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The Inner Ear
By Ernesto | November 30, 2007
Something that has always eluded me is the ability to compose straight to paper, away from the instrument. I’ve always envied people who can do this and wondered how I can learn to do it myself.
Of course, I know the simple answer: ear-training, transcribing, etc… But in my studies, this was never really discussed. I did all my ear training classes and did pretty well, but I still found writing without any “handicap” to be pretty difficult.
So now I’m focusing on improving that skill, simply because it will help me become more productive in my musical endeavors.
I think it all comes down to focus and concentration. Sure, I can hear a simple melody in my head and write it down. But sometimes it’s a little blurry. I’ll hear a note, but the pitch isn’t quite defined, so I have to concentrate harder and really HEAR it in my head. And that’s just one melody. How about two or three going on at the same time? A whole orchestra? Phew…
I assume, as with anything, that it gets easier along the way. But for me, it takes a lot of mental energy. I think it is easier for some people to achieve this level of focus and concentration than others.
I also find this to be relevant to improvisation. The only times when I feel I’m really playing something meaningful is when I’m fully concentrated on what I hear in my head and let my hands react accordingly. But again, it’s very difficult to get into that zone. It’s something you have to practice until it becomes second nature. I believe this is what truly seperates the masters from the rest of us mere mortals.
So I searched around for material that would help me on my quest, and found this book: Advanced Ear Training and Sight Singing by George A. Wedge. There are a few things that seperate this from other ear-training books I’ve seen. First, he relates it to harmony. It first starts with melodies and progressions based on the I and V chords. Then he adds the IV chord. Then the II, the VI, and so on. He also makes you compose melodies based on those harmonies.
But what really sets it apart for me, is the author’s insistence on “thinking” the melody before you sing it. He tells you in every exercise to think first, then test on the piano. If it’s not right then think again. You repeat this until you can hear the melody in your head. THEN you move on to actually singing it.
He also gives other helpful suggestion further along, and in general I find the melodies in the book to be very good and musical.
The best thing about this book is that you can download completely FREE at archive.org! Be careful though. Whoever scanned it didn’t put the pages in the right order.
So…back to those fun solfege exercises…
Topics: Composition, Ear Training |
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