The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

Definition
Ear training is a difficult skill to learn. Developing your listening skills takes time
and guidance, and for most people is best accomplished in a classroom setting,
or with an experienced teacher.
If you’re serious about training your ears, a good place to start is with the CD
that accompanies this book. 
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory, Second
Edition, Ear Training Course
presents a series of audio examples and exercises
that will help you learn to recognize scales, intervals, chords, and rhythms. And
you can check your progress against the answers provided in Appendix D.
If you want to continue in this self-paced fashion, pick up a copy of Ron Gorow’s
Hearing and Writing Music: Professional Training for Today’s Musician
(Septem-
ber Publishing, 2000). Even better, head down to your local community college
or university and sign up for an ear-training class. The personal feedback and
guidance you’ll receive from the instructor will be worth the effort.
Note

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Chapter 12:
Transcribing What You Hear
157
Listening—Actively
Before we get into ear training proper, you need to learn how to actively listen
to music. This isn’t listening for enjoyment; it’s listening to remember, and to
analyze.
Start by isolating yourself from the hurly-burly of your day-to-day life. Turn off
the TV, close the windows, and block out all extraneous noises—the air condi-
tioner, the refrigerator, the hum of the air pump in your fish tank. Create an
environment in which you can focus on the music, without any distractions.
Prepare the music. This means setting up your audio system, with a good pair
of speakers, or even a quality set of headphones. Make sure the music source
can be easily accessed; you’ll be doing a lot of rewinding and fast forwarding.
Now get yourself comfortable. Find a comfy chair, or a couch, or even a place
on the floor, surrounded by pillows. Get comfortable, but don’t get relaxed;
instead, remain alert and ready for input. And don’t squirm. When you’re fully
prepared, it’s time to listen. Select a song, one of your favorites; then press the
play button … and listen.
Begin by listening to the overall form of the song. Determine where one phrase
ends and another begins. Figure out where the verses are, and the chorus, and
even the bridge, if there is one. Get a feel for how the song is constructed, for
its internal logic, for the way it flows from one point to another.
Now listen to the song again, but this time focus carefully on the melody line.
Listen hard, and listen critically. Note where the melody goes up, and where it
goes down. Note where the melody changes; where the verse ends and the cho-
rus begins; and where any variations occur. Listen to it as many times as you
need, until you’re sure you can sing it back, verbatim.
Return to the start of the song, and this time 
don’t 
listen to the melody. Instead,
listen to the bass line. Listen to the tones played, and to the rhythms. Note how
the bass notes relate to the melody, and to the other parts. Listen to the bass