Functional vs Intervallic Ear Training
When I ask people what ear training is, the most common response I get is something like:
"Learning the sounds of intervals."
For example, if a C and G are played on the piano, the ear trainee calls out, "That's a fifth!"
This is called intervallic ear training because the focus is on—you guessed it—intervals.
But there are many other types of ear training – functional ear training being one of them.
Instead of identifying intervals, the goal of functional ear training is to figure out how the note or notes in question relate to the key center at hand.
For example, let's say we're in the key of F.
C and G are played on the piano again.
Now we're not so concerned about the distance between the two notes in question but rather how they relate to the key of F:
C is the five and G is the two (or nine).
If I had to choose between intervallic and functional ear training, I'd say functional ear training is a better use of time. Staying grounded with one point of reference (the key center) is more practical than simply measuring the distance between notes without any harmonic context.
That said, the more tools your ears have at their disposal, the better at music you will be. So, if you have the time, work on both intervallic and functional ear training.
But wait! There are even more types of ear training you should include in your practice routine.
Another favorite of mine is singing.
I'm not talking about working on your tone to sound like Frank or Ella. I'm talking about singing pitches in tune to improve the clarity with which you hear.
That's right. The more in tune you can sing a note, the better you hear it.
Put another way, the better you hear a note, the more in tune you'll be able to sing it.
Long story short, if you want to get the music that's in your head out onto your instrument with more speed and accuracy, singing most definitely needs to be part of your ear training regimen.
And if you're intrigued by the idea of singing to improve your ears and improvisation skills, I highly recommend checking out my course Improvising with the Blues Scale (without sounding like an amateur), which is open for enrollment this week only.
In the course, we make sure that you're not falling into the trap of improvising by pushing keys and buttons down on your instrument and hoping for the best. Unfortunately, that's how many beginner and intermediate musicians end up soloing (badly).
If you're still reading this article, my guess is that you want to be better than just a button-pusher.
My guess is that you want to be able to improvise solos by getting the music that's in your head out onto your instrument.
That, my friend, is what Improvising with the Blues Scale is all about.
Click the link below to learn more and give the course a try. If, for whatever reason, you're not enjoying it, just let me know within 30 days and I'll send you your money back.
https://go.jeffschneidermusic.com/improvising-with-the-blues-scale
Bottom line: I'm just trying to help you become a better improviser, so let me know if you have any questions, and I'll see you in the course!
Happy shedding,
Jeff