Music theory: how to develop an ear for music. How to develop an ear for music - for self-taught people and more! Musical ear and its development

Our friends who teach singing - including those who are “not at all capable” - never tire of explaining that this label is ridiculous and stupid. And it is the insults received from those who shouted at you “shut up” that most interfere with singing, and not some natural reasons.
The ability to sing, that is
A). don't be afraid to sound at all
b). control the pitch of the sound
- can be fully developed through exercises that are not at all difficult.

Original taken from lyosia V

A wonderful article about voice control and a video of one of the works from Alexey Kolyada’s training “Opening the Voice”. I am pleased to share:

Original taken from araviya c I have no “ear for music”! What does this mean and what to do about it?

I sang a lot as a child. At the age of 7-8 I sang in the studio folk art, at 9 I was spinning tirelessly in front of the mirror, inventing dances and memorizing pop hits and more and more new songs. And then someone kind told me that I sing badly, and that in general I have no voice. No, of course there is one, but not for singing. They told me this persistently, and I myself heard that I don’t always sing the way the voice from the tape recorder sings. And a little later I learned that in order to sing beautifully and accurately, you need to have an ear for music, which I also lack, along with the voice. I heard this many times - at school during music lessons, in my family, among friends and acquaintances. By the age of 15, I clearly knew that I couldn’t sing, because by doing so I would darken the mood of those around me. Moreover, I still don’t understand when exactly that same notorious bear did his vile thing to my ear and left me without singing, because I was singing and I liked it! Apparently, the collective opinion of others about my singing abilities and my own defeats had a crushing effect on me. And then I stopped singing and just sounding for a long time.

And a couple of years ago I suddenly learned that the lack of an ear for music, which I am endowed with, has nothing to do with hearing! The point is completely different - in ability to accurately match pitches an audible sequence of sounds (or remembered) and the sounds that the person himself makes. Actually, it is the absence of this ability that is called “lack of ear for music.”

In essence, the ability to sound at the right pitch, due to the lack of development of which many people stop singing, is a simple muscle coordination task. Some people master it quickly and easily even in childhood. About them, the lucky ones, I was often told that they had an ear for music. To this, however, they added that this skill comes from nature. And since not everyone is given it by nature, you shouldn’t try to do anything with your voice. And I, of course, calmed down and didn’t rock the boat, because nature didn’t endow me with such wealth. And she took it for granted.

Of course, some some simple advice“Don’t sing, there’s no hearing” is not enough. They persevere and sing. Although this desire, as experience shows, does not always lead to good consequences. After some time, without developing the ability to sound accurately, you can get a fair amount of grievances, complexes, despair and uncertainty- everything that manifests itself in those cases when a person fails at something, and those around him laugh at him. Or they do something offensive.

Actually, with such baggage, it’s time to neglect the ability to sound and sing, thinking that this is the lot of gifted people. However, we should not forget that the so-called “ear for music” is an ability, which means it can be developed. That’s what they once told me, adding that in fact, everyone has an ear for music, just not everyone has it developed.

In the video presented below, I filmed and successfully tested one of the possibilities of working with this ability - the ability to accurately correlate in pitch the sounds that a person hears and that he himself makes. This a simple exercise that everyone can do, once seemed to me simply impossible and terrible. Now I, who was once afraid to open my mouth and sing any melody, do it easily and simply. With this exercise a person learns to sound higher and lower, changing the pitch, which is exactly what a necessary condition for the development of “musical ear”.

When performing this exercise, difficulties may arise: for example, it turns out that the voice in some places becomes uncontrollable and seems to sound on its own, and not very accurately and not very beautifully. At the same time, it is noticed that in this case tensions appear in the human body, due to which it is not possible to accurately change the pitch of the sound. I’ll tell you a secret, these bodily tensions, as it turns out, are the very accumulated grievances and other troubles that manifest themselves during any attempt to sing in an unfriendly environment. A little work and hunting to sound accurate– and these tensions will quickly go away. In the video, the guys don’t show how to work with tension, but they show and tell you in detail how to master the ability to sound higher and lower. And I think we’ll show you how to work with stresses later.
Good luck!

It is believed that an ear for music is a gift that a person receives at birth. Therefore, selected people become vocalists. The rest are left with karaoke singing, false notes and missing the tempo. Practice shows that a person is able to improve any skill. How gymnasts develop flexibility, and athletes develop endurance. The same is true with hearing. Constant training will give results, and you will sound clear and beautiful. How to develop an ear for music?

Why develop an ear for music?

If you decide to connect your life with music, then you cannot do without developing your hearing. It is needed by vocalists, singers, sound engineers, producers and specialists in the music field. Musicians interpret the state when a person does not hit the notes. This is the lack of connection between hearing and sound. In other words, a person hears the notes, understands the sound of the melody, but when it comes to vocals, he sings out of tune.

Musicians do not have the question, why develop an ear for music? But vocal lovers, people who see themselves on stage or are gifted by nature, think about this dilemma. There is no limit to perfection. Even if the initial data is provided by nature.

People with poor hearing and those who dream of singing, with such indicators, give up on their dreams, without thinking about developing their skills. If a child dreams of being on stage, then support him. Write down to start music school. Improving musical hearing is useful for children and helps in learning foreign languages.

Music school completed in childhood is good basis to improve hearing. But, you can get by with home exercises. Frequency of training and a clear program are important here. If you want more quick results, then hire a tutor who will give private solfeggio lessons.

How to develop an ear for music on your own? Use the following selection of exercises:

You will need a musical instrument to play notes. First, press the keys in a row from the note “C” to “B”. Listen to the sound of the keys and sing the scales. First up, then down. If you are false, then start over. To consolidate the result and feel the sound of the notes, do the exercise several dozen times (20–30 repetitions).
Choose pieces of music that you like. Choose melodic songs. Rap and rock will not work, since such works are far from melodic. Next, turn on the song, listen to a short segment and stop the track. Try to repeat the song completely, hitting the notes. If in doubt, listen to the passage again. Work with the echo by listening to the song to the end.
Take a musical instrument to play notes. Your task is to listen and sing the intervals. This activity effectively helps to develop an ear for music. Take any note and connect it to the next one. For example, “do” - “re” and so on until the note “b”. Listen to sounds, then play them. Repeat the exercise several times, playing the musical combination up and down.

Choose a note from the musical series and “sing” it from all sides. To do this, build the following combination. First, take the base note, then raise it up one tone. Then you return to starting position and take the direction towards the lower semitone. Finish the “singing” with the base note. In practice it looks like this: “do-re-do-si-do”. Continue the exercise with each note, “singing” on the syllable “la”.

The given program is designed for beginners. The purpose of the exercises is to consolidate skills and bring skills to automaticity. As soon as you feel that you are confidently performing the described exercises, then expand the number of notes. Use two keys, pointing them in each direction. Take the lower “C”, lower it down, then from the upper “C” lead up.

The above exercises are difficult to do all together. Try each one first, then choose the easiest ones. Practice the exercises to perfection, then gradually add new ones. Combine different methods to achieve the desired result.

Increase your knowledge. If you have not encountered and do not have music vocational education, then start by studying musical notation. Find courses and useful materials on the Internet. They will help you not to memorize notes, but to understand the basic principles. Musical notation is a special language in which musicians communicate. You will be able to read musical notation.

. A similar desire appears when deep study music. If up to this point the classic is not a frequent guest in your home, then change the situation. Turn on works regularly, while cleaning, relaxing, reading a book. Let it sound unobtrusively in the background. Over time, you will notice how you begin to sing along and play the right notes. Interestingly, complex chords are learned faster in famous compositions. Therefore, develop yourself by seeking out new pieces of music.
Pure singing is impossible without musical memory. After listening to the melody several times, you should remember it and reproduce it without difficulty. Find programs to improve your hearing and memorize notes. It’s convenient that the courses are installed on the tablet and mobile phone. Everyday classes give good result. Listen to lessons during your lunch break, or while commuting to classes or work.
Join the choir. Hone your skills immediately through practice. There are now many organizations involved choral singing. Choose a group based on your interests: singing folk or pop songs. While attending classes, you will feel what aspects need to be improved and consult with the teacher. If necessary, take individual lessons.

When working on hearing development at home, prepare yourself mentally. Independent studies require twice as much effort and patience. At first, mistakes and disappointments are possible. Most importantly, do not deceive yourself, do not allow falseness. Do less exercise, but better quality. Constant training will give results: hitting the notes and improving your vocal abilities.

Hearing is a person’s ability to perceive and distinguish different sounds.

Musical ear is a more advanced and complex concept, a state consisting of a number of components, i.e. types of musical hearing.

Types of musical hearing:

Pitch

Melodic

Harmonic

Timbre-dynamic

Musical ear is the ability to perceive the degree of sound sequence, grasp the connection between sounds, remember, internally imagine and consciously reproduce a musical sequence.

Pitch hearing- This is a person’s ability to distinguish and determine the pitch of sound. It can be relative and absolute.

Absolute pitch is the ability to recognize or reproduce the pitch of individual sounds that do not correlate with others whose pitch is known.

Active – when the pitch of a sound is recognized and reproduced.

Passive - when the pitch of a sound is recognized but not reproduced.

Having perfect pitch for a musician is desirable, but not required. A musician must have a relatively developed ear.

Methods for developing pitch hearing:

Singing the main themes from the sheet before analyzing them on the instrument.

Solfage

Recording dictations

Singing intervals

Melodic ear (horizontal)- This is a more complex type of pitch hearing.

Melodic hearing is the ability to perceive pitch musical sounds in their logical sequence and connection with each other (i.e. melody)

Development methods:

Singing the melody separately from the accompaniment part

Performing accompaniment while singing the melody out loud

Selection by ear

Listening to music

Recording dictations

Harmonic hearing (vertical)- a feature of our hearing is the ability to perceive fusion

sounds vertically. Thanks to him, we can decompose a harmonic combination into sounds. Those. the ability to hear sounds together (i.e. harmony) and isolate any of them.

Harmonic hearing is not given to a person by nature - it is a skill and it develops.

Development methods:

Play the piece at a slow tempo, listening to all the harmonic modifications.

Extracting harmony from a work

Arpeggiated performance of new chords

Selection of harmonic accompaniment for various melodies

Polyphonic hearing is the ability to recognize and reproduce several simultaneously

sounding lines.

Playing polyphony with concentration, focusing on any individual voice

Timbre-dynamic hearing– this is an ear for music in its manifestation in relation to timbre and dynamics.

The main method of development is listening to music.

In pedagogical practice there is such a concept as inner hearing.

Inner hearing is the ability to hear and imagine the sound of sounds recorded on paper.

Ear for music- this is a set of abilities necessary for composing, performing and actively perceiving music. Musical ear implies a high subtlety of perception of both individual musical elements or qualities of musical sounds (pitch, volume, timbre), and functional connections between them in a musical work (modal sense, sense of rhythm).

There is a widespread belief that an ear for music is something unique, a gift, given to a person from birth. After all, he can sing, play music, and in general, he is, in a sense, the chosen one.

How many people experience a feeling of inferiority when it comes to music, declaring: “a bear stepped on my ear.”

Among the various types of musical hearing, distinguished according to different characteristics, the most important are:

Absolute pitch - the ability to determine absolute altitude musical sounds without comparing them with a standard;

Relative hearing - the ability to determine and reproduce pitch relationships in melody, chords, intervals, etc.;

Inner hearing - the ability to clearly mentally imagine (for example, from musical notation or from memory) individual sounds, melodic and harmonious structures, entire pieces of music;

Intonation hearing is the ability to hear the expression of music, to reveal the communication structures embedded in it.

The development of musical ear is dealt with by a special discipline - solfeggio, but musical ear actively develops primarily in the process musical activity.

People hear music differently at different ages

This is true. A child is able to distinguish sound with a frequency of up to 30,000 vibrations per second, but in a teenager (up to twenty years old) this figure is 20,000, and by the age of sixty it decreases to 12,000. A good music center produces a signal with a frequency of up to 25,000 vibrations per second. That is, people over sixty will no longer be able to appreciate all its advantages; they simply will not hear the entire breadth of the range of sounds.

It doesn't matter at what age you start training your hearing.

Wrong. American researchers have found that the highest percentage of people with absolute pitch is observed in those who began studying music between 4 and 5 years of age. And among those who started studying music after the age of 8, there are almost no people with absolute pitch.

Men and women hear music the same way

In fact, women hear better than men. The range of frequencies perceived by the female ear is much wider than that of men. They perceive more accurately high sounds, distinguish tones and intonations better. In addition, women's hearing does not become dull until the age of 38, while in men this process begins at the age of 32.

Having an ear for music does not depend on the language a person speaks

Wrong. This was proven by researchers at the University of California by comparing data from 115 American and 88 Chinese music students. Chinese is a tonal language. This is the name of a group of languages ​​in which, depending on intonation, the same word can take on several (up to a dozen) meanings. English language- not tonal.

The subjects' absolute pitch was examined. They had to distinguish sounds that differed in frequency by only 6%. The results are impressive. 60% of Chinese passed the test of absolute pitch and only 14% of Americans. The researcher explained this by saying that Chinese more melodic, and the Chinese from birth are accustomed to distinguishing larger numbers audio frequencies. Thus, if a person’s language is musical, it is highly likely that he will have an absolute ear for music.

A melody heard at least once is stored in our memory for a lifetime.

This is true. American scientists have discovered an area of ​​the cerebral cortex responsible for musical memories. This is the same auditory cortex area that is responsible for the perception of music. It turns out that it is enough for us to hear a melody or song at least once, as it is already stored in this auditory zone. After this, even if we do not hear the melody or song we listened to, the auditory zone is still able to extract it from its “archives” and play it in our brain “from memory”.

The only question is how deeply this melody is hidden. Favorite and frequently heard songs are stored in short-term memory. And melodies heard a long time ago or heard rarely are stored in the “closets” of long-term memory. However, some event or sound sequence can suddenly cause our memory to retrieve these forgotten melodies from its “bins” and play them in our brain.

An ear for music is inherited

This opinion has been around for a long time and is widespread. But only recently have scientists been able to scientifically substantiate it. Researchers have found that people without musical hearing have less white matter in the inferior frontal gyrus of the right hemisphere than those who perceive and reproduce melodies well. It is possible that this physiological feature genetically determined.

Animals have no ear for music

Not certainly in that way. They just hear music differently. Animals perceive many more sound frequencies. And if people are able to pick up up to 30,000 vibrations per second, then dogs, for example, register sound with a frequency of 50,000 to 100,000 vibrations, that is, they even pick up ultrasound.

Although animals have a sense of tact, our pets cannot perceive melody. That is, they do not combine chord combinations of sounds into a specific sequence called a melody. Animals perceive music only as a set of sounds, and some of them are regarded as signals from the animal world.

An ear for music is a gift from birth and cannot be developed.

Wrong. Those who entered music school probably remember that they were asked not only to sing, but also to tap out a melody (for example, with a pencil on the table top). This is explained simply. The teachers wanted to assess whether the applicant had a sense of tact. It turns out that it is the sense of tact that is given (or not given) to us from birth, and it cannot be developed. And if a person doesn’t have it, then music teachers won’t be able to teach him anything.

By the way, the percentage of people who lack a sense of tact is very small. And everything else can be taught. Including developing an ear for music. There would be a desire.

An ear for music is a rarity

Anyone who claims this is mistaken. In fact, any person who can speak and perceive speech has it. After all, in order to speak, we must distinguish sounds by pitch, volume, timbre and intonation. It is these skills that are included in the concept of musical ear. That is, almost all people have an ear for music. The only question is what type of musical ear do they have? Absolute or internal?

The highest stage of development of musical ear is absolute pitch. It is revealed only as a result of music lessons (playing the musical instrument). For a long time it was believed that it could not be developed, but development methods are now known absolute pitch.

The lowest level of hearing development is internal hearing, uncoordinated with the voice. A person with such hearing can distinguish melodies and reproduce them from memory, but not sing.

The absence of musical hearing is called the clinical level of hearing development. Only 5% of people have it.

Those who have an ear for music can sing well

This is true, but only partly. To sing well, it is not enough to have an ear for music. You also need to be able to control your voice and vocal cords. And this is a skill that is acquired through learning.

Almost every person can hear falsehood in singing, but not everyone can sing clearly themselves. Moreover, it often seems to those who sing that they are singing without falsehood, but those around them can see all their mistakes. This is explained by the fact that every person listens to himself with his inner ear and, as a result, hears something completely different from what others hear. So a novice performer may well not notice that he is not hitting the notes.

In fact, in order to sing well, it is enough to have just a harmonic ear. This level of hearing development is considered one of the lowest. This is the name given to the ability to hear a melody and reproduce it with the voice. And yet, its development is possible even in the initial absence of such ability. That is, 95% of people can play music and achieve results in this. Moreover, the more you practice music, the more your ear for music will develop. Up to the absolute - there are no limits to perfection. The main thing is to have a desire and not doubt your abilities.

31.08.2013 14:51

Ear for music– the concept is multi-layered and quite complex. This is a set of human abilities that allow him to fully perceive music and evaluate it objectively. Musical ear is very important quality necessary for successful creative activity in the field of musical art.

Musical hearing is associated with sensitivity to musical images, emerging impressions, associations and psychological experiences.

Thus, people with an ear for music are sensitive and emotionally responsive:

To the characteristics and qualities of musical sounds (their pitch, volume, timbre, etc.);
- to functional connections between individual sounds in context piece of music entirely.

Based on these criteria, we can distinguish different types of musical hearing:

1. Inner hearing

This is the ability to mentally accurately imagine a piece of music, melody and individual sounds, and “hear” them in the head.

Remember the brilliant Beethoven, who, having lost his hearing at the end of his life, continued to write musical works, perceiving their sound only with his inner ear.

2. Absolute pitch

This is the ability to identify any musical note, without comparing it with other sounds whose pitch is known in advance. In the presence of absolute pitch, a person has a special memory for the exact pitch of musical tones(vibration frequency of the sound wave).

This type of hearing is believed to be innate, although research in this direction continues. However, having absolute pitch does not provide any significant advantages. :)

3. Relative or interval hearing

This is the ability to determine the pitch of musical sounds by comparing them with already known ones.

The level of development of relative hearing can be so high that it becomes similar to absolute hearing. Most successful musicians have only well-developed interval hearing. There is an opinion that to have relative pitch better and more convenient than absolute. Therefore, dare and practice!

4. Pitch hearing

This is the ability to hear sounds that differ in pitch or not, even with the slightest difference. On the Internet you can easily find tests where you need to determine whether the second sound is higher or lower, and thus find out how developed your pitch hearing is.

First you need to learn to hear the difference between two adjacent halftones. On a piano keyboard, half the tone is the adjacent keys. And then you can improve further.

5. Melodic ear

This is the ability to hear the movement of a melody, that is, how the pitch of sounds changes as the melody plays. Such hearing provides holistic perception the entire melody, and not just its individual sound intervals.

A melody can “stand still”, “move up or down”, as musicians say, according to steps. She can "jump" in large and small leaps. By practicing solfeggio, you can learn the names and learn to hear ALL existing “jumps-distances” between sounds - intervals.

Pitch and melodic hearing are combined into intonation hearing - the ability to feel the expressiveness of music, its expression, intonation.

6. Metrorhythmic hearing

This is the ability to distinguish the duration of sounds in their sequence ( rhythm), their strength and weakness ( meter), and also feel changes in the speed of music ( pace). It is also the ability to actively, motorly experience music, to feel the emotional expressiveness of musical rhythm.

7. Harmonic hearing

This is the ability to hear harmonic consonances– two or more sounds sounding simultaneously and the ability to distinguish sequences of such consonances.

It can be divided into interval(sounding 2 sounds) and chordal(sounding 3 or more sounds). To have such hearing means to hear how many sounds sound at the same time, what specific sounds they are and at what distance from each other these sounds are located.

In practice, harmonic hearing is useful when selecting an accompaniment for a given melody by ear. This ear should be well developed in choral conductors. Note that harmonic hearing is closely related to modal hearing.

8. Modal hearing

This is the ability to hear and feel the relationships between sounds - modal-tonal functions- in the context of one or another musical composition. They are characterized by such concepts as: sustainability And instability, voltage And permission, gravity, discharge every single note.

Major And minor– main frets, base European music. But there are many other constructions of scales in which a different organization of melodies operates.

9. Polyphonic hearing

This is the ability to hear and imagine in the mind the movement of two or more melodic voices within the overall sound fabric of a musical work.

These voices may move out of sync, come and go in different time, catch up with each other or be late with the introduction (for example, canon, echoes, fugue). But they sound at the same time. That is why polyphonic hearing- one of the most complex types musical ear.

Remember famous story? Mozart, when he was 14 years old, heard the Miserere performed in Sistine Chapel. He memorized this complex polyphony entirely by ear and wrote it down exactly from memory, although the notes of the work were kept in the strictest confidence. Here's a music "hacker" for you!

10. Timbre hearing

This is the ability to coloristically distinguish the timbre coloring of the sound of voices and instruments, individual sounds and various sound combinations. This type of hearing is usually well developed in orchestra conductors and sound engineers. :)

Timbres distinguish sounds of the same pitch and volume, but performed on different instruments, from each other. in different voices, or on one instrument, but in different ways games. When perceiving timbres, various associations usually arise, comparable to sensations from objects and phenomena. The timbre of the sound can be bright, soft, warm, cold, deep, sharp, rich, metallic, etc. Purely auditory definitions are also used: for example, voiced, deaf, nasal.

11. Dynamic hearing

This is the ability to determine the volume of sound and its changes. It very much depends on the level of perception of your hearing in general.

In a sound sequence, each subsequent sound can be louder or quieter than the previous one, giving the work an emotional overtones. Dynamic hearing helps determine where the music "swells" ( crescendo), "quies down" ( diminuendo), “moves in waves,” makes a sharp emphasis, and so on.

12. Textured hearing

This is the skill of perceiving the manner of technical and artistic treatment musical work - his textures.

For example, the texture of the accompaniment can also be different: from a simple “um-tsa, um-tsa” (alternating bass and chord) to beautiful modulations arpeggio– arranged chords. Another example, blues and rock and roll have the same harmonic basis, but the type of texture, as well as the choice of instruments, are different. Composers and arrangers should have a well-developed ear for texture.

13. Architectonic hearing

This is a sense of the form of a musical work, the ability to determine the various patterns of its structure at all levels. With the help of architectonic hearing, one can perceive how motifs, phrases, sentences are put together into one form, how a building is made up of bricks, slabs and blocks.

All these types of musical hearing Every person has it, but not everyone is equally well developed. Of course, completely deny the level of natural data in the matter of development types of musical hearing it is forbidden. BUT any person can achieve the highest results in this direction with regular, targeted training in hearing development.

The development of musical ear is the subject of a special musical theoretical discipline - solfeggio or music theory. However, the most effective types of musical hearing develops in the process of active and versatile musical activity. For example, it is advisable to develop rhythmic hearing through special movements, breathing exercises and dance.

In the next article we will look at what they mean when they say, “Do I have an ear for music?”

If you want to study the phenomenon of musical hearing more deeply and thoroughly, as well as learn about your hearing abilities, then regular classes or consultations are the way to go! The most convenient way is to go straight from home to an online lesson :)