About the course

Ear Training Workshop 4 

 by Manish Babu 

 

Syllabus: This comprehensive online workshop, led by Manish Babu, is designed to enhance participants' foundational and advanced ear training skills, covering a wide range of theoretical and practical musical concepts. The curriculum aims to develop acute listening, accurate singing, and practical application for musicians of all levels. 

 

I. Foundational Ear Training 

• Basic Ear Training (ET): Introduction to fundamental ear training concepts. 

• Melodic & Scale Recognition (Notes): 

• Listening to and singing the 7 diatonic notes. 

• Listening to and singing all 12 chromatic notes. 

• Chord Recognition (Basic): 

• Listening to and singing 3-chords. 

• Listening to and singing 4-chords. 

• Listening to and singing 5, 6, and 7-chords. 

• Applied Chord Recognition: 

• Identifying chords used in a given song. 

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II. Sight Singing 

• Note & Melody Sight Singing: 

• Reading and singing musical notes from a provided melody. 

• Error Detection from Sheet Music: 

• Listening to a played piece from sheet music and identifying performance mistakes. 

• Sargam Combination Singing: 

• Singing a provided combination of Sargam notes. 

• Sargam Error Detection: 

• Listening to a played/sung Sargam and identifying errors. 

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III. Chord Recognition & Construction 

• Minor Scale Chords: 

• Understanding and identifying 3-chords within minor scales. 

• Understanding and identifying 4-chords within minor scales. 

• Understanding and identifying 5, 6, and 7-chords within minor scales. 

• Chord Intervals (Augmented, Diminished, 7th, Minor 7th, Sus4, Diminished 7th): 

• Identification and understanding of these advanced chord/interval types. 

• Conversion between Sargam and Western note names for these structures. 

• Identifying the Sargam or Western note names for given chords/intervals. 

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IV. Intervals 

• Diatonic Intervals: 

• Identification of intervals within the 7 Diatonic Major Scales. 

• Identification of intervals within the 7 Diatonic Minor Scales. 

• Chromatic Intervals: 

• Identification of intervals across the 12 Chromatic notes. 

• Raga-Specific Intervals: 

• Understanding and identifying intervals relevant to different Ragas. 

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V. Chord Progressions 

• Progression Identification: 

• Identifying the chord progression being played. 

• Recognizing and naming chord progressions from examples. 

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VI. Chord Inversions 

• Inversion Identification: 

• Listening to a chord and identifying its inversion. 

• Singing Inversions: 

• Singing different inversions of the same chord. 

• Progression Singing with Inversions: 

• Singing through a chord progression,  applying inversions. 

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VII. Scale Change & Modulation 

• Understanding Scale Changes: 

• Tonic to Relative Minor. 

• Tonic to Dominant. 

• Sound Recognition: 

• Developing the ability to remember the characteristic sound of these changes. 

• Melody Analysis for Modulation: 

• Playing a melody and identifying if the change is a relative minor or dominant modulation. 

• Identifying the Tonic (SA): 

• Identifying the 'Sa' (tonic) note in various songs (Major, Minor, Ragas) without visual aids (keys). 

• Playing a melody with chords and asking the participant to sing 'Sa'. 

• Scale Identification from Melody: 

• Identifying the scale (Major, Minor, Raga) of a played song or melody. 

• Understanding and recognizing specific scales:  

• Combined exercise: Identifying both 'Sa' and the scale of a played piece. 

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VIII. Cadences (Endings) 

• Types of Cadences: 

• Explanation of Perfect, Imperfect, and Interrupted Cadences. 

• Cadence Identification: 

• Listening to an ending and identifying its cadence type. 

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IX. Melody Harmonization 

• Chord Suggestion for Melodies: 

• Given a melody, suggesting appropriate chords without using an instrument. 

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X. Chord Usage in Different Scales 

• Theoretical Application: 

• Explanation of how to effectively use chords within various scales. 

• Practical Application & Guessing: 

• Playing a melody with chords and asking participants to identify the scale. 

• Guessing the chords used in a played melody. 

• Simple Melody Harmonization: 

• Given a simple melody, identifying which chords would be most appropriate. 

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XI. Rhythm & Taals 

• Understanding Rare Taals: 

• Explanation of Jhap, Ek, Teen, and Rupak taals. 

• Listening to songs demonstrating these taals. 

• Taal Identification: 

• Listening to melodies/songs and identifying the underlying taal. 

• Chord Rhythms: 

• Playing chords according to the rhythmic divisions of specific taals. 

 

XII. Song Analysis & Transformation 

• Original vs. Modified Song Analysis: 

• Playing an original song followed by a modified version. 

• Participants describe the changes (note, rhythm, chord). 

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XIII. Swar Sadhan & Raga Application 

• Focused on Bhairavi & Mishra Bhairavi : 

• Note identification within these ragas. 

• Chord identification on specific notes within these ragas. 

• Advanced Swar Sadhan: 

• Swar Sadhan with Augmented scales and Chromatic notes. 

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XIV. Daily Practice: Chord Progressions & Melody Creation 

• Structured Practice: 

• Interactive Analysis: 

• Questions related to the practiced progression 

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XV. Comprehensive Song Analysis 

• Detailed Characterization: 

• Playing a song with describable characteristics. 

• Participants analyze and describe what they hear: 

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XVI. Improvisation 

• Core Principles of Improvisation: 

• Types of Improvisation: 

• Tricks & Techniques for Learning Improvisation: 

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XVII. Chord Transformation by Singing 

XVIII. Rapid Fire Chord Identification 

• Quick Recognition Drills: 

• Rapid identification of various advanced chords 

• XIX. Raga-Based Chord Recognition (Advanced) 

• Random Song Chord Identification: 

• Identifying chords in various popular songs. 

XX. Reverse Chord Listening & Singing 

• Basic Reverse Chords: 

• Advanced Reverse Chords: 

XXI. Advanced Singing Practice 

This syllabus provides a structured path for comprehensive ear training, combining theoretical knowledge with practical exercises and applied musical analysis. 

 

• I. Who Should Enroll? 

• This workshop is ideal for: 

• Music Students of All Levels: Anyone looking to significantly enhance their listening and recognition abilities. 

• Musicians: Singers, instrumentalists, composers, and all individuals interested in developing a highly perceptive musical ear. 

• Prerequisite Knowledge: Participants should have basic or intermediate musical knowledge. This course is not suitable for absolute beginners. 

 

• III. Course Structure and Logistics  

• Course Series: This workshop is part of an independent series of modules. Each course is a distinct unit and does not represent a sequential level. You are welcome to enroll directly in any available module at any time. 

• Language: The instruction will be delivered primarily in Hindi with some English terminology. 

 

• Materials Needed: 

• Any musical instrument you play (e.g., Keyboard, Piano, Harmonium, MIDI keyboard). 

• Notebook and pen for theory and ear writing practice.