Ear Training XII - 7th Chords in Closed, Drop 2, Drop 3, and Drop 2/4 Voicings

This is the last ear training exercise in a series of exercises on 7th chords. New this month is the presence of Drop 2/4 voicings. I am actually not sure if this exact terminology is used by other guitarists. By Drop 2/4 I mean a voicing which results from dropping the second and fourth note from the top of a closed voicing down one octave. For example, C-E-G-B becomes C-G-E-B. These voicings are quite spread out and possess the chordal seventh as their highest note. I especially like these voicings for minor 7th and major 7th chords as they expose the perfect 5ths that compose those chords.

You can see me play this exercise here and download the code for it here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.

Ear Training XI - 7th Chords in Closed, Drop 2, and Drop 3 Voicings

Continuing a series of ear training exercises on 7th chords, this exercise randomly plays root position 7th chords in closed, Drop 2, and Drop 3 voicings. Drop 2 voicings are more tightly packed than Drop 3 voicings and tend to require more fingers. When I am in doubt as to the voicing of a particular chord I will often listen for the highest note. In a Drop 3 chord this will always be the chordal fifth and in a Drop 2 voicing it will be the chordal third.

You can see me play this exercise here and download the code for it here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.

Ear Training X - 7th Chords in Closed and Drop 3 Voicings

This month’s ear training exercise complicates the previous 7th chord exercise by presenting them in closed and Drop 3 voicings. ‘Drop’ terminology is frequently used by guitarists and simply describes the process of ‘dropping’ one note from a closed voicing one octave. In this case Drop 3 means “take the third note from the top of a seventh chord in a closed voicing and drop it one octave”. For example, C-E-G-B would become G-C-E-B. Guitarists make use of these voicings because they tend to spread the intervals of chords out in such a way that makes them easier to play.

You can see me play this exercise here and download the code for it here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.

Ear Training IX - 7th Chords in Root Position

This month’s ear training exercise turns away from melodic sequences and back to harmony. The exercise randomly plays 7th chord—major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th, half-diminished 7th, and diminished 7th—in root position and in a closed voicing. Compared to previous triad exercises, this exercise is complicated by a greater number of chordal qualities. The principal difficulty I have with this exercise, however, is identifying the root of fully diminished 7th chords. Here, even more than with diminished triads, I find the symmetrical structure of the chord makes identifying its root problematic. It is also worth noting that certain chords in certain registers of the guitar can be very uncomfortable if not impossible to execute. In these case I simply arpeggiate some portion of the chord.

You can see me play this exercise here and download the code for it here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.

Ear Training VIII - Echoing Four Randomly Generated Notes

This month’s ear training exercise increasing the chain of randomly played notes to four. I found this to be a considerable increase in difficult. Everything I mentioned last month about having to focus more on remembering sounds is amplified in this exercise. Because the challenge of this exercise lies in memory and not an instantaneous response, I find that, more than anything, being able to maintain my focus is the most reliable predictor of success. For that reason I have found it useful to play with the duration of the exercise; the longer it is, the more difficult it will be to maintain the needed focus.

You can see me play this exercise here and download the code for it here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.

Ear Training VII - Echoing Three Randomly Generated Notes

In this month’s ear training exercise I have added one more note to the chain to make a total of three notes that will be played in a row. I do not find this change to be a great deal more difficult than the previous exercise but it does feel as though it is exercising my ear in a slightly different way. That is, it takes a bit of extra focus to remember a chain of three notes instead of two. Sometimes I will be so focused on determine the last note in the chain that I will forget the sound of the first one.

You can see me play this exercise here and download the code for it here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.

Ear Training VI - Echoing Two Randomly Generated Notes

This month’s ear training exercise is a simple incremental increase over last month’s. Rather than one note being played at a time, in this exercise two notes will be played in a row. The task is then to repeat those two notes in the intervening silence. With this exercise I can really tell when I am losing my focus. It is not so much that I miss particular two note combinations but that I will forget to listen for the interval between the last note I played and the first note the computer plays in the next sequence.

You can see me play this exercise here and download the code for it here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.

Ear Training V - Echoing One Randomly Generated Note

Over the last four months my ear training exercises have focused on triads. This month begins a series of exercises devoted to recognizing single notes. The task of this particular exercise is simply to echo one randomly generated note. Once comfortable with this exercise, a good challenge is to increase the tempo. This helps keep me on my toes and hone my focus.

Unlike previous exercises, there is really only one way to execute this one: by echoing each note. You can see me do both here and download the code for this exercise here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.

Ear Training IV - Major, Minor, and Diminished Triads; All Inversions; Closed and Open Voicings

Last month I introduced the diminished triad into my ear training and found I needed to revert to practicing with only root position chords. This latest exercise maintains the three triad qualities but plays them in all positions and inversions and in either closed or open voicings. This is certainly the most difficult exercise I have tried so far. I still find determining the position of diminished triads tricky, perhaps because of the chords relatively symmetrical structure, but I do feel that I have made meaningful progress.

Once again, you can work with this exercise by either improvising along with the randomly generated chords or echoing them. You can see me do both here and download the code for the exercise here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’

Ear Training III - Major, Minor, and Diminished Triads in Root Position

So far my ear training exercises have focused exclusively on major and minor triads. This month I have decided to work on recognizing diminished triads as well. Initially, I jumped right in with triads played in all positions and inversions. I found it too difficult, however, to recognize the position of the diminished triads played this way. So this month’s exercise is back to triads in root position but now including diminished triads.

As always there are two ways to approach this exercise, by improvising along with the chords or echoing them. You can see me do both here and find the code for this exercise here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.

Ear Training II - Major and Minor Triads; All Inversions; Closed and Open Voicings

Last months ear training exercise was to identify major and minor triads in root position only. This meant that the root of each chord was relatively easy to track as it was always the lowest note. This month’s exercise involves major and minor triads in root position, first, and second inversion. This means that the root will not necessarily be the lowest sounding note. Additionally, the triads will be played in either a closed (within an octave) or open (greater than an octave) voicing.

I approach this exercise in three steps:

1. Identify the root of the chord knowing that it may not be the lowest sounding note

2. Identify the lowest sounding note to identify the position/inversion of the chord

3. Identify the character of the chord or its highest note to access its voicing

As usual, this exercise can be approached in two ways: improvising along with the chords or echoing them. You can find the code, now contained in a Supercollider file (.scd), here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’.