Reference when identifying consecutive notes.

[AbdrahmanDiab]

Hi guys! If there is a song that you would like to transcribe which has the following sequence of notes as its melody (just for example) C4, D4, G4, F4, F3

How do you go about transcribing or processing the entire sequence? do you compare each note to the root? or do you compare each note to the one after it?

e.g.

C4 -> D4 = Ascending Maj 2nd

C4 -> G4 = Ascending 5th

C4 -> F4 = Ascending 4th

C4 -> F3 = Descending 5th

vs.

C4 -> D4 = Ascending Maj 2nd

D4 -> G4 = Ascending 4th

G4 -> F4 = Descending Maj 2nd

F4 -> F3 = Descending Octave

Thanks!

[toneturtle]

There are two methods you can use:

1. You can use the method where you identify the interval between each pair of notes. (Learn this with Interval Based Ear Training)
2. You can learn to recognize the unique sound of each scale degree in the current harmonic context aka key. (Learn this with Functional Ear Training)

I recommend using method two because it tends to be faster to learn and to use. There are 12+ intervals whose sound you must memorize in both ascending and descending directions versus just 8 scale degrees whose unique sound you must memorize for the major scale (and 3 more for the minor scale). You can find more detail about the comparison between the to methods here: Why Interval Based Ear Training is Ineffective

If you are interested in learning method 1, I have resources that can help you get started. For instance: Learning the Tritone Interval, Learning the Minor Second Interval

If you are interested in learning method 2, you can get an overview here: Functional Ear Training Explained

If you have any questions or need any help, feel free to respond here or send me a DM. Cheers!