Identifying Intervals by Ear

Lesson 6/194 | Study Time: 5 Min

Course: Complete Rock Guitar

Identifying Intervals by Ear

Since all melodies are made up of a series of intervals, it is essential to learn to identify intervals by ear and be able to reproduce them at will both with your voice and on your instrument. If you can sing something accurately, it means you are hearing it accurately.

Here are some ways of developing your ability to identify and reproduce intervals. The example given in the first two exercises is a minor 3rd, but it is essential to go through these processes with all intervals.

Choose an interval you wish to work on (e.g. minor 3rds). Play a starting note (e.g. C) and sing it. Then sing a minor 3rd up from that note (Eb). Hold the note with your voice while you test its accuracy on your instrument. Then choose another starting note and repeat the process. Keep doing this until you are accurate every time. The next step is to sing the interval (in this case a minor 3rd) downwards from your starting note. Again, do this repeatedly until you are accurate every time.
Sing the same interval consecutively upwards and then downwards several times. E.g. start on C and sing a minor 3rd up from it (Eb). Then sing a minor 3rd up from Eb (Gb). Then another minor third up from Gb (B~ – which is enharmonically the same as A). Then up another minor 3rd (C an octave higher than the starting note). Once you can do this, reverse the process (Start on C and sing a minor 3rd down to A, then another minor 3rd down and then another, etc).
Play and sing a starting note (e.g. C) and then think of it as the first degree of the chromatic scale – sing "one". Now sing the flattened second degree of the scale – sing "flat two". This note is a minor 2nd up from your C note (a Db note). Then sing the C again ("one"). Then sing the second degree of the scale (a D note – sing "two"). Next, sing your C note again ("one"). Continue in this manner all the way up the chromatic scale until you reach C an octave above. The entire sequence goes: 1, b2, 1, 2, 1, b3, 1, 3, 1, 4, 1, b5, 1, 5, 1,b6, 1, 6, 1, b7, 1, 7, 1, 8, 1. As with the previous exercises, once you can do this accurately (check your pitches on your instrument), reverse the process and sing downwards from the top of the scale, working your way down the chromatic scale again. The downward sequence goes 1(8), 7, 1, b7, 1, 6, 1, b6, 1, 5, 1,b 5, 1, 4, 1, 3, 1, b3, 1, 2, 1, b2, 1 (8), 1, 1(8).
As well as hearing intervals melodically (one note at a time), it is important to be able to hear them harmonically (two notes played together). A good way to develop this is to have a friend play random harmonic intervals on either guitar or keyboard while you identify them. Keep your back to the instrument while you do this, so that you cannot identify the intervals by sight.

It is important to work at these things regularly until they become easy. Don’t get frustrated if you can’t hear intervals accurately at first. Most people have trouble with this. If you work at it for several months, you will see a dramatic improvement in your musical hearing, and will be able to improvise much more freely as well as being able to work out parts off CDs more easily.

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1- INTRODUCTION 2- How to Read Music 3- Getting Your Hands Moving 4- Notes on the First String 5- The Eighth Note 6- Notes on the Fourth String 7- Playing Two Strings Together 8- Chords 9- Rests 10- Identifying Rhythms 11- Using the Guitar Pickups 12- Minor Chords 13- Arpeggios 14- Learning all the Notes 15- Syncopation 16- Using Guitar Effects 17- The Major Scale 18- More About Major Scales 19- How to Learn a New Key 20- Transposing 21- Minor Keys and Scales 22- Relative Keys 23- Intervals 24- Understanding Chords 25- Chord Construction – Triads 26- Scale Tone Chords 27- Minor Key Scale Tone Triads 28- Suspended Chords 29- Bar Chords 30- Learning the Whole Fretboard 31- The Minor Pentatonic Scale 32- The Triplet 33- More About 12 Bar Blues 34- Sixteenth Notes 35- Slurs 36- The Slide 37- Bending Notes 38- Vibrato 39- The Trail-off 40- Moving to Different Keys 41- Analyzing What You Play 42- Five Forms of the Pentatonic Scale 43- Moving Between Forms 44- The Major Pentatonic Scale 45- The Blues Scale 46- Moveable Chord Shapes in Five Forms 47- Moveable Minor Chord Shapes 48- Seventh Chords 49- Major 7th Chords 50- Extended Chords 51- Playing With a Band 52- Playing With a Rhythm Section 53- Moveable Major Scales 54- Using the Natural Minor Scale 55- Modes 56- Using the Harmonic Minor Scale 57- Right Hand Tapping 58- Harmonics 59- GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS 60- How to Tune Your Guitar 61- Using the Compact Discs 62- Chord Symbols 63- Right Hand Technique 64- Overdrive and Distortion 65- Alternate Picking 66- Notes on the Fifth String 67- Power Chords 68- Strumming 69- Percussive Strumming 70- Pickup Selector Switches 71- Visualizing 72- Playing Two Strings With the First Finger 73- Tones and Semitones 74- The Lead-in 75- The C Major Scale 76- Keys and Key Signatures 77- The Natural Minor Scale 78- Learning Minor Scales in all Keys 79- Interval Qualities 80- Fingering Variations 81- C Major Chord 82- Major Key Triad Pattern 83- Slash Chords 84- Add Nine Chords 85- Changing Between Shapes 86- Note on the Guitar Fretboard 87- Swing Rhythms 88- New Topic 89- Common 16th Note Figures 90- Slurs Using Open Strings 91- Pattern 1 Extension 92- Pick Tremolo 93- The Trill 94- Identifying Scale Patterns 95- Sliding Pattern 2 96- Relative Major and Minor Pentatonics 97- Five Forms of the Blues Scale 98- Three Note Chord Voicings 99- Three and Four Note Minor Chords Voicings 100- Moveable 7th Chord Forms 101- Minor 7th Chords 102- Eleventh Chords 103- The Bass 104- Twelve Eight Time 105- 5 Forms of the Natural Minor 106- Mode Formulas 107- Five Forms of the Harmonic Minor 108- Adding Left Hand Slurs 109- Pick Harmonics 110- Electronic Guitars 111- Picking the Open Strings 112- Notes on the Second String 113- Notes on the Sixth String 114- Moveable Power Chords 115- Major Chord Formations 116- Developing Rhythmic Control 117- Staccato 118- Sharps 119- Riffs 120- The G Major Scale 121- The Key Cycle 122- The Harmonic Minor Scale 123- Table of Minor Scales 124- Interval Distances 125- Arpeggios in all Keys 126- C Minor Chord 127- Primary Chords 128- Bass Runs 129- Adding Scale Tones To Chords 130- Notes in More Than One Place 131- The Shuffle 132- Pentatonic Blues Solo 133- Gaining Control of 16th Notes 134- The Quick Slide 135- Double Note 136- The Symbols 8va and Loco 137- Four Note Chord Voicings 138- Voicings 139- Thirteenth Chords 140- Bass Music Notation 141- Thirty Second Notes 142- Relative Major and Minor Fingerings 143- Modal Tonalities 144- Touch Harmonics 145- Tuning Your Guitar 146- Left Hand Technique 147- Notes on the Third String 148- Right Hand Damping 149- Pivot and Guide Fingers 150- Ties 151- The Chromatic Scale 152- The F Major Scale 153- Major Scales in all Keys 154- The Melodic Minor Scale 155- Finding Intervals on the Fretboard 156- C Augmented Chord 157- Harmonizing Melodies 158- Chords in Other Minor Keys 159- Position Playing 160- Understanding Triplet Rhythms 161- Power Chord Sixteenth Note Rhythm Parts 162- Licks Using the Slide 163- Root 4 and Root 3 Chords 164- Swamp Sounds 165- Memorizing Scale and Chord Degrees 166- The Drums 167- Jam Along Progressions 168- Electric Guitars 169- The Open Position 170- The Octave 171- Rock "n" Roll Chords 172- Flats 173- Identifying Intervals by Ear 174- C Diminished Chord 175- Common Progressions 176- Transposing in Minor Keys 177- Higher and Lower Octaves of Notes 178- Sixteenth Note Triplets 179- Omitting Notes From Chords 180- Drum Notation 181- Listening 182- Electric Guitars Pickups 183- Twelve Bar Blues 184- Augmented and Diminished Chords 185- Chord Shapes 186- Harmonic Minor Scale Tone Chords 187- Sliding Chords 188- Chord Formula Chart 189- Amplifiers 190- Melodic Minor Scale Tone Chords 191- The Seven Sharp Nine Chord 192- Types of Amplifiers 193- Understanding the Control Knobs 194- String

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Identifying Intervals by Ear