Harmonic Ear Training
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DVD details
Artist: Roberta RadleyBrand: Berklee Press
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 50448039
Studio: Berklee Press
Product features:
- Size: 7-1/2" x 5-3/8"Author: Roberta RadleyISBN: 876390270
DVD Reviews of Harmonic Ear Training
DVD Review: A vital introduction ?
Summary: 3 Stars
NB. As might be apparent I previously posted a negative review under a different account for this- however since then I've not really been happy with my own review so here is another ..I've set this to three stars just so I don't too much influence the overall rating.
This is described on the box as ' A vital introduction to ear training for songwriters and performers looking to improve their listening skills...', however, in the introductory dialogue between the instructor, Roberta Radley, and the 'host' Matt Marvuglio they immediately start talking about 'the course is designed for students who already..' and how ' most of these students already have a lot of experience of..melodic and rhythmic dictation, theory of harmony through to secondary dominants (you might have to look that one up) etc etc. Neither host nor instructor at any point in this introduction addresses themselves to you the viewer and it comes over mainly as an 'in-house' study aid for students of Berkeley College.
This is far from being a vital introduction since the elements 'the students' are assumed already to have much experience of are taken for granted and there are no introductory sections devoted to the material the viewer may need to acquaint themselves with before tackling any chord progressions ....whilst you cannot necessarily expect a long introduction to basic physics in a book on quantum mechanics, explanation of arithmatic in a complex math book, I think you would expect to find here at least a brief explanation of the preliminary skills and knowledge needed, guidance on how to acquire them if you don't already have them, or at the very least other publications to refer to. I would imagine there are even quite a few professional songwriters and performers who have never heard of secondary dominants (quite apart from knowing that if the bass note has dropped by a fifth between 2 chords it probably means the first chord was a secondary dominant.. I think I got that right!) and don't own a copy of Walter Piston (see Amazon). I've seen a quite a few instructionals where they insist 'switch the tape off here and don't come back till you've thoroughly studied page. X etc... in this case you might be coming back several months, a year later..but unfortunately you can only pick up indirect hints at what it is you are supposed to do.
Without going into too much detail (and I'm a learner rather than an expert) you need to understand the idea of a tonal centre and be able to hear the way individual notes sound in relation to a tonal centre before you can tackle anything on this DVD. A key phase of working out a chord progression suggested here is to to be able to hear the bassline as a 'tonal melody', however, this term is not defined, there's no substantial explanation of what this involves..it's just assumed you can already do it (which may be the case if you are 'on the course'). It's also suggested that for any particular note you are trying to identify you reference the key (eg. C major) rather then the chord of the moment.. this will be a new concept to many but it's only treated briefly.
My advice - if you have not already done so first check out Bruce E. Arnold's ear training books and website where these concepts are properly explained (and also 'Harmonic Experience' by W.A. Mathieu). Once you've done that you might well decide you don't need this DVD.. on the other hand it does not cost that much so you might want to give it a try anyway.
You will also need to study some way into an academic harmony text such as Walter Piston or Aldwell/Schachter to be able to understand the terminology and theory used here..part of the working out what a chord is is done here by 'deducing' what it must be from the kinds of 'rules' for harmonic sequences found in these books, but I suspect many popular artists you may be seeking to follow in the footsteps of never heard of any of this.
What's further frustrating about the presentation is the limited 'academic' context, which I suppose is inevitable given what I said about the introduction. The main presentation lasts about 20 minutes and consists of a sort of dictation exercise to work out a block chord progression played by the instructor on the keyboard (the rest of the time is drills in the same context). There's nothing on other musical contexts...perhaps the most obvious one being the approach to take for live music where the rest of the musicians won't stop or let you 'rewind the tape' to hear what just happened. Songwriters are mentioned on the box but there's nothing on using your ear training to better understand and compose your music. There's nothing on how to score read harmonic sequences, contrapuntal sequences etc.
I've tried hard to think of postive things to say about this DVD but at the end of the day I think for many potential buyers the negatives are the things to point out. Unless you are already almost there the most you can pick up is indirect hints are what else you might need..it's something to do with moveable-doh, solfege, secondary dominants.. I'll have to go and look that up somewhere else.
PS. the word modulation is not used at any point- nothing on that one.
Description of Harmonic Ear Training
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