Here are the lyrics to the first verse and chorus of this classic Guns N’ Roses song, written with solfège below. I love how do isn’t really landed on until the final note. It gives it a real feeling of resolution when finally arrived at. She’s got a smile that it seems to mes s…
When learning through Holistic Ear Training, you can rest assured that everything is built around these pillars: The music you listen to and have loved your whole life is the key to developing a great musical ear. This is probably the number one common element shared by Holistic Ear Training’s two main sources: Kodàly pedagogy and New…
It comes up over and over again: Many, many adults are terrified of singing. Perhaps they were shamed into mouthing the words when they were in school. Maybe they got mean looks when singing at a party or something like that. But singing is your birthright. Singing can be a true joy that I like…
Many of the most common chord progressions sound very similar, especially if you don’t habitually listen tonally. With practice, you’ll find yourself automatically focusing your listening attention at the things that make the subtle differences stand out. Here is one step toward how to hear the difference between two common chord progressions. Learning to hear…
Adults Can Learn to Identify Chord Progressions! Some of my adult students wonder if it is too late for them to develop a keen musical ear. They are concerned that they’ll never be able to hear chord progressions in real time, while playing. One in particular wants to be able to jam with his friends,…
You might think that the only way to practice ear training is by drilling intervals, otherwise known as “brute force isolated intervals”. While drilling intervals is good to a point, it has some serious setbacks including… There’s more to ear training than naming intervals and chords Ear training should not be brute force isolated intervals….
What Is Pre-Hearing? Pre-hearing simply means imagining what you are going to play before you play it. Many musicians rely on motor memory or physical habits to play their music. Music gets easier the more it originates in your imagination, so make pre-hearing part of your routine. Here’s a simple exercise: I know this seems very simple,…
In the previous article in this series on using moveable do solfege to play by ear, we finally found do on your instrument. In our little case study, we have landed in the key of D major, meaning that do is the note D. Now we’ll take the big step of singing through the whole…
In the previous article, we talked about the power of prehearing and the importance of finding do when you are playing a song by ear. Now, let’s continue this play-by-ear recipe with removing the rest of the lyrics from the song “Happy Birthday to You”. Sing The Song on A Neutral Syllable This part is…
Here are some tips to help you play by ear better using “moveable do” solfège. These are not quick fixes or easy answers. In fact they’re really not tips at. Together they form a recipe which you can learn all at once or in parts. It takes focus, time, consistency, reinforcement, and practice to improve….