Saturday, December 31, 2016
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Do you need to train every day?
I have said earlier that I wanted to start training multiple times a day, in line with the notion that the more you practice something, the better you get. I changed my approach again a little while ago and have reduced the amount of time I am putting into the perfect pitch training. At this point, I am training 15-20 minutes one day, then usually having two days without training, then another day of 15-20. I am finding that this is enough to keep my ear at the level it is - actually enough to keep improving it. Part of my reason for changing the routine is simply because I want to spend more time improving other areas of my playing such as jazz improvisation, comping, etc. Also, at some point, I'd like to get better with relative pitch.
I think that it is good to work on perfect pitch training every day for a while, but at some point switching to every other day could be just as beneficial. After doing it for a really long time (in my case, over 10 years), I think every few days is sufficient.
I think that it is good to work on perfect pitch training every day for a while, but at some point switching to every other day could be just as beneficial. After doing it for a really long time (in my case, over 10 years), I think every few days is sufficient.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Developing perfect pitch: Art or Scientific Method?
Burge says various times in his course that developing absolute pitch is an art, and I never understood that until very recently. He says it's "not some recipe" where you add some of this ingredient, and then that one, etc. On the other hand, he does say that it should be approached from different angles, as I see it because sometimes it seems like you have to sort of trick your ear into developing further. That's probably where the art comes in. I had trouble with this because I tend to approach things systematically, like I'm sure many people do, and according to Burge this is really not the mentality to have. I think one way to step away from the systematic approach is to not be overly rigid in the training regimen - that is, do the training when it feels right - night, morning, whatever - and take breaks when it feels right to take a day or so off. With any art though, it would seem to me that in order to really improve, one would have to spend more than a half an hour a day - so I think I will try to put in a few training sessions daily from now on - unless I really feel like I should take a day off. I would say to start out as Burge says, doing just a bit each day (20 minutes or so), but as you get fairly far along in your training, step it up as you feel you need to. And take a day off when you feel like you need to. I guess it really should be approached like an art rather than a science...
As an update on my progress, the pitch colors are becoming clearer, and I've noticed that I'm just listening to the pitches themselves in my training, for the most part. That is, not hearing them as relating to some other tone. Burge calls the latter experience "absolute relative pitch". Absolute relative pitch is when you can hear a pitch and know what it is, even if you've heard no other pitches that day, but for some reason you hear it as relating to some other pitch. For example whenever I heard a C# (I usually think of it as Db), I heard it as a major third above A. This is something that probably everyone who does this training will experience at some point. It is a good sign, and actually you can use it to start learning pitches better. For example, I was having a lot of trouble with Eb, so I tried to associate it as being a major third up from B (although then I guess it would be considered D#). I heard F# as a major third above D, etc. This will happen when you know certain tones better than others. I am at the point where this is fading and I'm just listening to the notes themselves more. Not something you can force, absolute relative pitch will simply fade into absolute pitch on its own.
As an update on my progress, the pitch colors are becoming clearer, and I've noticed that I'm just listening to the pitches themselves in my training, for the most part. That is, not hearing them as relating to some other tone. Burge calls the latter experience "absolute relative pitch". Absolute relative pitch is when you can hear a pitch and know what it is, even if you've heard no other pitches that day, but for some reason you hear it as relating to some other pitch. For example whenever I heard a C# (I usually think of it as Db), I heard it as a major third above A. This is something that probably everyone who does this training will experience at some point. It is a good sign, and actually you can use it to start learning pitches better. For example, I was having a lot of trouble with Eb, so I tried to associate it as being a major third up from B (although then I guess it would be considered D#). I heard F# as a major third above D, etc. This will happen when you know certain tones better than others. I am at the point where this is fading and I'm just listening to the notes themselves more. Not something you can force, absolute relative pitch will simply fade into absolute pitch on its own.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Reading Music
I've tended to avoid this throughout the course of my guitar playing, but I've always wanted to spend more time with it. As I've recently been giving reading music another go, I've realized that it reinforces any AP training I've done that day. Consider that it is just that much more time spent being aware of exactly which notes you are playing (at least if you read at a slow pace like myself - I'm sure people who read very quickly don't really even stop to think about exactly which note they are playing). I also have a suspicion that this was part of the reason Burge was able to develop AP so fast back in his high school days. Pianists in general seem to be more inclined towards reading than guitar players, and again I'm realizing that this is an advantage regarding AP training.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Philosophy of the pursuit of perfect pitch
I wanted to discuss some of the motivations for developing perfect pitch outside of simply wanting to become a better musician. All of those other motivations will be connected in some way to the desire to become a better musician, however I think there is more to this discipline than that alone. In a way it relates to any other way a musician might practice in order to improve in music, in that there is a good deal of discipline involved, as well as often times a good deal of frustration. Many people do become frustrated with the training for AP fairly early on, probably because the changes in the ear's perception are so gradual. I read on amazon one of the reviews of Burge's course (I like to see what people are saying about it from time to time) someone's comment that the effort involved could be something like 300% for every 1% gain, obviously their concept of some sort of value ratio. I agree that there is a lot of effort, that is for sure, but improving the ear is so important in music that I don't really see how someone could not grasp its benefits. The moment I simply started to sound better because I could hear more clearly I knew that I would continue the training to see where it would lead me (although admittedly there were times when I considered giving up), and I've always been improving because of it. If I never really get an amazingly reliable and accurate perfect pitch, will I be upset with Burge for causing false hope? Perhaps a bit, but in the end I am grateful for benefiting from his discovery of this unique way to improve the ear. I used to think it was all my fault that I hadn't developed it sooner, either because I wasn't practicing every single day, or I wasn't training for long enough each time, or that I somehow wasn't "relaxing" as Burge emphasizes time and again. But getting perfect pitch is just plain hard. That said, in doing the training, your ear will always be improving. Should that be the claim on the course's ad? Probably - something like "Drastically improve your ear with this special method of training, perhaps even acquire absolute pitch!" But that would not sell quite as well to your average aspiring musician. Let's face it, a lot of us who spend money on this course dream of becoming like Mozart, with the ability to compose entire symphonies in our minds and transcribe them flawlessly onto the staff, or remember hyper complex tunes and solos note for note. Don't get me wrong - if that were possible (and it might be with decades of training), I think it would be fantastic. But I think having a bit more humble aspirations is OK. Just because we're not going to become the next Einstein doesn't mean we shouldn't pursue knowledge in the field of mathematics.
To address the economic concern of this training though, that of opportunity cost, it is really necessary to evaluate the preferences of each individual. Could your time be better spent doing something else - or, in terms of music, would you improve more spending that time practicing something else? It depends. I would say for any serious musician, almost always, no. The reason is that the training need only take about a half hour a day, and I think the dividends for that time are well worth it. However, if you can only afford to practice a half an hour a day - should you do this training? Well, probably not, because presumably you want to play music, not listen to individual pitches for their special qualities in the only time you get to play. So I believe it's a matter of how much time you get to devote to music. If you can play for 2 hours or more a day, personally I'd say include 20-30 minutes for the perfect pitch training. A lot of times I can only really fit in about an hour, or a bit more, of playing in a day. But most of the time I still choose to do the ear training. Absolute pitch has almost become an end in and of itself to me, though, because I think it's so fascinating. Anyway, I would like this to be a continuing discussion of the philosophy of absolute pitch ear training, and perhaps more broadly to the philosophy of music learning in general. Cheers, and as always, comments are welcome.
To address the economic concern of this training though, that of opportunity cost, it is really necessary to evaluate the preferences of each individual. Could your time be better spent doing something else - or, in terms of music, would you improve more spending that time practicing something else? It depends. I would say for any serious musician, almost always, no. The reason is that the training need only take about a half hour a day, and I think the dividends for that time are well worth it. However, if you can only afford to practice a half an hour a day - should you do this training? Well, probably not, because presumably you want to play music, not listen to individual pitches for their special qualities in the only time you get to play. So I believe it's a matter of how much time you get to devote to music. If you can play for 2 hours or more a day, personally I'd say include 20-30 minutes for the perfect pitch training. A lot of times I can only really fit in about an hour, or a bit more, of playing in a day. But most of the time I still choose to do the ear training. Absolute pitch has almost become an end in and of itself to me, though, because I think it's so fascinating. Anyway, I would like this to be a continuing discussion of the philosophy of absolute pitch ear training, and perhaps more broadly to the philosophy of music learning in general. Cheers, and as always, comments are welcome.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Another general principal
Always be expanding your ear:
By expanding your ear, I mean opening your ear, and this is generally the idea that I've been giving in the other posts anyway but I wanted to offer a few more ways to do that.
Opening your ear can be done a few different ways, usually simultaneously. The first way is listening differently than usual, that is, relaxing and listening for pitch colors or qualities. The next is changing up how you do that. By this I mean for example instead of listening to one note at a time, listen to two notes at a time. Instead of doing that randomly though, choose adjacent strings and do exercises similar to the ones I described for single strings. That is, play two notes, on the B and high E strings, and try to identify them. Listen to them a number of times for the pitch colors. If you are having trouble hearing the color/quality of one of the notes in particular, listen to just that note some more, maybe playing a few adjacent notes for comparison. Then move on to identifying two notes on the G and B strings, then the D and G strings, then the A and D strings, then the E and A strings, always listening more carefully to the notes where you have trouble and comparing them to adjacent notes. Then reverse the order. This is quite a good exercise and I am still doing it often to keep the ear opening up. You can try this skipping strings as well, e.g. playing two notes on the G and high E string, then the D and B string, then the A and G string, then the low E and D string. These exercises are good because they also give you practice listening to different kinds of intervals. As a result, your relative pitch will improve as well. The bonus is that when you go back (maybe the next day) to training one note at a time, it will seem easier to identify the notes.
When listening to new things, the ear requires that it is relaxed so that it can open up more (Burge's mantra of don't strain!). Another example of incorporating something new could be using a different instrument. If you can get your hands on a bass, this will be especially helpful as a guitarist. It has a general timbre very similar to the guitar, so it's not too much of a stretch for the ear, but the lower range really helps your ear to open up. Again, try to relax with it. You can do exercises with the bass very similar to the ones I've described for the guitar. I would say to do only part of your training with the new instrument and then to go back to your main one, as then it will actually seem easier to identify tones on your primary instrument. I've found that I only have to do this once in a while to keep the ear opening up.
By expanding your ear, I mean opening your ear, and this is generally the idea that I've been giving in the other posts anyway but I wanted to offer a few more ways to do that.
Opening your ear can be done a few different ways, usually simultaneously. The first way is listening differently than usual, that is, relaxing and listening for pitch colors or qualities. The next is changing up how you do that. By this I mean for example instead of listening to one note at a time, listen to two notes at a time. Instead of doing that randomly though, choose adjacent strings and do exercises similar to the ones I described for single strings. That is, play two notes, on the B and high E strings, and try to identify them. Listen to them a number of times for the pitch colors. If you are having trouble hearing the color/quality of one of the notes in particular, listen to just that note some more, maybe playing a few adjacent notes for comparison. Then move on to identifying two notes on the G and B strings, then the D and G strings, then the A and D strings, then the E and A strings, always listening more carefully to the notes where you have trouble and comparing them to adjacent notes. Then reverse the order. This is quite a good exercise and I am still doing it often to keep the ear opening up. You can try this skipping strings as well, e.g. playing two notes on the G and high E string, then the D and B string, then the A and G string, then the low E and D string. These exercises are good because they also give you practice listening to different kinds of intervals. As a result, your relative pitch will improve as well. The bonus is that when you go back (maybe the next day) to training one note at a time, it will seem easier to identify the notes.
When listening to new things, the ear requires that it is relaxed so that it can open up more (Burge's mantra of don't strain!). Another example of incorporating something new could be using a different instrument. If you can get your hands on a bass, this will be especially helpful as a guitarist. It has a general timbre very similar to the guitar, so it's not too much of a stretch for the ear, but the lower range really helps your ear to open up. Again, try to relax with it. You can do exercises with the bass very similar to the ones I've described for the guitar. I would say to do only part of your training with the new instrument and then to go back to your main one, as then it will actually seem easier to identify tones on your primary instrument. I've found that I only have to do this once in a while to keep the ear opening up.
Helpful Links
I haven't really gone over the basics of how to start training for perfect pitch, as I assume that most people here have given Burge's course a decent shot. If you don't want to get his course though, here are the links to the most helpful tips I've found online regarding starting out. They are primarily for bass players, but a lot of the principals will work for the guitar as well as other instruments. In general this guy just gives good ear training advice.
http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2009/10/22/the-zen-of-ear-training-part-1/
http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2009/10/29/the-zen-of-ear-training-part-2/
The only thing I would personally change about his advice is the part about using a metronome. It is very helpful to play tones in different rhythms repeating them a certain number of times, etc, (often I'll play a note and then softly count 2, 3, 4 in my head for example) but personally I would find a metronome distracting. I could see how some people would find it helpful though. Good luck as you continue training!
http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2009/10/22/the-zen-of-ear-training-part-1/
http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2009/10/29/the-zen-of-ear-training-part-2/
The only thing I would personally change about his advice is the part about using a metronome. It is very helpful to play tones in different rhythms repeating them a certain number of times, etc, (often I'll play a note and then softly count 2, 3, 4 in my head for example) but personally I would find a metronome distracting. I could see how some people would find it helpful though. Good luck as you continue training!
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