Ear Training
In improvising it is most desirable to hear a lead line "in your head" and then be able to translate it immediately to the fretboard. The following points will give you some guidelines for developing this ability.
- Play a scale (e.g., the major scale) very slowly through one octave. As you do so, sing aloud each note. You should sing the note immediately after you play it. Continue doing this until you feel confident that you are singing each note correctly.
- Play the root note of the scale. Sing the next note and then play it to check your pitch. Proceed through the rest of the scale in the same manner; singing each note and then playing it.
- Play the root note of a scale and sing through the scale with no reinforcement until the octave note is reached.
- Play the root note of a scale and then name another note of that scale and sing it, e.g., using the C major scale, play the C note and sing the A note. To help you remember these intervals, pick a song you know which uses them (e.g., C to A are the first two notes of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean".
- Play "around" the notes of a scale, firstly singing each note just after you play it; and then singing each note before it is played. Do this very slowly at first. At this point you are pre-hearing melody notes.
- Sing melodies of songs that you know and play them as you do so. Do the same with lead lines.
- Sing chord arpeggios. Experiment with different chord types (e.g., major, minor, dominant 7th etc) and try some inversions (e.g., starting on the third or fifth of the chord, instead of the first).
- Sing chromatic notes (i.e., notes that are a semitone apart). If you can sing a scale correctly, try adding passing notes.
Another useful ear training exercise is to get together with another musician and play "call and response" (sometimes called question and answer). This involves one player playing a line and the other player imitating it immediately, either exactly or almost exactly. Try doing this with no set time at first, when it becomes easier, try using a metronome or drum machine set to a slow tempo. Gradually increase the tempo once you are comfortable with the process. This type of exercise is a lot of fun and is also valuable training for a band situation where you are required to play the responses as fill-ins between vocal phrases. Call and response is a particularly strong element in Blues and other African American music such as Gospel, Soul and Funk. For a more in-depth look at call and response style playing, see Progressive Blues Guitar Licks and Progressive Funk and R&B Guitar Method.
