Unlock the Power of Songs You Love to Supercharge Your Musical Ear
Your brain is a connection-making machine. When you listen to music, it naturally links new ideas with things you already know. This incredible superpower can be a game-changer for ear training and playing by ear. You can intentionally use songs you love to build your musical ear and sharpen your listening skills.
In this article, I’ll walk you through a simple, practical method to harness this ability. Whether you’re a beginner looking to improve your ear or a more experienced musician seeking to fine-tune your skills, these tips will make your ear training journey enjoyable and productive.
Why Familiar Songs Are Key
Think about the songs that have been on repeat in your playlist for years. These melodies, harmonies, and rhythms are already hardwired into your memory. When you use these familiar tracks for ear training, you tap into an emotional and cognitive connection, making it easier to identify intervals, chords, and patterns.
For example:
- Recognize intervals: Use the first two notes of your favorite melody as reference points for training.
- Hear chord progressions: Focus on how the harmony in a familiar chorus moves and practice identifying the chords.
Steps to Improve Your Ear Training
Choose Songs You Love
Select tunes you know inside and out. The emotional connection helps you stay engaged, and familiarity makes it easier to focus on specific elements like melody and harmony.
Listen with a Focus
Each time you listen with a focus, you aim your attention like a laser beam on one aspect of the music. For starters, it will likely be the principal melody. This is generally what we do naturally. Now go deeper. Focus on the bass line. Can you track exclusively that one part for the whole song? How about a chorus? Try just a few seconds. Then stop the recording and that one bit back in your mind? Is it still fuzzy? Listen again and repeat.
Imagine Back
Imagining sound, also called audiation, is when you practice hearing music in your mind. When you do this with a song you love, you are strengthening your connection to music's plasticity:
- Slow the music down (without lowering the pitch!).
- Play it on a different instrument!
- Create a new arrangement in your mind.
- Imagine an electric bass part on a cello.
- How about the vocals played by French horn.
It's all within your grasp, and it helps you peel away layers of timbre (sound-color) that can make it difficult to uncover pitch relationships. This audiation practice strengthens your musical memory and helps you play music by ear.
Sing the Music in Solfège
When you sing music you know in solfège, you are translating the music into a musical secret language. Doing this reveals all kinds of relationships that you might not have noticed. Over time, it encodes your brain to recognize each scale degree effortlessly. This can be a challenge when you are starting out if you don't have a teacher, and is the starting place for the course Holistic Ear Training for Busy People: Foundations.
Apply Your Learning to An Instrument
Before very long, you will find yourself able to hear your music clearly enough in your mind to play it on an instrument without sheet music or tutorial.
The Power of Listening with Purpose
Ear training doesn’t have to feel like homework. By using music you already love, you make learning enjoyable and relatable. Over time, you’ll notice a massive improvement in your ability to play by ear, recognize musical elements, and even compose melodies of your own.
Take Action Today
There is probably a song going through your head right now. Start there! The beauty of ear training is that it’s a skill you can build anywhere—while driving, walking, or relaxing at home. Ready to take your musical ear to the next level? Let’s get listening!
If you’re looking for step-by-step guidance, check out my videos or the Holistic Ear Training for Busy People Foundations course to take your practice to the next level.
Unlock the Power of Songs You Love to Supercharge Your Musical Ear
Your brain is a connection-making machine. When you listen to music, it naturally links new ideas with things you already know. This incredible superpower can be a game-changer for ear training and playing by ear. You can intentionally use songs you love to build your musical ear and sharpen your listening skills.
In this article, I’ll walk you through a simple, practical method to harness this ability. Whether you’re a beginner looking to improve your ear or a more experienced musician seeking to fine-tune your skills, these tips will make your ear training journey enjoyable and productive.
Why Familiar Songs Are Key
Think about the songs that have been on repeat in your playlist for years. These melodies, harmonies, and rhythms are already hardwired into your memory. When you use these familiar tracks for ear training, you tap into an emotional and cognitive connection, making it easier to identify intervals, chords, and patterns.
For example:
- Recognize intervals: Use the first two notes of your favorite melody as reference points for training.
- Hear chord progressions: Focus on how the harmony in a familiar chorus moves and practice identifying the chords.
Steps to Improve Your Ear Training
Choose Songs You Love
Select tunes you know inside and out. The emotional connection helps you stay engaged, and familiarity makes it easier to focus on specific elements like melody and harmony.Listen with a Focus
Each time you listen with a focus, you aim your attention like a laser beam on one aspect of the music. For starters, it will likely be the principal melody. This is generally what we do naturally. Now go deeper. Focus on the bass line. Can you track exclusively that one part for the whole song? How about a chorus? Try just a few seconds. Then stop the recording and that one bit back in your mind? Is it still fuzzy? Listen again and repeat.Imagine Back
Imagining sound, also called audiation, is when you practice hearing music in your mind. When you do this with a song you love, you are strengthening your connection to music's plasticity:- Slow the music down (without lowering the pitch!).
- Play it on a different instrument!
- Create a new arrangement in your mind.
- Imagine an electric bass part on a cello.
- How about the vocals played by French horn.
It's all within your grasp, and it helps you peel away layers of timbre (sound-color) that can make it difficult to uncover pitch relationships. This audiation practice strengthens your musical memory and helps you play music by ear.
Sing the Music in Solfège
When you sing music you know in solfège, you are translating the music into a musical secret language. Doing this reveals all kinds of relationships that you might not have noticed. Over time, it encodes your brain to recognize each scale degree effortlessly. This can be a challenge when you are starting out if you don't have a teacher, and is the starting place for the course Holistic Ear Training for Busy People: Foundations.Apply Your Learning to An Instrument
Before very long, you will find yourself able to hear your music clearly enough in your mind to play it on an instrument without sheet music or tutorial.
The Power of Listening with Purpose
Ear training doesn’t have to feel like homework. By using music you already love, you make learning enjoyable and relatable. Over time, you’ll notice a massive improvement in your ability to play by ear, recognize musical elements, and even compose melodies of your own.
Take Action Today
There is probably a song going through your head right now. Start there! The beauty of ear training is that it’s a skill you can build anywhere—while driving, walking, or relaxing at home. Ready to take your musical ear to the next level? Let’s get listening!
If you’re looking for step-by-step guidance, check out my videos or the Holistic Ear Training for Busy People Foundations course to take your practice to the next level.
