Last month I introduced the diminished triad into my ear training and found I needed to revert to practicing with only root position chords. This latest exercise maintains the three triad qualities but plays them in all positions and inversions and in either closed or open voicings. This is certainly the most difficult exercise I have tried so far. I still find determining the position of diminished triads tricky, perhaps because of the chords relatively symmetrical structure, but I do feel that I have made meaningful progress.

Once again, you can work with this exercise by either improvising along with the randomly generated chords or echoing them. You can see me do both here and download the code for the exercise here. To use the code, simply open the code in Supercollider, select the Language tab, and click ‘evaluate file’

Ear training has become the central focus of my practice routine. In addition to exercises that keep my hands in shape, I try to do some kind of ear training every day. The goal of my ear-training practice generally is to develop my ability to hear harmony simultaneously with melody. The goal of this specific exercise is to identify the root of a triad and to recognize it as either major or minor. To identify the root of one chord, I compare it to the root of the previous chord. This develops my ability to perceive pitch melodically. To identify the chord as either major or minor, I make a judgment about the simultaneous character of the chord. This develops my ability to perceive pitch harmonically.

As with many other of my ear-training exercises, this exercise can be approached in two ways: first, by improvising along with the randomly generated chords and, second, by echoing the randomly generated chords. Each approach presents a unique challenge. Right now I tend to focus on the echoing approach as I find it more difficult.

To use the provided code, simply download Supercollider, copy and paste the code below, click the Language tab, and select ‘evaluate file’. In a few seconds a window will open with detailed instructions of use of the program.

Ear Training IV - Major, Minor, and Diminished Triads; All Inversions; Closed and Open Voicings

Ear Training I - Root Position Major and Minor Triads

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Jacob Wiens