass Tone series.

 

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