Recognize Intervals - The Quick Dirty Method
Why should I care about recognizing intervals? Good question... I'm glad you asked.
Well, if you care about understanding music, then you should care about understanding intervals. If music is like a language, then intervals are like the vocab words. What is the first thing you do when you go about learning a new language? You learn vocab words.
Alright, before we get down to business, I have one more thing to say. In this article, I am talking about recognizing intervals by EAR, not by sight.
Ok, I am going to provide you with two tips that, if practiced consistently, will cut your learning time in half. I am not kidding about this. That is not some hyped up bull-hockey. Use these two tips and you will be recognizing intervals in no time.
Alright here we go...
Tip 1. Associate the intervals with the first two notes of a common tune that you already know. For example, the first two notes of Happy Birthday are a unison. How in the heck am I supposed to do this with no prior knowledge of intervals? Another good question... You are one fire today. There are lists all over the internet and I am not going to replicate one here, but here's a hint... I'll point you towards a nifty free resource at the end of this article that will hold your hand and walk you through it.
Tip 2. Sing the intervals as you learn them. Yes... Sing. I know that you will feel silly (unless you are a singer of course), but this is totally necessary. Singing the intervals helps you internalize the sounds so when you hear them again, you will be quicker to recognize them.
So there it is... Follow those two simple steps and you will be able to pick up intervals by ear so quickly, people will be calling you the next Mozart.
What's that? You want more? Great.
Here you go... Head on over to theguitarprofessor.com and snag a free ebook that will teach you everything you could ever want to know about learning music by ear.
