What are some useful ear training exercises for moving beyond two-note interval training?

Question

I've practiced enough that I can recognize two-note intervals in isolation (sequentially), but this doesn't seem to help that much for understanding actual songs. What exercises would help to go beyond this?

Answer 1

Add a third note to determine chords. You should be able to pick out the root of a chord, and from that learn to distinguish if the chord is inverted. For example, in a C major chord, you'll have C, E & G. In "the root position", C is the lowest pitch in this chord. In the "first inversion" then E is the lowest pitch (usually C gets moved up an octave).

In a lot of modern western music, mostly guitar, the melody and harmony consist of chords, rather than picking out individual notes.

Answer 2

Three ear-training exercises that will be beneficial whether you intend to study pop or classical music:

1. Key: Find the key of a piece. This is the note often referred to as "1", "do", or sometimes "the home note".
2. Solfege: Next, try to determine what other pitches (the pitches of the melody, for example, or the bass line) are, relative to do. Use solfege syllables (e.g. "fa", "sol", "te") to describe them, or numbers (though numbers can't specify raised and lowered pitches).
3. Harmony: Finally, try to recognize harmonies--see if you can find the "root" of each chord and find its relation to do. You'll say things like "measure 7 is a IV chord", and so on.

Trying to achieve each of these goals will definitely help you better understand "actual songs"!