Hear a line from a recording and retain it.Hear and sing the roots of a progression.Hear and sing specific chord tones while a chord plays in the background.However, many traits of great ears can easily be identified. But what does it even mean to have great ears and a vivid aural imagination? They are something that are consciously developed over years and years of practice. The problem: great ears don’t just happen. The way we hear is the most neglected aspect of practicing improvisation. Want to change the way you sound? Change the way you hear. The stuff, though, that actually emerges during improvisation is the stuff that we can really hear. This well is filled with things we’ve practiced, listened to, or studied theoretically. When we go to improvise, we draw from a well of knowledge. You’ll have to go to the other 98% of the internet for that. If there were a secret to improvising, developing your aural imagination would be it. Nothing has such an impact on your playing than your aural imagination. 133: Singing all tensions on a Dominant 7th chord.The extent to which your aural imagination is developed, largely determines: the quality of lines you play, how you play those lines (articulation, swing feel, inflection), and the sound you play with.131 b: 4-3 Suspension on Have You Met Mrs.129: Varijashree Venugopal – Sings Naima.122: Major Melody – Triplets grouped in 5.This is, however, an excellent way to begin hearing in a more general sense after developing a strong grasp of the detailed sound of each mode.Matt Otto/Xose Miguelez These cycles create more of modal or general sound in that they are not always harmonically specific with chord tones falling strictly on strong beats. The exception to the clear melodic outline of each mode would be the more advanced shapes derived from diatonic cycle motions (3, 6, 4, and 5). By singing melodic ideas that imply each mode in a clear way you will begin to hear the detail of each mode and its harmonic and melodic significance. Thinking or knowing, “this is the b9, this is the #11, this is a Bb-7 chord”, etc…This ear-training course is meant to be primarily a strong introduction to the modes of the major scale using melody as the entry point. Just understand each note of the scale or melody in relationship to the chord and root it is found within. This may include playing the material on your instrument but not necessarily.
After going through all 12 keys begin intellectualizing and thinking about the modes and the numbers or relationship to the major scale. If you move through the series this well, it will have a compounding effect and fundamentally change your ear and understanding of modes. This singing in tune will be proof that you have truly learned to hear the material. Sing one track over and over until, after stopping the track, you can sing the whole exercise well and in tune accapella. Listening and singing along will be all that is necessary at first. This will give you a deep and strong understanding of each of the modes of the major scale in every key. What I recommend is focusing on just one key per month over 12 months. Much like the way we learned to speak, the method incorporates listening and copying over and over. This ear training method is what I like to call “passive ear training”.