Melodic ear training is the ability to hear a line of music and recognize the relationship of the notes to the tonal center, the key the song is in. Does this sound like magic? We are going to cover the core of ear training in the next few minutes. After that, it’s just a matter of expanding what you already know.
You’re probably aware of the 4-note tune we recognize as “How Dry I Am.” The tune is the same as the hymn tune, “O Happy Day”. There are many other songs that start with these four notes, in some order. Once you get the hang of them, you’ll be able to identify the most common notes you hear.
The melody consists of a melodic “jump”, and then two movements per “step”, that is, they follow the major scale. The first jump consists of notes 5 and 1 of the scale, or from “G” to “C” if you’re using solfeggio. This same jump, 5 to 1, occurs at the beginning of many other familiar songs. A couple of common examples are “Amazing Grace” and “Here Comes the Bride”. Whenever you hear this characteristic jump, you can be sure that the second note is “Do”, the tonic note.
Also interesting are the last three notes of the theme, notes 1, 2 and 3 of the scale (Do, Re, Mi). They often occur at the beginning of songs, such as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (with some repeats). “Three Blind Mice” uses the same three notes in reverse order (Mi, Re, Do).
You can think of this four-note theme in a variety of ways. You can think of it as “5, 1, 2, 3”. You can think of it as “Sol Do Re Mi”. Or you can even name the notes “how dry I am”. In any case, if you attach a particular short word to each note, it will be easier to discuss the melody. Another tune that uses the same four notes (with repeats) is “O Christmas Tree”.
One way to see how well you know these four notes is to see if you can recognize them in a different order. Think of the opening notes of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.” The same four notes, right? Can you name the order? (Here’s a hint: How dry am I?) Another tune that starts with the same four notes is the verse from Jingle Bells (Running through the snow).
You can of course start on a different note from the series. Consider the tune to “I’ve been working on the railroad.” It starts on “C”, but includes the same four notes. Can you sing it on the numbers or the syllables? (Dry, how dry, how dry I’m dry.) And if you already want to expand your range, you can recognize that “everything” of “every day of life” is note number 4 of the scale (F), a semitone greater than 3.
And as a final test, he hums the melody of the chimes of Westminster, which so many clocks use when they strike the hour. These are made up of the same four notes, in different sequences. If you can sing correctly, on numbers or syllables, you probably have a good understanding of the basics of melodic ear training. Once you’ve tried it on your own, read on to find the answer. (3 1 2 5, 5 2 3 1, 3 2 1 5, 5 2 3 1)
You can probably hear this sequence of notes in your head in connection with many songs. Pick a number of songs at random and you’ll find that a good percentage of them use a lot of these notes in their main melody. And the fact that you can recognize them will make you look like a music guru to other people.
