LJS 133: The Sad Truth About Ear Training Fundamentals (Why You Should Practice Them)




Welcome to episode 133 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about ear training fundamentals and why you should be working on them as a jazz musician. The sad truth is they are being ignored by so many. But I want you to recognize their importance and allow them to level-up your skills. Listen in!
Listen to episode 133







In today's episode, I talk about something that I believe is important for all musicians to be working on.
If we want to become better jazz improvisers, we need to be developing great ears. At the end of the day, your ears will be your strongest asset when it comes to improvising freely and creatively.
Unfortunately, too many musicians ignore the fundamentals of ear training which are:

* Hearing intervals.
* Hearing chords.
* Hearing chord progressions.

Some students and even educators argue that they "aren't musical so why practice them?"
But this misses the point of what fundamentals are all about. We practice fundamentals because they are those foundational elements running in the background that make everything else much easier.
In this episode, I make my argument for working on them. Here's a bit of what I talk about:
1. Why the fundamentals are important.
2. The benefits of recognizing intervals.
3. The benefits of recognizing chords.
4. The benefits of recognizing chord progressions.
5. Examples of how they work together.
I hope that after listening to this episode you'll both understand the importance of working on ear training fundamentals and feel inspired to start working on them.
What do you think about ear training fundamentals? Are they important? Leave a comment below.
Important Links
The Ultimate Ear Training Blueprint free handout
How to Play What You Hear ear training course



Om Podcasten

The LJS Podcast is the podcast where you get weekly jazz tips, interviews, stories and advice for becoming a better jazz musician! Hosting the show is the jazz musician behind learnjazzstandards.com, author, and entrepreneur Brent Vaartstra, who’s one goal is to answer any question about playing jazz music you may have. Jazz can be a challenging music to learn and play, but it doesn’t have to be so hard. Each episode features a specific musical challenge that jazz students may come across, where it is discussed and answered. Special jazz guests frequent the show, sharing their expertise on an array of different musical subject matter. Listeners are invited to call in with their jazz questions to the podcast hotline, where it could get answered on a future LJS Podcast episode. Join thousands of other listeners getting free jazz education every week!