Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Volume One [Paperback]

Bruce E. Arnold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2007

This edition comes with no CD. You must purchase either the associated CD separately or digitally download the CD from an on-line vendor. Otherwise this book is exactly the same as the book/CD edition.Just as an artist must know every color in order to create a beautiful painting, a musician must know and hear all the notes of the musical "palette" in order to create good music. This ear training method has been developed to teach the student how to hear the way musical sounds are organized within a key. With proper application, the student will be able to: . Recognize notes without depending on an instrument. . Identify which notes other musicians are playing. . Instantly know what key a chord progression is in. . Sing or transcribe the notes in a given melody. These are all invaluable tools for both playing and composing music. It takes time to develop a truly exceptional ear. This book presents a long-term process, whereby pitch perception can be steadily and significantly improved. The basic concepts of how to use this method are followed by many pages of exercises making this book a lifelong companion. All exercises in this book should be used with the aforementioned separately available audio CD. This CD has the same title as this book. The audio portion of this book is also available in MP3 format. Both formats can be purchased from various on-line vendors. A list of recommended vendors can be found on the muse-eek.com website. This book is a required text at New York University and Princeton University and is recommended for music students ages 13 and up.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: Muse Eek Publishing Company (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890944750
• ISBN-13: 978-1890944759
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,044,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Guitarist Bruce Arnold has developed an extensive reputation as a composer educator and guitar virtuoso. He has created a unique signature sound that stems from his combination of jazz techniques and 20th Century compositional methods. He has played with such diverse musicians as Stuart Hamm, Peter Erskine, Joe Pass, Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Stanley Clarke, the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Arnold is also deeply devoted to music education and had written more than 60 music instruction. He heads the guitar departments at NYU and Princeton University and is the director of the New York University Summer Guitar Intensive He has taught at some of the most prestigious music schools in America, including the New England Conservatory of Music, Dartmouth College, Berklee College of Music, New School University, and City College of New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great method, great book., April 9, 2008

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B. Rose - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Volume One (Paperback)

The Fanatic's Guide shifts the One Note emphasis from recognizing pitches to producing pitches. The accompanying CD contains 12 tracks, 1 in each key. Each track sets up a key, and then drones on that tonic chord for about 5 minutes. The book suggests a number of exercises to sing over the drone, starting with correctly being able to sing diatonic and then chromatic pitches against a key, and then moving on to singing multiple pitches against the drone. This book is both challenging and immensly rewarding. I am now able to identify almost all pitches against a key (still getting the b2 and #6 in tune), but I am much more excited about my new found ability to create melodies and really hear them internally without the aid of an instrument. In my practice sessions each Friday, I have been singing random melodies using any of the pitches I have worked on so far. I have been playing a relative minor arpeggio against a major chord for years, but it has been muscle memory and habit as much as anything. Now I'm really hearing what the 6th, root, and 3rd sound like againt the tonic. When I'm really dialed in, it almost feels like I'm high (or so I would guess).

So how does all of this transfer to the real world, you ask? I have noticed some minor improvements, but I wouldn't say I have a new set of ears just yet. I can pick some things out on the country station, and I think the sight singing exercises have been helping with vocal rehearsals in my band, but that's about it so far. On the other hand, I have been playing music in some form since I was six, and nothing in all of that time has improved my ear as much as the hour a day spent practicing these exercises for a few months. So with that in mind, I have enough faith in this path to keep at it. I just ordered the next books in the series, and look forward to seeing what I start to hear next.