Ear Training With Triads 1

Instructor

Yannick Lambrecht

Course Type

Workshop

Skill Level

Beginner

Intermediate

Duration

01:45:35

Have you ever listened to a song and wondered what chords were being played? Learning to hear chords starts with triads, the simple three-note chords at the heart of most music. In this workshop, you’ll learn to tell major triads from minor triads by ear, then follow how chords change throughout a song. It’s one of the most valuable skills you can build as a musician, and anyone can learn it with the right approach.

You’ll practice with familiar songs, starting with simple ones like “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Happy Birthday,” where you’ll listen for the moments the chords shift. These songs use the three most common chords in a key, which makes them a great place to start. Then you’ll take on more challenging examples, like the folk song “Shenandoah,” which uses a wider variety of chords.

Most importantly, you’ll learn a practical process for ear training that you can use with any song. You’ll learn to listen to the lowest note of each chord to follow the harmony, and to play chords one note at a time so you can hear each sound clearly instead of one big block of sound. By the end, you’ll have the tools and confidence to keep developing your ear on your own.

For software ear trainers, we recommend the following: Keyboard Relative Pitch, Note Relative Pitch, Intervals, Scales, Chords

Featured Reviews

View PWJ member reviews of this course!

Shauna Zink   verified

So educational

Learned things I didn't know I needed to

Christine Papile   verified

A fun yet challenging ear training course

I have a hard time playing by ear and I tend to rely on reading notes. This course was really good at helping me to recognize the notes by hearing the sounds they make. I have a goal to play by ear, even if I start slow with simple songs and this course is a great start at accomplishing that goal. I did not get them all right, but was excited that I actually started recognizing some of chords by ear. I am trying to improvise to help me not be relying on reading sheet music. The progressions I learned in this course were helpful with that as well. I will try to use them in my improvising. The instructor is very good. He goes slow enough to understand everything. I really enjoyed it.

Antoinette Iacobo   verified

Important but neglected skill

This was a new type of course for me. The process Yannick laid out is something that I'll need to keep coming back to. And I'm going to practice the songs in each key I've already learned. I plan to revisit it some time in the future to test myself to see if I could get the last few sections.

Don Samuel   verified

Listening is essential

Thank You Yannick. Listening intelligently is an aspirational goal. This skill is focused on very well in this course. Now I can glimpse at blending it well into the piano skill attainment blend.

Serge Bailly   verified

Encouraging and challenging

Encouragement of Yannick for this ear training which is not sooo easy

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