The Musical Ear 2024
The Musical Ear 2024
The Musical Ear is my complete video course that teaches you muisc theory and ear training combined.
It was first released in 2015 and was my most popular course ever made.
Now in 2024, I've brought it up to date and completely re-filmed The Musical Ear course from the ground up.
In this course I give you the highlights from a college music degree, boiled down into concise video lessons.
If you never had formal music training - I recommend this course for you.
Course Outline
The Musical Ear gives you 3 hours of concise step-by-step video lessons:
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Part 1. 'The Terrain of Music'. First we memorize the key: major and relative minor scales, primary chords, the pentatonic scale degrees, resolution and tension notes, which chords exist within the key, interval locations, and how melody and chords go together. First we memorize this terrain that music is written in.
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Part 2. Transcribing Melody (Techniques). Next we study the 6 intervals you need to know to play by ear (not 12), how to learn intervals by ear, 'pillar notes' within the scale, note resolutions, how to locate an interval's location within the scale, the pentatonic shape, and how to transcribe a melody.
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Part 3. Transcribing Chord Progressions (Techniques). Why most chords that exist will never be used, the 6 chords that make up 95% of songs (memorize these). The 4 pop chords. How bass lines work. Resolution chords and tension chords, how to guess the most logical chords by 'thinking as the composer', and the melody / chord relationship.
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Part 4. Common Patterns in Music. I'll show you the most popular melodic shapes and chord progressions of all time - all lined up in one key for clarity. When you know what these common shapes are - transcribing them is virtually effortless - you'll just know what the notes are because you've heard them hundreds of times.
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Part 5. Transcribing Complete Songs (melody, chords, bass line). Now that we've covered music theory in depth, you're ready to transcribe songs by ear. I'll walk you through 12 ear training video sessions at the piano to show you the process.
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12 Ear Training Practice Sessions. Join me at the piano for a series of listening exercises, and put your theory knowledge to the test. I'll guide you through the transcribing process until it becomes a habit.
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Bonus | How to play in all 12 keys. So far the whole course has been taught in the same key (C major / A minor). To end, I'm going to show you how to transpose everything from the one key into all the other keys.
Teaching starts April 17th
I will be posting the NEW Musical Ear lessons starting on April 17th.
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First you'll receive each lesson from me by email.
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You'll also have lifetime access to all the lessons once the course is complete.
The posting of this course is expected to take 12-16 weeks.
No part of this training is live. All lessons are pre-filmed and concisely edited.
Introductory Price
The Musical Ear gives you the highlights of a college music degree at a fraction of the cost:
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15 video lessons (2 hours of music theory training).
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15 transcribing sessions (ear training practice videos).
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Transcribing playlists (recommeneded songs to practice on).
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Lesson notes (download and print).
When you pre-order today, The Musical Ear course is just $300 USD (lifetime access).
- Today's Bonus -
In addition to The Musical Ear course, I'm including a pre-order bonus:
Get 12 months of free membership to the Jazz Tutorial Course Library ($300 value) when you pre-order today.
Explore the entire Jazz Tutorial course library - where I teach Jazz piano, Jazz theory, chord voicings and improvisation.
At the end of 12 months you can either:
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Let your Jazz Course Membership renew (at $300/year).
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Cancel your Jazz Membership (does not affect your Musical Ear lifetime access).
120-Day Money Back Guarantee
As always, you have my money-back guarantee.
If for any reason this training is not right for you - I will fully refund your purchase.
120 days is enough time for me to post the new Musical Ear course.
What you'll learn
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Why music is not just major or minor anymore. Discover the ‘swaying effect’ and how modern music works (most music colleges never teach you this).
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The 2 intervals you need to learn to transcribe 80% of melodies.
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The 6 chords that make up 95% of chord progressions (there's not 24 major and minor chords that you have to transcribe).
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The melody-chord relationship. When you know what the melody note is, you can guess the chord. And vice versa. Melody note and chord are always related.
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How to think logically - and figuring out the most likely option without even using your ear.
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My top 7 most common melodic shapes (when you know that these are, transcribing them is effortless. You just know what the notes are, because you've heard it a hundred times).
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Common chord progressions (when you know what they are, you can’t miss them. Transcribing doesn’t even take effort).
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Discover the 4 most common bass notes (most bass lines use these notes).
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Resolution and Tension Notes, explained. Discover how notes want to resolve, and apply this knowledge to every scale.
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The 3-step process for transcribing songs by ear (do this away from your instrument).
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How to play in all 12 keys. At the end of the course, I show you how to transpose everything out into all 12 keys. When you do this the right way, you won't be intimidated playing in any key.
So Let's Recap
Here's what you get when you pre-order today:
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The Musical Ear Course. Each lesson sent to you over the upcoming weeks. Lifetime access to the finished course after that.
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12 months free Jazz Course Access. Cancel your membership at anytime. Renews at $300/year if you decide to stay.
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120-Day Guarantee. Either you love it, or your money back.
Get all of the above for just one payment of $300 USD today (introductory price).
Prerequisites:
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For all instruments, but must have basic piano skills.
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3+ years piano experience (even if piano is not your main instrument).
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Adult musicians only (18+). Not for young children. College style teaching.
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Reading music is NOT necessary (I've typed up all the notes on screen).
Course Q+A
"Does this course teach relative pitch or perfect pitch?"
The Musical Ear teaches you relative pitch - which is what I have (it's virtually unheard of to learn perfect pitch after age 10, and very few musicians have perfect pitch).
Relative pitch is just as valuable as perfect pitch and can be learned at any age. There are even some advantages to having relative pitch - like being able to listen to all music as though it's in the same key. Someone with perfect pitch can't switch off from knowing what the notes are.
"Will I be able to play 100% of music by ear after watching this course?"
The Musical Ear course teaches you how to play at least 95% of music - and will take you very far on your journey without overwhelming you with too much information.
"How is this course different to other ear training methods?"
There's two main differences:
First, The Musical Ear course focuses on music theory (playing by ear is 90% music theory, 10% ear training - yet most ear training apps never teach you music theory).
Second, The Musical Ear is taught entirely in one key (C major / A minor). By lining up all songs and teaching in one key, you'll quickly see how music works.
95% of songs use the same notes and chords as each other - the only thing changing is usually the key.
"Do I have to do all of my playing in one key?"
No. My 'fixed-key method' only applies to your ear training practice. You can continue playing the rest of your repertoire in other keys.
"How long should I play in one key?"
I recommend sticking to one key for life. There's no reason to change. I still listen to all music as though it's in the same key. If I need to play in a different key, I can transpose a song into any other key if I need to.
I consider 'transposition' to be a separate skill - and I end the course by teaching you this.
"Can I choose my own key?"
Yes. If you have a strong preference for a different key, you can transpose everything into your key. If you have no strong preference, I recommend using the key that I teach in which is A minor / C major.
"What are students saying?"
Messages I received from students of the original Musical Ear course in 2015:
So Let's Recap
Here's what you get when you pre-order today:
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The Musical Ear Course. Each lesson sent to you over the upcoming weeks. Lifetime access to the finished course after that.
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12 months free Jazz Course Access. Cancel your membership at anytime. Renews at $300/year if you decide to stay.
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120-Day Guarantee. Either you love it, or your money back.
Get all of the above for just one payment of $300 USD today
Have a question?