Soundcatcher: How to Play by Ear

SoundCatcher: How to Play by Ear

By Scott Reiss and Tina Chancey here are two ways of learning a tune: visual and aural, reading Scott Reiss, founder and co-director of Hesperus, was a pioneer on the recorder— musicT notation or playing back what at home in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque styles, and possessing a command of one hears. In our culture, these two Irish and Old-Time music and the blues. A founding member and co-director of the techniques have co-existed for at least Folger Consort for 21 years, his articles on recorder technique, improvisation and tradi- 800 years, but most people are fluent in tional music were published in Continuo, AR and Early Music America in the U.S., only one mode. Therefore, when classi- and in Tibia in Germany. A 1998 Earthwatch grant funded his research on Celtic cal musicians are taught as children music in Ireland, forming the basis of “Tradition and Imaginary: Irish Traditional that reading music is a necessary com- Music and the Celtic Phenomenon,” his chapter in the book Celtic Modern: Music at plement to learning to play an instru- the Global Fringe (Martin Stokes, Philip V. Bohlman, eds.; Scarecrow Press, 2003). ment, we seldom get the opportunity, His solo recordings are The Banshee’s Wail and Baroque Recorder Concerti or make the effort, to learn to play (the former and other Hesperus CDs available in the ARS CD Club). Two live-concert without a page in front of us unless recordings of his Folger Consort and Hesperus solos will be released in 2012. Before he we have memorized the piece. passed away in December 2005, Reiss started this article, finished here by Chancey. Actually, playing by ear and mem- orizing are different skills. A soloist can Tina Chancey is a founding member/director of Hesperus. She plays Medieval play a concerto from memory, but she fiddles, viol, pardessus de viole and Renaissance violin, on roots music from Sephardic certainly doesn’t play it by ear. The dif- and blues to Irish, Old-Time and early music. A member of Toss the Feathers and Trio ference is in the way used to learn a Sefardi, she has performed with the Folger Consort, Blackmore’s Night and QUOG. piece. Learn ing a tune by ear means She teaches, performs, records, improvises, arranges, writes articles, produces recordings just that—the first encounter with the and directs SoundCatcher workshops teaching how to play by ear and improvise. music is aural. The Versatile Viol is her three-CD series featuring the viol in Scots-Irish, French When we learn from notation, we Baroque, and American traditional music. Dr. Chancey received a Lifetime see the music first, hearing it after- Achievement Award from Early Music America. Her article on “Contextual wards, as it comes out of an instrument. Improvisation” appears in the June 2011 Early Music America magazine. For more That kind of hearing is more passive, information, visit www.hesperus.org and www.tinachancey.net. receptive. Those who learn by ear must listen differently, more actively. Active Reiss and Chancey inaugurated the SoundCatcher: Play by Ear workshop in 1982 listening creates the guidelines, the to help their “paper-trained” students free themselves from the printed page. The work- aural map that replaces written music. shop focuses on Medieval, Renaissance and traditional tunes from around the world, A musician who inhabits only one and targets players of any portable melody instrument. Over 28 years, they have of the musical worlds, written or aural, presented 15 week-long summer workshops (partnering with Mike Seeger, John Tyson, is seldom comfortable in the other one. Bruce Hutton and Nick Blanton), plus many weekend workshops and classes, teaching That doesn’t mean that a folk musician the method to musicians of all ages and can’t play classical music, or vice versa. backgrounds. The next SoundCatcher However, neither the folk guitarist who workshop is set for July 2012. learns Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring by ear from a recording, nor the Some musicians compare the act of recorder player who reads Scottish jigs putting their music stands away and in transcription, is getting the full expe- playing by ear to a descent into chaos, or a rience of the music; he’s not approach- world without guidelines. However, ing it as it was meant to be approached. none of us learned to drive, or dance or pump iron from a book—we watched, Many adult participants listened, experimented and remembered. share one big reservation: This article gives an overview of the the fear of making process of learning to play tunes by ear, mistakes in public. using SoundCatcher methods.

!" November #"!! American Recorder Why not just learn the tune and how to hit a certain pitch upon of what you know and what you can by listening to it over and demand, has the background needed hear as your raw materials, you create a over? Why do we need a to play by ear. (A person who has com- scaffolding (a working understanding method? Not everyone has a pleted Stage 3 of the ARS’s online of how the piece is put together). Using quick enough ear to pick up 13 Stages to Help You Improve Your these raw materials, you design an aural a tune, no matter how many Playing has these skills on recorder.) map, which takes the form of your own times it’s played. Many adult participants share one personal set of Mapquest directions. big reservation: the fear of making mis- You train yourself to play the tune Picking up a tune by ear is takes in public. Mistakes usually lead to through the process of following the one thing; remembering it criticism or ridicule; we’ve been trained directions. When the directions have is another. If the analytical either to correct them quickly or hide become familiar (the paint on the ceil- brain is used in tandem them. In SoundCatcher, though, mis- ing dries), the scaffolding is removed with the ear and the kinetic takes are used as teaching tools; playing and the tune is yours to keep. memory of the fingers, the something wrong is often the only ave- listener ends up owning the nue to eventually playing it right. Raw Materials: What do you tune—and that’s the goal, know about the Tune? to make the tune yours. Two Tools for Active Listening R5 What’s the meter? Your most important tool is your ear— R5 What’s the fundamental tone or Every kind of music is embedded an inquisitive ear is the key to active lis- final note? in a tradition. We interpret most writ- tening. Your goal is to learn to use it R5 What’s the mode? ten music guided by the tradition of like a tape recorder. R5 What’s the hierarchy of pitches— music education dating from the incep- In preparation, help your ears what are the most important notes tion of the conservatory system in the listen by embracing the tune. Move in the melody? mid-19th century. Conservatories teach your hands in rhythm, tap your toes, Meter is a good place to start, the performer to re-create different sing along on “La.” Savor the notes of because it is such a defining character- styles of music according to the con- the tune; visualize playing along as you istic of music, even before pitch. Take ventions of their point and time of ori- listen to it. Absorb the nature of that Twinkle ,Twinkle, Little Star, for exam- gin, filtered through the preferences tune like a new friend. Make it yours. ple. First, can you identify the regular and pedagogy of the present. We call Your next most important tool beat, the physical pulse we feel with that performance practice or historical is a working knowledge of music theory: and in our bodies (the tactus)? Then performance. specifically, an understanding of the can you sense the downbeats—selected On the other hand, the tradition way that the three basic building blocks pulses that are stronger, collecting the of aural music has no link to the past of music function together —rhythm, beats into a regular meter? Counting before the invention of sound record- melody and harmony. Most of us know the downbeat and the subsequent notes ing; it is transmitted by living musi- some theory, but will need to reexamine before the next downbeat will give you cians or recordings. Its performance familiar terms to understand them bet- the top number in the time signature. practice is learned at the same time as ter and put them to use. After that, the concept of subdivi- the music, through imitation, and both Learning to play by ear in a sion is useful: the subdivision of the are transmitted as a living method ical way is something like the beat is something recognized more tradition, passed on by ear. process of drawing a picture of a map with mind than in body. The subdivi- Is it worth the effort? Workshop on a 14-foot ceiling. You start with sion of the beat (duple or triple) pro- participants report that, after learning tools and raw materials, and build a vides the rest of what is needed to to play by ear, they experience an exhil- scaffolding; using it as support, you identify the meter (see Example 1). aration and sense of accomplishment outline and then fill in your map. With (N.B.: The use of written musical exam- that comes from being freed of the your ear and knowledge of music the- ples in an article about learning by ear printed page, with the added benefit of ory as your tools, and the combination is strange, but seems unavoidable.) having access to whole repertoires of music previously unavailable to them.<9%> " & & & & & & & & $ &' & & &' & & # Who can do it? Any musician who ! # % !"#$%&$'()%'*+%!,-+./.)."*) knows his way around a melody instru- ! Example 1: Some beats and subdivisions. ment, knows the names of the notes ( ( <9%= # ( ( & ( & & ( & & & ! % & & & & www.AmericanRecorder.org& & & & November& & & #"!!& !! &0"*.'*& & 1"2.'*& & &34256.'* " ( & ( & ( & ( & & ( & ( & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & " ! &75+.'*& 8.9":5+.'*& ;$":.'* # ; & <9%? & & & & & & & & ) ! " & & & & & & ' ' & & & & & & && && && & & & & & & & & & & &)& & & ' &2'*):$%%%;;&&

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Passing tones are the scale-wise ble process—using the elements in a Christmas, the A section repeats the notes that connect the notes in an slightly different order (listen to the last four eighth notes in the first bar interval larger than a second. Appog- tune three or more times for each step): four more times, employing an internal giaturas are accented non-chord tones R5 Start with a general overview. repeat, and then jumps to a high point placed on a strong beat. Chang ing note What’s the mood? Start to notice at the ending. groups are variously configured four- the general form. Don’t take too As you listen to find the nugget, note figures winding around one pitch. much time for this yet; just listen. please remember that it’s not important When you can’t identify an exact R5 Figure out meter, mode, final, exactly what musical hook you find. pitch, it helps to have a library of mem- important pitches. The goal is to assemble your raw mate- orized intervals. One of the best ways R5 Separate out the A and B sections, rials, to start building the scaffolding to do that is by using familiar incipits expecting them each to be eight for your tune. derived from whatever easy-to-remem- bars each. Are they the same Before putting these details to use, ber tunes you’ve got in your personal length? Is there a semi-cadence in it may be a good time to mention two memory bank: a mixture of patriotic the middle of the A and/or the B particular memorized caches of infor- tunes, holiday songs, TV themes, show section? What changes, and what mation (like multiplication tables) to tunes, nursery rhymes, etc.—for stays the same? Are there mini- help you when there’s a note or two instance, Born Free (descending fourth), repeats within the phrases? Are you just can’t catch. We’re off (to see the wizard) (ascending there first and second endings? One is a list of non-harmonic fourth), Twinkle, twinkle, little star R5 Focus on the first phrase to figure (non-chord) tones, or what a teenage (ascending fifth), Feelings (descending out the nugget. If you were to cre- student calls tune twiddles: groups of fifth), the NBC chimes (ascending ate a recipe for that nugget, what secondary notes decorating the impor- major sixth), Over there (descending would be the proportion of melody tant pitches of a tune, such as upper major sixth), and There’s a place for us to rhythm? What’s the hook? and lower neighbor tones, passing from West Side Story (ascending minor How would you describe it: tones, appoggiaturas and changing note seventh). melodic, dramatic, conversational, BATTERIES INCLUDED rhetorical, poetic? How is the nug- An aural musician’s best friend isn’t a music stand—it’s a get developed and transformed in sound recorder. The way to practice learning by ear is to keep the A section? Look for variation, listening; for that, a recording device (mini-disc, recordable contrast, fragmentation, repetition. CD) is invaluable. R5 With the nugget in mind, listen for the B section. Is it similar or While you’ve practiced written music for a half-hour or different? How? If the second 45 minutes once a day, learning by ear is best if you spend phrase has nothing to do with the 10 minutes four times a day. Listen, sing along, play along. nugget, but doesn’t seem to be consciously contrasting it, maybe Most teachers will play a tune for your sound recorder at a few you should reconsider your nugget. different speeds—so you can practice it slowly, and then play R5 Is there anything else about the it at tempo when you’re more comfortable with it. There are tune that makes it memorable? A also software programs you can buy that slow down a tune rest in a particular place, one per- on your computer without changing the pitch. fect interval, a rhythmic repeated note that drives the ending? !% November #"!! American Recorder Build your Scaffolding The Aural Map music sessions; often there will be a Sing the tune with a recording device. The result of a carefully built scaffold- “slow jam” where tunes are taught by Listen to yourself sing it. Notice when ing is your page of Mapquest direc- ear, but at a more comfortable pace. Or you go high and low, fast and slow. tions. You follow the directions by play- mobilize your home consort: ask play- Using what you’ve learned about ing—and voilà, you produce the tune. ers to learn a simple Arbeau or Susato the meter, mode, final and important Each time you follow the directions dance tune by ear, to bring in and teach pitches, figure out the first note of the and notice what your fingers are doing, to the group. tune on your instrument. Sing it to listening to the music that comes Most important, respect your own yourself and match the pitch. out, you’re imprinting that tune. The way of learning: some people need to Going two bars at a time—sub- process is integrative—your fingers move to music to learn it, some visual- phrase by sub-phrase—use the general learn the patterns, your ear learns to ize patterns, some depend on rhythm details you know about high and low, expect the tune to sound a certain to spark the tune. Use the skills you contrast and repetition, to make an way: it becomes familiar. know best—perhaps ones you use(d) aural description of how the phrase is After a few days of using this pro- in your job—and adapt them to this built. Play it as you figure out each cess, you won’t need to think about process. Above all, have fun. It is, two bars, paying attention to how your aural map; it will be absorbed in after all, music. each two-bar section is connected to your experience of the tune. It’s still A current Hesperus project is to com- the next one. Notice when you get important to remember how you first pile CDs of Reiss playing recorder solos to the end of an eight-bar phrase. described the nugget to yourself—if and features. The first CD, from Folger Do it again, listening to yourself as you forget the tune, this will be the key Consort concerts of 1976-98, was funded you do it. Notice when you’ve got a that unlocks the piece for you again. by private donations; it is currently avail- note here or there that doesn’t match able for $20, with sales benefitting the the tape. See if you can figure it out, Learning a Tune by Ear Folger Consort. The second project is a using what you know about the mode, is not a Straight Line two-CD set of Reiss’s solos and features in intervals, non-harmonic tones. Players using this method may go to Hesperus concerts (Medi eval, Renaissance, When you get to the end of the A bed humming a tune, but then wake up Baroque, Irish and crossover). To contrib- section, see if you can play the different having forgotten it; find themselves ute to the two-CD project or to purchase parts of the tune in two-bar, four-bar, humming the last phrase on the way to the Folger CD, send checks to Hesperus: six- and eight-bar fragments. Pat your- work, then whistling the beginning at 3706 North 17th St., Arling ton, VA self on the back. lunch, etc. Sometimes, if you remember 22207. Chancey will send a free CD for Do the same for the B section. your scaffolding and aural map, you can every $50 donation to the 501(c)(3), plus a tax acknowledgement letter. For more Notice when melodic material from A reconstruct the rest of the tune around information, see www.hesperus.org. is used, how it’s treated, what happens the fragment you remember; some- to the nugget. What contrasts with A? times not. Don’t judge yourself when Play the B section until you forget this happens; it’s all part of the process. the A. Then try to remember a piece of After a few days of concentration, A, and see if you can put together the of following your Mapquest map and whole thing from that little piece. This listening as you play, tunes will stay Courtly Music is fun with fellow listeners. with you. Particularly when learning many tunes at the same time, it may Unlimited be useful to have a little reminder, like 800-2-RICHIE Recorder writing down the letter names of the (800 274-2443) first four notes (GABG). Try not to Lessons www.courtlymusic.com write down the whole tune, though, in your or you’ll be in danger of reading it. "Everything for the recorder own Reading about a process always enthusiast, or those who makes it sound much more compli- would like to be." home cated than doing it; to learn interac- Fine wood and plastic recorders, sheet tively, attend a workshop where you can music, method books, play-along CDs, www.PatrickRecorder.com immerse yourself with other curious accessories, workshops.

people. Go to Irish and Old-Time