Ear Training, level 1B (Adduci)

Welcome to the MUSC 1B page!

Please choose one of the following sections:

1. A collection of ear-training links from around the Web.
2. The greensheet and other administrative documents
3. Handouts given in class.
4. Weekly homework assignments.
5. extra dictation practice, taken from the Common-Practice literature.

Web Links

This section contains links to internet sites designed to help you with music theory and ear training. The Internet is a fantastic resource for self-driven learning!

• Cengage website: from here you can download the dictation software that comes on the CD for the 3rd edition of the Horvit dictation textbook. If you are having trouble with your CD, try getting the software from this website instead. Follow the link, then click on "Updated Resources & Help" on the left. The file is in .zip format, so you will need the free WinZip utility to open it.
• www.musictheory.net - interactive, self-grading practice on music fundamentals; also, you can print free staff paper here.
• www.metronomeonline.com - turn your computer into a metronome.
• www.teoria.com - an excellent resource - interactive lessons and dictation exercises.
• Online Flash games for ear training (in addition to the above). There are many simple pitch and rhythm games available online. Here are three websites that I like:
  • Memory game (www.zefrank.com) - like the children's game Memory, you turn two cards over and try to find the matching pitches.
  • Pitch matching (www.themelodymaster.com) - this game plays a pitch, and you must then find it on a virtual keyboard. I recommend also guessing the intervals you hear between pitches that the game plays, for an extra layer of ear training practice.
  • Theta Music Trainer (www.trainer.thetamusic.com) - this website hosts dozens of musical games, from pitch to rhyhtm to intonation and beyond. Playing the games requires a free account, which gives access to the basic levels of each game. Purchasing a full account (around $50 per year) gives access to all levels, plus score tracking, etc. I recommend the "Parrot Phrases" and "Tonal Recall" in particular.
• The Interval Song, a YouTube video by Django Bates that illustrates all of the intervals between P1 and P8.

Greensheet

This section includes the greensheet and any other class policy documents.
Left-click to view, right-click to download.

• Fall 2014 Greensheet
• Important note about your dictation textbook!
  • The 4th edition of the Horvit text, "Music for Ear Training," is exactly the same as the 3rd edition, with only two changes:
    1. Page 4, #6-10 (Unit 1, Major and Minor Thirds, Quiz 2): these intervals have been changed in the 4th edition. We will not use this quiz in MUSC 1B.
    2. Unit 26 (examples from 20th century literature) has been added to the 4th edition. We will not use this unit in MUSC 1B.
  • Apart from that, the two editions are identical. This means that you can use the 3rd edition text for this class, and also the third edition music software (see "Links" section, above).

Handouts

This section contains copies of the informational handouts given in class.

1. (8/26/13) Diatonic and Chromatic Solfege Syllables
2. (8/28/13) Beat and Eight Partials, showing the vocalization patterns for the first eight divisions of the beat.
3. (9/4/13) Scales from Do, giving the solfege syllables for all scales required for MUSC 1B.
4. (9/9/13) A handout listing well-known songs that use intervals of different sizes.
5. (9/11/13) Counting and Conducting Warm-up
6. (9/11/13) Intervals in Major (Complete) - including all intervals, not just those that start from "Do".
7. (9/30/13) Etude: singing major scales around the circle of fifths.
8. (9/30/13) Warm-up exercises for the Major pentatonic scale.
9. (9/30/13) Warm-up exercises for harmonic and melodic minor scales.
10. (9/30/13) Line-Space Relationships. These handouts are many pages of scale fragments that do not use a traditional clef. Instead, one line or space on the staff is labeled as "Do". This will help you to practice your interval distances and solfege, because you are not having to worry about what key you are in. Just focus on the number of lines and spaces that are covered by each interval.
    1. Major key packet
    2. minor key packet
11. (10/23/13) Diatonic Fragments from Bach chorales.
12. (11/25/13) Hand Clapping Duets!

Assignments

This section contains copies of each weekly assignment sheet,
showing what to practice for the following week.

Welcome to the online dictation training area for MUSC 1B!

Below you will find several musical examples from the Common Practice repertoire (1600-1900) for you to practice transcribing. For each example, there is a recording (in .mp3 format), a dictation template (giving starting positions), and the solution (showing the correct transcription). Some of the templates and solutions are in .jpg format (images) - they will look odd until you print them out.

For level 1B, the dictation exercises focus primarily on diatonic melodic dictation, and diatonic harmonic dictation (2-4 voices).

To practice your dictation skills, first print out the template of an exercise, and then listen to the recording as many times as you want while you notate what you are hearing. Once you have written down as much of the example as you can, check yourself against the solution I have provided.

• First, figure out the meter and choose a time signature.
• Then decide on the key/tonality being used.
• Dictate one voice at a time, probably starting with the melody or bass.
• Only work on a few measures at a time.

Try not to look at the solution until you have dictated absolutely everything you can hear - the point is to improve your skills, so if you constantly refer to the answer you won't get as much benefit from the exercise.

Nintendo Section

This section features examples from the soundtracks of old 8-bit NES games. They make great dictation exercises, because they tend to have only four tracks ("voices") - melody, countermelody/harmony, bassline, and rhythm.

Start by trying to figure out the meter, and then the rhythm of each voice. Sometimes deciding on a time signature can be tricky - this music tends to use fairly complicated rhythms. However, most Nintendo music is in quadruple meter and can be notated in 4/4 time. If the meter is unclear, there are probably syncopations or quarter-note triplets being used.

This .pdf file is a blank template for all of the Nintendo exercises. Print the template out and use it for your dictation practice.

1. The Legend of Zelda - Main Title - this tune seems to flow easily between B-flat Major and b-flat minor - a technique called "modal mixture" or "modal borrowing."
   • Template and partial solution
2. (easier) Donkey Kong, Jr. - this excerpt is a repeated bassline only. This musical technique is called "ostinato."
3. (easier) Wizards and Warriors - Stage 1 - this track starts with a sixteenth-note pickup. It is also a rhythmic ostinato, with extra layers. The "rhythm" voice is independent, and the "countermelody" and "bass" voices are in octaves.
4. (easier) Kung Fu - this is an ostinato bassline only ... and also a 12-bar blues progression...
5. Kid Icarus - Castle - this excerpt has only three voices.
   • Solution
6. The Legend of Zelda - Castle - lots of arpeggios. This excerpt has only three voices, and the melody is actually in the bass voice. (hint: this excerpt ends on beat two of a measure)
   • Solution
7. The Goonies 2 - World 1 - This track is a Nintendo version of the song "Good Enough" by Cyndi Lauper (featured in the movie The Goonies)

Classical and Film Section

1. "Minuet I" from Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351, by Georg Frederich Handel (1749).
   • Medium: Orchestra. For this exercise, you are transcribing the melody (violins) and the bassline (bassoons/celli).
   • Template
   • Recording
   • Partial Solution
2. "Ave Maria, Virgo Serena," by Josquin des Prez (1497).
   • Medium: SATB chorus, canon/fugue. This is the first large section of the piece. You can print out the second page of the template multiple times for extra blank pages. Don't feel obligated to dictate the entire excerpt (2:30) - just give it a try and see how it goes!
   • Template
   • Recording