![]() ![]() Two ways to train your earsĮar training is beneficial no matter where you do it. A little focused attention during your next time through the radio dial can sharpen your ears more than you might think. These tunes are also a good way to test yourself on identifying intervals, root movement, chord progressions and short melodic phrases. These melodies are simple enough and have enough repeated material that a few listens will be plenty to get it stuck in your ear. The nice thing about pop tunes is that you can usually figure out the melody in your head by singing it a few times. With some essential ear training skills, the task of figuring out any tune will become much easier. Work on hearing Root movement and bass lines So how do you improve your ability to identify these three components? The process begins with some very specific exercises:īe able to identify Chord Quality of Triads and 7th chords (Major, minor, V7, diminished) If you can easily identify each of these three elements you’ll be much more versatile not only as a musician, but also as an improviser. This is fine for entertainment and distraction, however for the aspiring improviser, a little focused listening and attention can make a world of difference.Īs you listen, the majority of all tunes that you’ll encounter will be composed of 3 parts: a melody, a bass line and a chord progression. In fact the way that most people listen to music puts the sound in the background, a soundtrack to daily activities like driving, working out, or reading. The benefit of listening with intentįor the musician, all listening is not created equal. Whichever type of pop music that may you listen to can serve to improve your ears if approached in the right way. What is considered popular today changes frequently and includes a number of different musical styles. Some pop tunes are formulated to sell records and others are crafted with an artistic vision in mind. In some cases this is true and in others, not so much. ~John Philip SousaĪmong “serious musicians” popular music has the connotation of being cheap and uncreative, a musical sell-out. To the average mind popular music would mean compositions vulgarly conceived and commonplace in their treatment. They’re easy to listen to, make you feel good and can even be addicting. These songs are manufactured to play to our emotions, catch our ear and get stuck in our heads after one casual listen. Everyone can tap into them at some level, a simple pleasing melody and a hypnotic beat that repeats and repeats (130 BPM, a Major key, a produced sound). Without even realizing it, these songs become a fixture in your subconscious. Pretty soon you’ll start to hear these same tunes on TV and while you’re shopping. If you turn on the radio and listen for an extended period of time you’re going to hear the same 5 songs over and over again. ![]() Today, even though we don’t exactly have Irving Berlin or Richard Rogers churning out tunes anymore, we can still use pop tunes to our advantage. Part of being an improvising artist is absorbing and commenting on your current surroundings. The “standards” that we spend time learning today are essentially the pop tunes of a bygone era. Remember, at one time jazz was the pop music of it’s day. All the way from the diverse musical melting pot of New Orleans to the infusion of Latin music or Hip Hop today, improvisers have been including a wide array of musical influence in their approach.Īnything is fair game for an inspired improviser and pop tunes are no exception. The beauty of jazz is that it’s naturally inclusive of any style of music and influence. Everyone from Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis to Michael Brecker, Brad Mehldau and Robert Glasper have incorporated pop elements into their musical conception. ![]() Traditionally the repertoire of the improvising musician has been comprised of popular songs: All of Me, How High the Moon, All the Things You Are…and today you hear Radiohead tunes and Dilla beats. Just because you turn on the radio and check out the top 40 every now and then it doesn’t make you less of a musician. But hold on a second, aren’t you’re supposed to be a serious musician? It’s OK, everyone listens to pop tunes. ![]()
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