24
votes
Accepted
How can I slow down a YouTube video I'm trying to analyze or transcribe?
There are at least two options:
Option 1: You can slow down the video by changing the Playback Speed setting
Below are browser instructions (mobile instructions are here)
Click on the Settings menu ...
- 82.4k
23
votes
If someone can sing a melody, why can they not also recognize the intervals within that melody?
I think the answer boils down to what you mean by "knowing" the intervals.
To do this [sing a tune back] you surely need to be able to know the intervals in the tune you have just heard and then ...
- 84k
21
votes
How can I slow down a YouTube video I'm trying to analyze or transcribe?
I'd probably recommend starting with the built-in YouTube controls. But for the sake of completeness here's another workflow that makes use of 3rd party software called a "phrase trainer" or ...
- 854
17
votes
Accepted
Transcribing as music and relative pitch practice?
Transcribing music is EXCELLENT ear training practice. I like to tell students that transcribing one song to completion is like an entire semester of ear training.
Don’t just listen for intervals and ...
- 25.5k
15
votes
What is the best METHOD in acquiring perfect pitch?
Factual answer - if you don't already have perfect (absolute) pitch, there's a darned good chance you never will.
Absolute pitch is the ability to hear any sound and recognise its pitch - either in ...
- 190k
14
votes
Why can't I identify major and minor chords?
This may be helpful. Start by learning to hear the difference between major and minor thirds. Find four songs, one that begins with a rising major third, one with a rising minor third, one with a ...
- 9,236
14
votes
Accepted
Transcribing by ear, is it done with the root as reference, or the previous note?
when you're figuring out a melody by ear, are you listening to the
sequence of notes and figuring out where each note sits relative to
the root of the key? Or are you figuring out what the next note ...
14
votes
Accepted
To what extent do performers "hear" sheet music?
Training to be a singer includes what is called "ear training" which is the act of hearing the pitch in your "ear" (mind, really) before you phonate (sing) it. This ability keeps ...
13
votes
Learning to identify Chords Progressions by ear
First of all you should learn to identify what the bass is playing. This is not the pure chord progression but you can guess what it could be. If you sing the triad built on the root and it fits to ...
- 25.7k
12
votes
Eartraining: What to learn after mastering interval recognition?
(This could be closed as opinion-based, but I also think there's only one answer...)
Learn scale-degree functions. Each scale degree has its own particular function, and therefore its own particular ...
- 84k
12
votes
How to develop a musical ear when even singing poses great difficulty?
Your absolute best bet is to find a teacher -- both to guide the process and to give you external feedback.
However, as an interim step, you could try this: get an electronic tuner (or app) of the ...
- 82.4k
11
votes
Accepted
Should I know the chord name and scale degree when I play by ear?
Actually, the benefits would far surpass that. They would include being able to increase your playing-by-ear, transposition, and even improv skills.
I suppose theoretically, you could still play ...
- 1,340
11
votes
Accepted
How do I aurally differentiate the tritone, min 6th and major 7th intervals?
I recommend relating them to two stable intervals that you certainly already know: the perfect fifth and the perfect octave.
When you hear a given interval, sing in your mind a perfect fifth from the ...
- 84k
11
votes
What is the method to figure out the key of a song?
Do you find it faster to try to figure out chords and then guess and surmise the key? ... or perhaps a similar method but with a basic scale or figuring out the melody by ear.
I would personally go ...
- 84k
11
votes
What is the best METHOD in acquiring perfect pitch?
Since perfect pitch is something acquired when the brain is still very plastic the first thing you need to do is get a time machine to take you back to when you were a baby. Next find a way to ...
- 5,620
10
votes
Will transcribing music improve my ability to play a song by ear?
It is (in general) a very good idea to transcribe music, it will definitely help. Keep it up!
As for memorising songs that you figure out by ear, functional harmony analysis can help memorising: ...
- 316
10
votes
What is the best METHOD in acquiring perfect pitch?
As far as I know from people who have do and don't (like me) have perfect pitch, you cannot acquire it. You are born with it or not. However, it does deteriorate with age.
- 25.1k
10
votes
how to be a connoisseur of piano performances
First, keep in mind that the adjudicators have likely heard the pieces you're performing many, many times before your exam. They also have likely gone to music school, where they've learned through a ...
- 82.4k
9
votes
Accepted
Sometimes I naturally sing songs in the right key. Do I have perfect (absolute) pitch?
The Levitin Effect
The ability to intuitively sing a song in the key your originally heard it is known as the Levitin Effect.1 It is a cognitive ability separate from absolute (perfect) pitch insofar ...
- 82.4k
9
votes
Pitch and Hearing beginner question
We say that C and Ḉ are "the same note" because their frequencies (rates of vibration) are in a 1:2 ratio. In other words, the sound waves of Ḉ vibrate twice as fast as those of C, and the ...
- 84k
9
votes
How to do just intonation interval ear training?
I second both Tim and El Ectric: There's no harm in using just intervals for this purpose, but I also doubt that it's your main difficulty. There are many questions about ear training on the site with ...
- 15.9k
8
votes
Singing what you're playing vs playing what you're singing
I know exactly what you're referring to and recall having this same problem myself. I discussed it with David Berkman in a lesson and here's the advice he gave me. This only works for pianists, but I'...
- 11.2k
8
votes
Accepted
(How much) should I focus on sight reading if my end goal is being able to play by ear on piano?
If you want to be able to pick up on a song by ear, sight reading won't be a lot of help. (Downvoters - please say why you did!).
Since your aim is to play by ear, and hit whatever notes and chords ...
- 190k
8
votes
What is the best METHOD in acquiring perfect pitch?
There is a lot of fuzz over this subject, but here is my 2 cents:
Born with or learned?
What is called perfect (or absolute) pitch refers to the ability of recalling an auditory (mechanical) frequency ...
- 1,254
8
votes
How to develop a musical ear when even singing poses great difficulty?
I'm guessing you do not play any instrument. If you do, I'm amazed.
Get yourself something - a keyboard is recommended - a kid's one will do. The physical act of seeing where, pressing, listening and ...
- 190k
7
votes
Able to recall music in its correct key, but don't have perfect pitch -- what is it called?
An alternative term, absolute pitch, is also used:
Absolute pitch (AP)
is the ability to produce or recognize specific pitches without
reference to an external standard. People boasting AP have
...
- 171
7
votes
What will help transcribe what I hear in my mind to actual notes
Practice. When you hear anything (that you like) internally, try to write it down. At first you may only have melodic contours. With a bit of practice, you will be able to put a rhythm to these. Later ...
- 25.1k
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