5 Tips to learning tunes by ear

September 30, 2011

When you’re first learning to play by ear, it’s a long, slow, painful process, kind of like sitting in traffic when you’re late for work. But just as it is with traffic you cannot rush the process and you do eventually get to your destination. It just takes a little patience.

I remember the very first time I learned to play a tune by ear. I took a weekend fiddle workshop and my only goal was to learn one tune before the weekend was out. This may sound simple. I mean a whole weekend to learn only one tune, really? If you’re not used to learning tunes by ear, I’m sure you can relate to what a feat that actually is.

Here are some tips to help you more easily learn tunes by ear.

  1. Listen. Listen to the tune you want to learn as much as you possibly can. Listen in the car, while you’re doing the dishes, in the shower, etc. Listen it to it so much that you can sing the tune in your head. It’s much easier to learn a tune that you actually know.
  2. Slow it Down. There are tools that you can use to help you slow down the tune without changing the key. The two that I have used are The Amazing Slowdowner and Transcribe. You can even download an app for this onto your iphone.
  3. Take a Class. Check your  local community music school. The Summit School of Traditional Music in Montpelier offers two great classes called Beginning to Learn Irish Tunes by Ear and Irish Session Repertoire. All tunes are taught by ear.
  4. Practice. If you’re used to reading music, learning by ear can be very challenging. But rest assured it does get easier, it just takes practice. Just like anything, the more you do it, the easier it gets.
  5. Be Patient. To some, learning by ear is easy, to others it takes time. So just be patient with yourself and know that you will eventually get better at it as time goes on.

What are some of your tips?

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Posted by Katrina VanTyne

What makes a session fun?

September 5, 2011

At the Bagitos session last week, I was reminded of just how much fun a session can be. Not that all sessions aren’t fun, they are, but this one was particularly exhilarating because of the energy that was created by the group.

Irish sessions are a little different from a regular jam sessions in that there are some unwritten rules musicians need to follow. For example, we usually play a tune three times and then follow it with another tune or another couple of tunes. This is called a tune set.  The fun of it is pulling that second or third tune out of your head at a moment’s notice. It’s easy to get caught up in playing the same old tune sets because you know how to play them and it’s safe because you’ve practiced it before. But pulling one out of your head while you’re playing is another thing altogether. It’s where I think the creativity of a session comes in.

At last week’s session, someone would play their one tune and then someone else would pick up the pace and string along another tune and so it went.

In an Irish session class I took at The Summit School of Traditional Music in Montpelier, we did this at the end of every class. We called it the ring of fire. One person in the circle would start a tune, play it 3 times then the next person would carry it through to another tune and on it went around the circle. This way you never get wrapped up in playing the same old tune sets. Instead you are forced to play on the fly, which I think makes you a better player and certainly adds some spice to the session.

This week we’ll see what the session holds. What do you think makes a good session?

2 Comments | Irish Sessions | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Katrina VanTyne

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