Learn to Hear
Chords – Play Music By Ear
Chords are combinations of three or
more notes that perform a particular function within a
key. Depending on the intervals between the notes, chords
can take on a wide variety of characteristics. Even
chords limited to just three chords can be major triads,
minor triads, diminished or augmented triads. On a given
instrument there will be different ways of playing the
same set of notes, which are known as chord
inversions.
Different chord extensions each play a
particular role and have a characteristic sound or
“color.” Complex extended chords, like seventh chords
with an augmented eleventh, for example, sound different
from other varieties even to casual listeners, but it
takes a certain amount of aural skill to be able to
readily identify such sounds.
That
being said, it’s important that musicians possess the
skill to hear and identify chords accurately. Harmony
plays a significant role in most tonal music. Chord
progressions form the spine of most popular and jazz
pieces. In order to do things such as playing these
pieces by ear or transcribing them, musicians need to
know what the chords are simply by hearing
them.
Furthermore, a thorough understanding
of chords and how they function will help musicians in
creating their own compositions. By listening to even
familiar pieces with this skill, students can get a feel
for how composers employ different types of chords and
how the harmony and melody
interact.
Though it may seem difficult to
beginners, the truth is that anyone can learn to hear
chords the way professional musicians do. The key to
identifying chords is the understanding of the intervals
between notes. Chords are, after all, built on these
intervals; it’s the intervals between the three notes in
a triad that determine whether they are major or minor
chords, and the intervals between the root notes and
added or extended notes that determine the specialized
character of chords.
The
ability to identify intervals is gained through ear
training, a process with which most professional
musicians have a lot of experience. Ear training allows
students to become intimately familiar with intervals
through simple listening exercises, and once they have
that command over intervals, they can easily use it to
assess and classify chords as they hear
them.
So,
knowing how useful it is for a musician to be in control
of chords and their varied uses, it’s clear that ear
training, through which they can take that control in
addition to many other benefits, is worth
considering.

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