EpISODE 10 EAR TRAINING For INTERVALS

HOSTS- Jeremy Burns, Matthew Scott Phillips

 

TYPE- Ear Training

 

DURATION- 21:12

 

BUMPER MUSIC- "854 Interval Blvd" (Area 47 Music)

 

ANNOUNCER- Mike Cunliffe

Listen
DESCRIPTION

Perk up your ears and get ready for more ear training. Being able to hear and identify simple intervals is the gateway to ear training excellence! If you've been through our theory episode on intervals (Ep. 09), you can just sit back, listen and experience the intervals and their characteristics.

KEY WORDS

INTERVAL- The distance between two notes, harmonically or melodically. An interval consists of two components: 1) NUMBER and 2) QUALITY.

 

UNISON- When two instruments play the same pitch, often at the same time. For example, if a pianist and a violinist are both playing A440, then they are said to be playing in UNISON.

 

PERFECT INTERVAL- Typically, the distance (from the root note) to the notes that land on the 4th, 5th and 8th (unison) scale degrees. These note are the same in both major and minor keys.

 

MAJOR INTERVAL- Typically, the distance (from the root note) to the notes that land on the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th scale degrees in the MAJOR scale.

 

MINOR INTERVAL-Typically, the distance (from the root note) to the notes that land on the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th scale degrees in the MINOR scale.

 

AUGMENTED INTERVAL- When a MAJOR interval is raised by a half step.

 

DIMINISHED INTERVAL- When a MINOR interval is lowered by a half step.

 

SIMPLE INTERVAL- An interval that spans the space of 1 octave.

 

COMPOUND INTERVALS- An interval that spans the space beyond 1 octave.

 

EXAMPLES

MINOR 2nd:

-The Jaws Theme Song (John Williams)

-The first 2 notes of "Hard Day's Night" (The Beatles)

MAJOR 2nd:

-Between the 1st and 2nd notes of the major scale.

-Between the 2 and 3rd note of "Yankee Doodle" (George M. Cohan)

MINOR 3rd:

-The first two notes of "Greensleeves" (traditional)

-Between the 2nd and 3rd notes of "Brahms Lullaby" (Johannes Brahms)

MAJOR 3rd:

-Between "say" and "can" of the "Star Spangled Banner" (Francis Scott Key)

-The 1st two notes of "When The Saints Go Marching In"

(traditional Christian hymn)

PERFECT 4th:

-The first two notes of "The Bridal Chorus" (Richard Wagner)

-The first 2 notes of "Auld Lang Syne" (Robert Burns)

TRITONE:

-The first two notes of "Maria" (Leonard Bernstein)

-The first 2 notes of "The Simpsons Theme" (Danny Elfman)

PERFECT 5th:

-The first two notes of the "Main Theme/Overture" of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (John Williams)

-Between the 1st and 2nd "twinkles" of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" a.k.a ""Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman"  (M. Bouin)

MINOR 6th:

-The first two notes of "Go Down Moses"

(Negro spiritual)

-Between the 3rd and 4th notes of "The Entertainer" (Scott Joplin)

MAJOR 6th:

-The first two notes of "My Bonnie" (Scottish traditional)

-The first two notes of the NBC jingle

MINOR 7th:

-The first two notes of the theme of the original Star Trek (Alexander Courage)

-Happens at the word "Ford" in the Ford jingle, "Have You Driven A Ford Lately?" (Paul Hoffman)

MAJOR 7th:

-The first two notes of the chorus from the song

"Take On Me" (A-Ha)

-The first two notes of the opening guitar riff of "Popular" (Nada Surf)

OCTAVE:

-The first two notes of the Wizard of Oz's "Over The Rainbow" (Harold Arlen)

-The first two notes of the chorus from "Singing In The Rain"

(Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown)

THINGS TO REMEMBER

-Diminished and augmented octaves can occur in music, though not as often as their minor 7th and minor 9th equivalents.

 

-Try and learn your intervals by using numeric scale degrees as well as solfége

(Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do).

 

-While training your ears, don't forget to engage your theory brain. For example, not a lot of songs begin with a MAJOR 7th. However, it is very distinguishable by its tendency to want to resolve up a half step to the tonic.

 

-Use songs you know well as references for interval recognition. Even better yet, compose your own melodies that feature these intervals!

 

-When you hear a harmony, try to separate the notes within as a melody. Sing them up and down.

 

-Get used to listening for dissonance levels. But be careful when using dissonance levels to identify intervals. This is because intervals share similar dissonance levels with their inversions (the perfect 4th and the perfect 5th, for example).

MUSIC STUDENT 101

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