Ear Training 1

unit 7

2013 Musicians Institute

 Unit 7: Chromaticism
• In this Unit you will learn about:

• Maintaining Pitch

• The Chromatic Scale

& Pitch Alterations

• Non-Diatonic
Intervals mi2 mi3 aug4/dim5 mi6 mi7
 Maintaining Pitch
• The ability to vocally maintain (or audibly recognize) a pitch amidst varying
musical textures is essential for all musicians.Your ability to transcribe melodies
quickly and efficiently will improve. Also, this will increase your marketability as
a sideman possessing solid backing vocal skills.

• Using an “Ah” syllable, match pitch with the single note played. The pitch will
continue to sustain throughout a series of altering musical textures. You must
maintain pitch with the primary note.
 The Chromatic Scale
• The Chromatic Scale is a scale built on half step intervals between every
scale degree. You will learn more about this scale in your Harmony and
Theory classes but, in regards to Ear Training, this is a great scale to
familiarize yourself with for pitch control purposes. A Chromatic Scale can
be started on any pitch.

• Using an “Ah” syllable, sing along with the construction of a Chromatic Scale
starting with F below middle C.

# b b
#
# # b b b
#
 Pitch Alterations
• The smallest interval in music is the half step. The ability to manipulate a pitch
up (sharp, “raised”) or down (flat, “lowered”) is another important technique
to develop. This will heighten your ability to maintain pitch, sing in tune and
recognize/transcribe melodies.

• Using an “Ah” syllable, match pitch with the ascending melodic intervals you
hear. The interval with then be “stretched” by raising the upper note by one
half step. Next, the interval will be “compressed” by lowering the upper note
by one half step. For example:

• Practice these techniques on your own with a piano.

 Exercise 1
• In this exercise you will sing (using an “Ah” sound) from Tonic to each scale
degree of a Major Scale (1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 1-7, 1-8). Once you hit each scale
degree you will then raise the scale degree up one half step and then down
one half step.

#1

#2

#3

Exercise continues on the next page...

 Exercise 1
continued
#4

#5

#6

#7
 Non-Diatonic Intervals
• Non-Diatonic Intervals, in this context, refer to intervals that do not
exist from Tonic to the seven scale degrees of the Major Scale.

• As we have learned, Relative Pitch is a skill that can be developed

through a strict regimen of daily ear training.

• Below is a short list of quick references for all Non-Diatonic intervals.

“Turbulent” - there is tension and friction.You

mi2 “Jaws” Theme “Stella by Starlight”
can feel the notes grinding against one another.

mi3 “Somber” - there is a sadness and gloom. “Bad” “Hey Jude”

AUG4 “Twisted” - strong tension and pull in two

“The Simpsons” “YYZ”
/dim5 different directions.

mi6 “Lonely” - missing identity and undefined. “We Are Young” “Love Story” Theme

mi7 “Blue” - Moody yet bold and strong “Star Trek” “Watermelon Man”

• The following link provides an extensive list of intervallic references:

Interval Examples
 Minor Second (mi2)
• A helpful way to recognize an ascending Minor Second (mi2) is to hum or sing
the first part of the theme from “Jaws”. For a descending Minor Second, use
the first two pitches of the melody to “Stella by Starlight”.

• Listen to the Minor Second ascending example, “Jaws”:

!
mi2

• Listen to the Minor Second descending example, “Stella by Starlight”:

mi2
 Minor Third (mi3)
• A helpful way to recognize an ascending Minor Third (mi3) is to hum or sing
the first part of the main riff from “Bad” by Michael Jackson. For a descending
Minor Third, use the first two pitches of the melody to “Hey Jude”.

• Listen to the Minor Third ascending example, “Bad”:

mi3

• Listen to the Minor Third descending example, “Hey Jude”:

!
Hey Jude don’t make it bad take a sad song and make it better

mi3
 aug4/dim 5 (Tritone)
• A helpful way to recognize an ascending AUG4/dim5 is to hum or sing the first
part of the opening theme of “The Simpsons”. For a descending AUG4/dim5,
use the riff to “YYZ” by Rush. This interval is also referred to as a Tritone
because of it’s symmetry of three whole steps.

• Listen to the Tritone ascending example, “The Simpsons”:

!
The Simp - sons

AUG4

• Listen to the Tritone descending example, “YYZ”:

dim5
 Minor Sixth (mi6)
• A helpful way to recognize an ascending Minor Sixth (mi6) is to hum or sing
the final part of the main riff from “We Are Young” by Fun. For a descending
Minor Sixth, use the first two pitches of the theme from “Love Story”.

• Listen to the Minor Sixth ascending example, “We Are Young”:

! To - night we are young so I set the world on Fi - re

mi6

• Listen to the Minor Sixth descending example, “Love Story”:

!Where do I be - gin to tell the sto - ry of how great a love can be

mi6
 Minor Seventh (mi7)
• A helpful way to recognize an ascending Minor Seventh (mi7) is to hum or sing
the first two pitches of the opening theme to “Star Trek”. For a descending
Minor Seventh, use the first two pitches of “Watermelon Man:

• Listen to the Minor Seventh ascending example, “Star Trek”:

mi7

• Listen to the Minor Seventh descending example, “Watermelon Man”:

mi7
 Exercise 2
Chromatic Intervals
• In this exercise you will hear chromatic intervals. You will only hear the
following intervals: mi2, mi3, A4/D5, mi6 and mi7. Each interval will be played
three times. Write down your answers also indicating if the interval is
ascending or descending using an arrow. Answers will be revealed at the end of
the entire exercise on the following page.
 Exercise 2
Answers

1. mi35 6. mi36 11. aug46 16. mi65

! ! ! !
2. mi65 7. aug45 12. mi26 17. mi76
! ! ! !
3. mi25 8. mi76 13. mi75 18. mi35
! ! ! !
4. mi26 9. mi75 14. aug45 19. mi76
! ! ! !
5. mi75 10. mi65 15. mi26 20. aug45
! ! !
 Assessment #7
This concludes Unit 7 of Ear Training 1.
Your next step is to pass Assessment #7
before moving on to Unit 8.