Last Monday was my daughter Carme's 16th Birthday. So as I've I've been learning Cubase in order to make jazz and blues backing tracks for the AdvancedGuitarPlayer Website, I decided to have a go at recording one of my own tunes - I wrote this one the day Carme and my wife arrived home from the maternity hospital.
It's called Smile (Somewhere in mt Heart) - the vocals are a bit rough but it's not too bad for a first attempt!!!
Happy Birthday, Carme Harris!!!
I've just started on the first couple of levels of the Interval Recognition Exercise and it looks pretty good.
LevelOne is ascending Perfect Fourths, Perfect Fifths and Perfect Octaves and Level Two offers the same intervals both ascending and descending. (see screenshot)
What's cool is that you get a choice - you can either name the interval or name the notes - very cool!
I've been pretty lax about writing the review of Auralia Ear Training for the Ear Training Section on Advanced Guitar Player - the truth is I've been a bit busy and what's more, it occurs to me that however good it is most Ear Training Software suffers from the same problem.
Both Auralia and EarMaster Pro are so complex and offer so many different exercises that you really need some guidance - preferably from a teacher.
The great thing about Auralia is that it sets out course pathways - an excellent resource for teachers, which also gives structure to your Ear Training practice if you're working alone.
Having come a cropper starting on the Jazz Course pathway, I've decided to learn learn the program from the bottom up and start with the the Solfege - Fixed Do Course.
This pathway provides:- Interval recognition, Interval singing and Scales from the Intervals and Scales Section, Chord Recognition and Chord Singing from the Chords Section and Pitch Dictation and Sight Singing from the Pitch and Melody Section.
I plan to work through the exercises over the coming week or so so I'll let you know how I get on!
As I'm sure you'll guess I'm working on ideas for this tune at the moment.
Anyway, here's the sublime Wes Montgomery showing all us budding guitar players how it's done!
Just back from a rehearsal and we started messing with this . . . Impressions by John Coltrane. It's nice 'cause its the same chords as So What by Miles Davis but this much more fun.
I'll be uploading the Lead Sheet and Scale Ideas to Advanced Guitar Player over the next couple of days.
Some great tips from Kurt here - Very handy! I'm going to start on the Pentatonic thing right away!
OK OK OK . . . I know it's been Days of Wine and Roses ad infintum recently. But this version by Pat Martino is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!
I couldn't resist it . . . I got into these standards watching the crooners shows on Saturday Night with my Mum. Perry Como, Andy Williams et al
Anyway, here are Johnny Mercer's lyrics
The days of wine and roses laugh and run away like a child at play
Through a meadow land toward a closing door
A door marked "nevermore" that wasn't there before
And here's Andy Pandy strutting his stuff . . . it makes my toes curl!
Another new tune this week . Henry Mancini's wonderful Days of Wine and Roses. Snooping around on YouTube I found this interview with Herb Ellis and his very sparse version of the tune - it'll be be great for working on solo ideas with.
Clear and simple - the great man is sorely missed!
Heartily sick of Ear Training and such, I just got down to working on the tunes for Sunday's rehearsal - just the two of us - me on guitar and Flo on Sax Pretty familiar with most of the set list but just realised I hadn't played Horace Silver's Song For My Father for yonks.
Searched for it on YouTube and found George Benson in fine form. Cracking stuff!
Well, I have been playing with RisingSoftware's Auralia Ear Training Program for an hour or so now and I thought I'd publish my first impressions - a complete review will be published in the Ear Training section of Advanced Guitar Player so take these comments with a pinch of salt (I use the blog to work on ideas before I put them on the main site!)
I decided to begin the Level One Jazz Ear Training Course - for Intermediate Students with an interest in Improvisation - and see where things took me.
The first section of the Jazz Course was pretty straightforward - Recognising all of the Intervals in a Major Scale if I remember rightly. ie. Unison, Major Second, Major Third, Perfect Fourth, Perfect Fifth, Major Sixth, Major Seventh, Perfect Octave. No funny stuff here. The intervals were all ascending and you just have to click on the button to name them (or you can use a keyboard or guitar fretboard if you prefer to signal the notes). Very easy! Feeling pretty good about things.
Part Two. . . Scale Recognition is a completely different kettle of fish, though! The section opens with an explanation of every scale imaginable - major, natural, harmonic, melodic, blues scale, diminished and a very long list of etceteras. Each scale is notated and there's a play button so that you can list to how it sounds. To be pefectly honest, I rushed through this so the cropper I came when I got to the exercises was probably my own stupid fault.
So what happened? The program played a scale and I had to choose which one it was out of about 20 possibilities. No Way José! I wasn't primed so I found the task much too difficult.
However, this made exit the Jazz Course and start to mess around with the rest of the program . . . I went directly to the Scale Recognition Exercise. This began by having to choose between two scales - Major and Natural (aeolian) Minor, I think - and gradually added different scales. In about 10 minutes I was choosing comfortably between Major, Natural, Harmonic and Melodic Minors. So with a bit of practice I'll be able to do the Jazz Course Exercise in a couple of days. Pretty nifty, methinks!
Well, I have to say I'm quite chuffed with the way things are going . . . A couple of days ago I got an email from RisingSoftware the publishers of Auralia Ear Training software and Musition Music Theory software.
I'd heard of both programs but as I'd been concentrating on my own projects, working my way through David Lucas Burge's excellent Relative Pitch course and sporadically dipping into EarMaster Pro, I hadn't got round to downloading the Trial Versions of the programs.
All that changed this morning, I've downloaded Auralia, filled in all my details, registered on the RisingSoftware website and am ready to get cracking. I have to say that my initial impressions are very positive. The set up process is very smooth and the program allows you to work through individual exercises or choose a course - if I have a criticism of Ear Training software in general, it's the lack of guidance provided that irks me most. The majority of musician/students need to be told what they need to study, so I'm optimistic about Auralia from the word go.
Anyway, here's there introductory video to give you a basic idea and watch this space for further comments from me as I work my way through the program!!
This Video shows how the Interval Comparison Exercise works on EarMaster Pro 5,
As I said in my last post, I had no problems until I got to Exercise 13 - the first 12 exercises cover major and minor seconds and thirds, perfect fourths and diminished and perfect fifths and all you have to do is decide which sequence of two notes (A or B) involves the greater interval.
This is incredibly easy if the first note in each sequence of the same. For example, identifying that the difference between Eb and Bb (Perfect Fifth) is greater than the difference between Eb and Ab (Perfect Fourth) is pretty straightforward - you're not being asked to identify the notes or name the interval or anything complicated like that.
However, when I got to Exercise 13, I had real problems at first (admittedly, it was 1 o'clock in the morning and I'd been working on evaluating Ear Training software since lunch, so my ears were pretty overloaded). This exercise covered ascending major and minor seconds but the starting not varied with each sequence, so A might be F#-G (minor second) and B might Bb-C (major second).
I found this exercise much more challenging and had to repeat it two or three times until I was getting more than 90% correct (the program lets you continue with less but I like to do things properly). The important thing is that the exercise was a really great example of Ear Training. I was tired and unfamiliar with the task so I had to train myself to concentrate more and perceive the differences - EarMaster Pro definitely gets a big thumbs up from me here.
Anyway, here's the video and don't forget to DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY OF EARMASTER PRO 5
I'll keep you up to date with more thoughts as I work my way through the Interval Comparison Exercise.
I've juat decided to give the Evaluation Copy of Ear Master Pro a run for its money and the first exercise I tried was Interval Comparison - I thought the program was a bit limited for the first twelve exercises - harmonic and melodic intervals with a common note - the question you have to answer is 'Which Interval Is Greater? - pretty easy if there's a note in common!!!
However, Exercise 13 ups the ante and you have to compare major and minor thirds without a reference note. It should be easy but the programs just suggested I repeat the exercise - I only got 74%correct GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
I¡m quite impressed, though - so I think the program's worth spending some time with!
Another Groovy Presentation of Ear Master Pro
CLICK HERE FOR A FREE TRIAL COPY OF EAR MASTER PRO
And make sure you check out the Ear Training Project on Advanced Guitar Player
As part of the Ear Training Project on Advanced Guitar Player, I plan to include software reviews - Despite my doubts about how effectively you can use a program to train your ear (it's often not that the program is at fault, but actually having a teacher provides the necessary motivation), Ear Master Pro seems to me to be leagues ahead of the competition, Check out this video overview and CLICK HERE FOR A FREE TRIAL COPY OF EAR MASTER PRO
I've just started work on My Little Suede Shoes by Charlie Parker - I'll be loading up Guitar Pro Tabs
to Advanced Guitar Player in the couple of days!
Here's a bit of 1950s inspiration from Sonny Stitt and Jay Jay Johnson towhet your appetite!
I've almost finished the Lesson Notes for the first section of the Ear Training Course - still pretty rough and only dealing with the C Major Scale so far.
Good News is . . . I've programmed about five lessons on the C Minor Natural Scale so the second phase of the Guitar Ear Training Course is starting to take shape.
I found this song and think you should give it a listen: PlimSoul-TexasFloodSample by :
Got a bit tired of writing web pages, studying ear training and generally doing Advanced Guitar Player stuff . . . so I searched for some inspiration!
Here's some Rory Gallagher - way back in 1974, shortly before I picked up guitar for the first time. BRILLIANT!
The Ear Training Course is progressing well and I'm slowly coming up with text for the ear training and sight reading exercises, but I'm beginning to realise quite a lot of material will need reworking.
The Exploring Intervals below is a good example - singing it back to myself this morning I can see (hear) how difficult it is and the tempo needs slowing down to about 40 bpm. Drat . . . back to the drawing board or should I say tab editor!!!
Cb Major - Cb-Eb-Gb Cb Minor Cb-Ebb-Gb
C Major - C-E-G C Minor C-Eb-G
C# Major - C#-E#-G# C# Minor C#-E-G#
Db Major - Db-F-Ab Db Minor Db-Fb-Ab
D Major - D-F#-A D Minor D-F-A
D# Major - D#-F##-A# D# Minor -D#-F#-A#
Eb Major - Eb-G-Bb Eb Minor - Eb-Gb-Bb
E Major - E-G#-B E Minor - E-G-B
F Major - F-A-C F Minor - F-Ab-C
F # Major F#-A#-C# F# Minor - F#-A.C#
Gb Major Gb-Bb-Db Gb Minor Gb-Bbb-Db
G Major G-B-D G Minor G-Bb-D
G# Major G#-B#-D# G# Minor G#-B-D#
Ab Major Ab-C-Eb Ab Minor Ab-Cb-Eb
A Major A-C#-E A Minor A-C-E
A# Major A#-C##-E# A# Minor A#-C#-E#
Bb Major Bb-D-F Bb Minor Bb-Db-F
B Major B-D#-F# B Minor B-D-F#
I don't think there's any need for B# - might be wrong, though!
Continuing with the Enharmonic Spellings Groove Thang! I'm not joking all this note taking will turn into a mega-project on Advanced Guitar Player - the Music Theory section is gonna start kicking ass!
Ok . . . let's go with the enharmonic spellings of Minor Thirds!
Cb - Ebb
C - Eb
C# - E
Db - Fb
D - F
D# - F#
Eb - Gb
E - G
E# - G#
Fb - Abb
F - Ab
F# - A
F## - A#
Gb - Bbb
G - Bb
G# - B
Ab - Cb
A - C
A# - C#
Bb - Db
B - D
B# - D#
C - Eb
Nothing too weird - especially if we compare this with Major Thirds!!!
More of same. As I said in an earlier post, this blog is really a notebook for Advanced Guitar Player .. .
Cb - Eb
C - E
C# - E#
Db - F
D - F#
D# - Fx (I'll just use a straight x for double sharp, for now!)
Ebb - Gb
Eb - G
E - G#
F - A
F# - A#
Gb - Bb
G - B
G# - B#
Ab - C
A - C#
A# - Cx
Bbb - Db
Bb - D
B - D#
* B# - Dx not usual!
Okay . . . still inspired by David Lucas Burge's approach to intervals, let's have a look at Perfect Fourths. Rather than commenting, I'll just asterisk the improbable ones.
Cb - Fb
C - F
C# - F#
Db - Gb
D - G
D# - G#
Eb - Ab
E - A
E# - A#
F - Bb
F# - B
Gb - Cb
G - C
G# - C#
Ab - Db
A - D
A# - D#
Bb - Eb
B - E
* B# - E# (pretty weird!)
Just thought I'd make a note of the enharmonic spellings of all the Perfect Fifths - you never know when this kind of thing will come in handy!
Cb - Gb
C - G
C# - G#
Db - Ab
D - A
D# - A#
Eb - Bb
E - B
E# - B# - not often used
Fb - Cb - also not often used
F - C
F# - C#
Gb - Db
G - D
G# - D#
Ab - Eb
A - E
A# - E#
Bb - F
B - F#
Cb - Gb etc
I'm still with David Lucas Burge's Relative Pitch Ear Training Course and I have to say that he comes up with some real gems, particularly when it comes to musical terminology.
The basic question is Why Do We Have To Learn It?
Well, quite simply we want to be able to communicate with other musicians. The situation is analogous to language . . .
Just like language the essence of music is Aural - Listening and Speaking . . . Listening and Playing or Singing
But so many musicians seem to think that there's nothing more to music than that!
Would they suggest that learning to read or write a language was a wate of time?
I don't think so .
For more info check out www.advancedguitarplayer.com
Check out this story I found on Digg. It has 1 Digg so far!
"Perfect Your Pitch - Free Guitar Ear Training Course"
The Guitar Pro Tab Files for Perfect Your Pitch - Advanced Guitar Player's Free Online Ear Training and Sight Reading Course For Guitarists are now available to AGP Members in Downloads. The course is my humble contribution to improving your Aural and Pitch Recognition Skills - I really believe that by improving your Musical Ear, you'll become a better improviser, songwriter or guitarist.
See more: http://digg.com/news/entertainment/perfect_your_pitch_free_guitar_ear_training_course
A friend from El Taller de Músics leant me David Lucas Burge's Relative Pitch Ear Training Course - a five CD set - and I've spent most of today listening to the first lessons on Perfect Fifths, Perfect Fourths and Major Thirds - all intervals I'm pretty comfortable with or so I thought . . .
Well, surprisingly, I've learnt a new perspective on these basic intervals, been drilled on the enharmonic names and practiced some very original ear training drills. The course is fantastic for complete beginners . . . and also has plenty to offer more accomplished musicians.
I'm WELL impressed!!!
Just thought I'd blog this Guitar Pro 6 Video as this this is the software I've used to programme the Advanced Guitar Ear Training Course
Anyway here's the video - I know there are plenty of free tabs programs but I think it's worth the investment - especially if your a programmer.
Click Here To Go The Guitar Pro HomePage!!
As I'm planning to review it for Advanced Guitar Player, I've just been messing about with some of Ear Master Pro's more Advanced Ear Training features for guitarists and I came across this Chord Identification exercise - very handy, I thought, Definitely not for beginners, though!
Click Here To Download an Trial Evaluation Copy of EarMaster - there are Basic, Pro and School versions - I decided to try Ear Master Pro
As I'm working on Guitar Ear Training for Advanced Guitar Player, I thought I'd check out some Ear Training software - I came across Ear Master. It looks quite good and I'll be downloading an Evaluation copy in order to check it out.
I think the basic problem with software is that it's difficult to develop skills step by step - however, I'll reserve my judgement until I've checked it out properly!
You can download the Ear Master trial here, by the way!
Looks pretty good, catch you later!
Nice lesson here on the Major Scale - kind of fits in with all my Ear Training stuff!
Not much happening in the way of Jazz Guitar in this year's Barcelona Jazz Festival but I've just bought tickets to see sax legend Sonny Rollins . on his 80th birthday tour wild. I do think I have the lead sheets to Tenor Madness and St Thomas on Advanced Guitar Player - I'll probably be adding Oleo and quite a few more Sonny Rollins classics before and after the show.
Any here's the YouTube vid of the main concerts in this year's festival
Just thought I'd load up an image of the Advanced Guitar Ear Training tabs to show you all how professional they look - I'm pretty pleased myself!
Beautifully programmed in Guitar Pro 6 - check it out by clicking on this link!
Check out this story I found on Digg. It has 1 Digg so far!
"Advanced Guitar Ear Training - Free Perfect Pitch Course For Guitarists"
Perfect Your Pitch - Advanced Guitar Player's free Guitar Ear Training course is now available on the site!
But what I most like about it is the Chord Progression suggestions at the end of each Chord page - they suggest a Jazz Progression, a Rock Progression and also (and this idea WILL take you to an Advanced Level) how to fit the Chord into a Cycle of Fourths progression - if you don't know what that is, visit AdvancedGuitarPlayer.Com and do a search for Cycle of Fifths (it's the same thing just the other way round).Anyway, I have say I'm very impressed by Jamorama, and if you've been playing for less than five years or don't feel you've got the basics under your fingers, it's definitely worth checking out!Speak SoonI'm probably jumping the gun (as usual) but the Free Guitar Ear Training Course - it's called Perfect Your Pitch, by the way - will be available from the Downloads section of Advanced Guitar Player.So go to the site and Download it NOW!
It's been programmed in Guitar Pro 6 and is the first instalment of a more ambitious project that I'll hopefully end up charging but at the moment I'd just grateful if you'd log on to the Forum on Advanced Guitar Player and make a comment so that I can work on improvements,
This part will help you to learn how to recognise and sing the seven degrees of the Major Scale. All the exercises are in C Major so by the end of the course you should be able to sing C, D, E, F, G, A and B at sight. Future instalments will get you transcribing solos and applying this skill to other keys but it's best to start with the basics.
The reason why I've created the course are firstly because a lot of people study on their own these days and if you don't have a teacher it's really difficult to know whether you're getting the notes right or not - having everything programmed as a tab file in Guitar Pro means that you can read the score and listen to it at the same time if you want. (That's why I love Guitar Pro 6!!!).
Secondly, every class I've ever had on ear training and sight reading has been taught to me by a piano player - great musicians but they just think differently from us guitarists. One of the ways I get to transcribe music when I'm sitting on a bus or underground train is by picturing my fretboard in my head. I listen to the music, sing it myself, work what the notes are and then picture it on the fretboard - by the time I get to the rehearsal or gig I've pretty much learnt it.
A pretty useful skill, don't you think. Anyway, go to Advanced Guitar Player, Download it and enjoy!
A big part of my mission with Advanced Guitar Player is to find free guitar lessons out on the Web and let everyone in on the secret - I really don't think you have to pay for anything if you don't want to.
Anyway I've just signed up for Jamorama - they offer six days of free beginner lessons if you sign up- I have to admit that I'm not dreadfully convinced but I'm just testing things.
By the way, offers will only get on the main website if they're rock solid ace - so treat anything you find in the Advanced Guitar Blog Network with a BIG pinch of salt.
I'll let you know more once I've tried a few of the lessons!
