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Like you know, I am absolute beginner with music. I have just bought my first piano. I feel that my ear is absolute beginner too. Could you recommend ear training tools? Thank you very much.
I think you ear will get better the more you play as well
“The doubters said, "Man cannot fly," The doers said, "Maybe, but we'll try," And finally soared in the morning glow while non-believers watched from below.†― Bruce Lee
I find that computer trainers have been more effective for me than books, because the computer can make up infinite practice questions, while books can only contain a limited number. At first I used the one good-ear.com, then later I progressed to more customizable software, like Clarion (Mac only) for basic interval recognition. Now I use Practica Musica (Mac or PC) for more advanced stuff like chord progressions (plus it also comes with a music theory course & many theory & music reading drills).
Please step aside. You're standing in your own way.
These are some Berklee (college of music) ear training books. I don't have these books but they might be worth checking out since they are not very expensive. Good luck
“The doubters said, "Man cannot fly," The doers said, "Maybe, but we'll try," And finally soared in the morning glow while non-believers watched from below.†― Bruce Lee
Hal Leonard is in the process of releasing a series Ear Without Fear vol 1-5. http://www.halleonard.com/search/search.do?subsiteid=1&keywords=ear+without+fear These books use solfeg with movable Do. I think these are great. I will be using the course with my students age 8-12. Also Contemporary eartraining by Mark Harrison is a nice course but moves quicker than the Eat WIthout Fear series. I have used Earmaster and Auralia software. I think the melodic dictation is more awkward than using the book CD combo. But chord progressions and interval recognition are great in the software.
I think the solfeg is more effective than straight interval training. I started to feel the gravity of active and resting tones much stronger using solfeg. For me the logic of moveable do is more manageable than fixed do but that is a different thread that probably never found resolution for those of us involved.
Take a look at "PitchPaths" (www.pitchpaths.com). I worked my way through this 'simple' course early last year. The video is part of the first lesson in stage one. It gradually takes you through the 13 notes of the Octave in half a dozen or so stages. The pass mark to progress from one stage to the next is 100% which can be quite exacting!
The system consists of 13 very well known phrases/tunes, the first note of each is the "target" pitch you are learning. So initially, when hearing a pitch, you "hear" in your mind through association the tune that starts on that pitch, eventually you just "know" the name of the pitch.
Have a go
If I remember correctly it took 2-3 months to work through all the exercises and about 15 minutes or so each day. There are several alternate study plans provided. What you get is 50 mp3s and a PDF documentation file. I prepared lesson play lists in iTunes and burned these to CD to listen to on the daily commute to and from work...
I really ought to go back and review them again. But I have found it much easier figuring out both melodies, runs, riffs, and chords by ear since doing these.
The author (Joshua Jobst) is very helpful and will answer questions in both emails and queries to the Youtube video.
There's an interesting set of references on the website which explains the basis for the method and recent research along these lines.
Aceituna, have a look at EarMaster. It is a comprehensive ear training program for Mac and PC. It is in 21 languages, including Spanish! The main website is www.earmaster.com, but there is a Spanish site too: www.earmaster.es
