So far my ear training exercises have focused exclusively on major and minor triads. This month I have decided to work on recognizing diminished triads as well. Initially, I jumped right in with triads played in all positions and inversions. I found it too difficult, however, to recognize the position of the diminished triads played this way. So this month’s exercise is back to triads in root position but now including diminished triads.

As always there are two ways to approach this exercise, by improvising along with the chords or echoing them. You can see me do both here and find the code for this 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 III - Major, Minor, and Diminished Triads in Root Position

Ear Training I - Root Position Major and Minor Triads

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Jacob Wiens