Piano Forum



Enfant Terrible or Childishly Innocent? – Prokofiev’s Complete Piano Works Now on Piano Street
In our ongoing quest to provide you with a complete library of classical piano sheet music, the works of Sergey Prokofiev have been our most recent focus. As one of the most distinctive and original musical voices from the first half of the 20th century, Prokofiev has an obvious spot on the list of top piano composers. Welcome to the intense, humorous, and lyrical universe of his complete Sonatas, Concertos, character pieces, and transcriptions! Read more >>

Topic: eartraining - learning inversions?  (Read 4103 times)

Offline keithjarrett

  • PS Silver Member
  • Jr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 32
eartraining - learning inversions?
on: May 30, 2006, 10:22:34 AM
Hi, I'm doing the David Lucas Burge relative pitch program and I'm stuck now at the beginning of level 2 because I can't seem to learn the inversions. I often associate the sounds to songs I've heard, and I can associate the second inversion, but I seem to mix first inversion and root position with eachother. Also, it becomes a lot harder hearing it's second inversion when it's played harmonically. What do you suggest I should do to learn to hear the difference between these inversions? I've even made songs and looped them, and used other methods to try to hypnotize myself, but I just can't do it. I can hear first inversion backwards though, from hearing the Charlie Parker tune "Blues for Alice", but still I make the mistake and think it's root position.

Offline keithjarrett

  • PS Silver Member
  • Jr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 32
Re: eartraining - learning inversions?
Reply #1 on: May 31, 2006, 05:23:17 AM
haven't anyone got any suggestions? can't you recommend two songs that utilize the inversions?

Offline chocolatedog

  • PS Silver Member
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 104
Re: eartraining - learning inversions?
Reply #2 on: May 31, 2006, 07:44:14 AM
I'm not sure what the training programme is that you're using but when I teach my pupils about inversions I always try to get them to hear how the first inversion is a much weaker sounding inversion than the root and less stable precisely because it doesn't have the root at the bottom. Having said that, they still find it difficult!!! Can't suggest any songs though...sorry.

Offline keithjarrett

  • PS Silver Member
  • Jr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 32
Re: eartraining - learning inversions?
Reply #3 on: May 31, 2006, 07:59:44 AM
yeah, david lucas burge says to listen to the bottom note or the top note, and determine if it's the root, third or fifth, but I haven't learned scale degrees yet so I can't see how I could do that..

Offline nicco

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 1191
Re: eartraining - learning inversions?
Reply #4 on: May 31, 2006, 09:25:04 AM
Hearing the difference between the root and the third is something of the most basic in ear training, so if you cant hear that you have done something wrong.
"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Offline keithjarrett

  • PS Silver Member
  • Jr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 32
Re: eartraining - learning inversions?
Reply #5 on: May 31, 2006, 10:31:50 AM
is that so? i've never heard or read anywhere about learning that so I never focused on learning it. I don't think it's that easy, say if someone plays an A major chord in root position, then someone plays a Eb major chord in first inversion, I can't tell that the bottom tone of the Eb chord is the third.

Offline nicco

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 1191
Re: eartraining - learning inversions?
Reply #6 on: May 31, 2006, 12:00:02 PM
I know ear training is different from school to school, but at least at my school we focus a lot on hearing the root in whatever chord is played. That way you can get used to hearing the root in basically any chord in any inversion, making it much much easier to hear what note is in the bass, ergo telling wich inversion it is.
"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Offline mike_lang

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 1496
Re: eartraining - learning inversions?
Reply #7 on: May 31, 2006, 12:06:56 PM
It might be helpful for you to associate the first inversion chord with recitative, (e.g., the opening bars of Beethoven's Tempest), and the 2nd inversion with dominant chords (e.g., the C64 that precedes most cadenzas, esp. in Mozart).

Offline ptmidwest

  • PS Silver Member
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 216
Re: eartraining - learning inversions?
Reply #8 on: May 31, 2006, 12:18:11 PM
Sing it.   

Sing the notes you hear.
For more information about this topic, click search below!
 

Logo light pianostreet.com - the website for classical pianists, piano teachers, students and piano music enthusiasts.

Subscribe for unlimited access

Sign up

Follow us

Piano Street Digicert