By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)
Yesterday my 8th graders had a written part of the ear training exam in school. Among other things, they had to write a one-voice and a two-voice dictation, each 8 measures long. Both were in F major. At the beginning I played treble A and the tonic chord of F major key. The students were supposed to discover the key from this A by themselves and write Bb next to the clef. All of my students got the key right but one. He wrote G major with F# next to the clef. So G major or F major? What's the difference? Here's the thing: In F major tonic chord the note A is the middle note of the chord (FAC) whereas in G major tonic chord A is a whole tone apart from either G or B which are the chordal notes in this GBD chord. Does it make sense? Treble A: GBD vs FAC? Try it on the piano and listen to the difference. If you can't get it right, play A and then ANY major or minor tonic chord and practice for a while. You will get better with time. Doesn't matter if you get it right on the first try. Doesn't matter if you have a perfect pitch or not. Perfect pitch is a result of our memory: the more were are exposed to this treble A, the more likely it is you can remember how treble A sounds.
Comments
|
DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.Thank you!You have successfully joined our subscriber list. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
Authors
Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Don't have an organ at home? Download paper manuals and pedals, print them out, cut the white spaces, tape the sheets together and you'll be ready to practice anywhere where is a desk and floor. Make sure you have a higher chair. |