The Secret of Ear Training

[@maxkonyi]

You can find the follow-up video here: kzbin.infoY6BPB3Cso00?si=4QjwNmEvwsiI17y9

[@areenashah8912]

Loop❤😂😅o😢😢p😢😢 po😢pl😅o😢😢ooo😅😢😅😅🎉p😅

[@Angel-c8d1o]

When you have played the scale up to the last note - say B in the C major scale - the feeling, a felt tendency, *evokes an interior image of the tonic* that you can hum, sing or play.

[@jtonthatrack3984]

Lol when the note doesn’t resolve I feel ANGER

[@maxkonyi]

💢💢💢

[@luckas221a]

when the note doesn't resolve I usually feel excited, lmao WHERE ARE WE GOING???

[@yumeno-w-]

​@@luckas221adats cool!! :3

[@selimoztunc]

Anger leads to suffering… 😂

[@librasky]

When it resolves on the wrong note , it's JAZZ I feel like some jazz players are trying to piss me off

[@joshkasen]

1. Love the video. Wonderfully produced. 2. Thank you for actually playing the final note and not leaving me with that terrible “feeling” 😅

[@maxkonyi]

🙌😜🙌

[@ELLIOT8209]

True. A video on tension and release would be great

[@joshkasen]

@@ELLIOT8209 Agreed!

[@FinnDhaHuman]

Can ya drop what it actually is for us plebs

[@ryancarter6876]

Same, that was the huge take away feeling, that terrible cliffhanging feeling of the note right before the tonic. (Pretty confusing since, it seems like he is saying that is the feeling on the tonic.)

[@Oxdazdndconfuzd8O]

Musical Edging

[@existentialcwboy]

😂😂😂

[@mahshshsrklingfa7031]

Nahhhhh

[@texasman2893]

precisely my brother

[@BryanParnala]

Wahahahaaah!😂😂😂😂

[@deveyous6614]

😂😂😂

[@nickolawl77]

As a music teacher, I always like to keep watching content from other teachers, to see if I can come up with new approaches. I've never seen this approach to ear training, and it makes so much sense. I will surely use it in my future lectures

[@maxkonyi]

Great to hear!

[@Lwhale.3797]

As a singer, I’ve always felt insecure about my note / Interval / chord recognition abilities, but after being able to recognize the tonic note in all the exercises in the video, this renewed my confidence and made me want to make music moving forward. THANK YOU 🙌🙌 Also, OMG man, you have the most transfixing eyes 👁️👁️ I have ever seen

[@maxkonyi]

That's great! So glad that this approach has been genuinely helpful for people. I appreciate the comment 🙌🏼 ✨👀✨

[@nuncotics791]

Hey now

[@dawnyurenwick]

This makes me think of the episode of The Office where Andy starts singing a song about the other businesses in a building and Pam cuts him off before he can finish singing on the tonic…so he begs her to let him resolve the melody 😂

[@maxkonyi]

lol

[@nikooplayer]

This was probably the best course I had on ear training. Thanks.

[@kestineniiquaye6110]

I side with you! Easy to understand. You got my rest! 👌

[@sviborgamulin3929]

@@kestineniiquaye6110 same here. Amazing work! Thank you!!

[@away_5719]

Musical Blue balls is crazy, love this

[@yiler7683]

This is definitely one of the best ear training tutorials I’ve seen. It almost feels like unlocking a new superpower after watching this.

[@maxkonyi]

🗝🔓👂🏼

[@yoavco99]

Agreed

[@poj2121]

Never realised that I have always done this naturally and since learning music theory It's been making so much sense. Feeling really is key.

[@vcodev108]

Thanks for revealing the secret of ear training, feeling is the main ingredient that most of the music teacher never mention, thanks for guiding us in the right track as always.

[@maxkonyi]

🙌🙌🙌

[@roomsey9044]

Today I learned that I'm really good at tonic recognition. I do it all the time when I'm doing solos.

[@maxkonyi]

Nice! That's very fortunate

[@justapieceofbread9150]

This was really helpful as a self taught musician. I didn't know how to improve or test my own hearing ability and i was surprised to nail the real music part! (Level three)

[@maxkonyi]

Nice!

[@SaveManWoman]

When it comes to feeling, I have benefited in an immense way from studying Indian classical music. Look up Navtej Singh who teaches masterly. I have learned from him in 4 months what would have taken 10 years. Hard to explain but you will thank me a billions. Navtej Singh also plays amazing harmonium you will most definitely enjoy if you are music lover.

[@maxkonyi]

Nice! Thanks for the recommendation. Will definitely check him out. I love Indian classical! That's where the method I teach originates...

[@PreethamChandra-jh3fe]

Could you tell what videos of navtej singh are you referring to?

[@murftown]

Wow! I've been watching lots of ear training videos recently, because I'm working on my own approach to teaching it. But I've been mostly a bit disappointed by how robotic and rote everything is. In the first seconds of your video I immediately knew you were going to go deeper. I love the way you are explaining all this! Thank you! Cheers to good communication and learning! 🥂

[@guscox9651]

Your idea of feeling is really true in my experience. I was practicing ii V I in ascending keys, but instead of doing it logically I was trying to hear the next key centre each time, then working backwards to ‘hear’ V and then ii. It’s hard but rewarding. Respect to you and anyone who gets into this.

[@maxkonyi]

Oh interesting exercise. I'll have to give it a go...

[@bobloblaw9690]

This is why I think most people who play lots of instruments started out on drums. It speeds up the feeling process necessary to make learning scales and chords less stressful and easier to apply to your music. You can't force precision, it's a slow crawling into more fluid movement. Just like with correcting your bodies movements....no amount of adjustments, massage, nor pushing through it, or over-working will 100% fix anything, since you have to train the mind/body connection to function as one to allow free flow. The mind and body already know natural movement, it's just lost at a very early age. Music is no different of a sense to the brain. Rhythm literally opens the body up without conscious effort.

[@maxkonyi]

You make some good points there! Do you really think most multi-instrumentalists started on drums? I don't think that's been my experience with people I've met, though I haven't considered it deeply...

[@lunarscapes6016]

@@maxkonyiI play drums as well as keyboard/piano and I’m learning guitar right now. I think the main thing about learning percussion that lends itself to learning multiple instruments is that drums are literally multiple instruments. Like I had to learn how to play marimba, which is very different from a snare drum, which is very different than a timpani, which is very different than a drumset. You essentially learn how to learn if your first instrument is drums. But I know plenty of multi-instrumentalists that have never played drums, like my girlfriend who plays guitar, bass, piano, and clarinet (I showed her drums and she was better at them her first time than anyone else I’ve seen). I definitely think ear training adds to this though, because it’s really easy for me to learn guitar because I know the order I can play notes in based on piano and I can just figure out how to do that on guitar. I don’t feel like I did a good job explaining that, but hopefully it made at least a little bit of sense.

[@jonwright3114]

I consider myself to have a “bad ear” when it comes to pitch. So, I was cynical whether a video like this would be helpful. But, man! You crushed it. The idea of stopping music, finding that “feeling”, then attempting to sing that tonic note. This is gold! You earned a subscriber and I hope many more follow my subscription. You deserve it!

[@maxkonyi]

Much appreciated! I also considered myself to have a bad ear when I was younger...really bad!

[@clockworkhearts4085]

oh! I've been doing this unknowingly since I was a kid. I liked to try to guess what note would come next in a song, or I'd make up little tunes to hum and try to find notes that made the most sense together. I've never had any musical training so it's great to finally have a word for this.

[@MelissaR784]

Same here. Had a organ growing up and played that same game until it came naturally. What's weird was when I was older and picked up a guitar, found I could play the tune by ear also.

[@dimitricerny6976]

This is an excellent video on ear training! I love your teaching approach-clear, engaging, and easy to follow. Thanks for sharing!

[@kidkodama]

thoroughly enjoyed this presentation. I think I would really enjoy a sequel to this, where you go into more advanced territory. If you mastered recognizing the Tonic, where do you go from there? How do other Notes FEEL in relation to the tonic? I know there's plenty of material out there already, but if you feel like making a series out of this, it would be much appreciated!

[@maxkonyi]

Thanks! Appreciate the feedback. More videos in this series coming soon...

[@briancleary6751]

​@@maxkonyi Can't wait for exercises beyond the tonic!

[@eneldia85]

Thanks for this clear explanation. Years of playing the guitar and years of vocal entonation issues. Finally I am getting there.

[@celparadise3726]

This is wonderful. It's the kind of lesson a beginner should learn on day one. Most of us, unfortunately, won't do this for many years in, especially if we're self-taught.

[@PITFALL11]

The delay with you hitting the last note is so painful!

[@Prod.4D]

It’s damn near palpable

[@derycktrahair8108]

Yrs ago in an Army Band while we were having lunch, a Cornet player would stick his bell though the window & play a Maj scale from 1 to 7 & walk away laughing. Our reaction was always "Resolve it you Bastard". Music is fun when you know how to listen.

[@SalvadorRuberto]

Ear traning is the entrance to a new realm of puns and I´m all here for it

[@RafaelXavierOcc]

Thats an awesome class! I'm a music teacher myself and I just feel you nailed it on explaining the basics of ear training in such little time. I loved how you bring the concept of "feelings that we label". In my personal view, everything in music theory is exactly this - names we give to specific feelings caused by specific techniques of phenomena. Congratulations, and thank you for this lesson!

[@maxkonyi]

Agreed! I'm glad it resonated with you as well

[@ThomasJLarsen]

A nice tool analyzing music in your head is the fact that about 95 - 99 % of all melodies in Western music (classic, jazz, pop, rock, anything), end on the tonic. Check it out (without touching an instrument if you are trained).

[@maxkonyi]

Indeed!

[@chcorreia]

As a teacher (comp sci, not music), congratulations for your skills in breaking down the hard stuff in its simple parts and communicating it beautifuly in simple language.

[@maxkonyi]

Thanks! I'm glad it's coming across...

[@balazsjenei2649]

I developed and ´´upgraded´´ my ear / hearing through meditation journey. I watched the first segment 10sec of the video and I got goosebumps. I haven´t expected any of this. Just clicked on your video! Thank you for sharing your expertise!

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

After my retirement I started learning the piano. Moi? The piano? I lived my whole life joking that I was born with two left ears. I went through 6 years of choir class where the teachers told me to move my lips and not make a noise. And now, I'm looking at videos like this. BTW this was one of the most surprising ear training videos I've seen. And you started by descending the scale. So the leading tone is leading us away on a journey, and not leading us back home. I've asked two piano professors what would happen if someone taught students scales by descending to start with. Would that alter their musical creativity?

[@maxkonyi]

Great to hear! Regarding your last question there - I don't know! Despite scales generally being taught in ascending form, humans have a great propensity towards descending melodies...

[@allisonal]

Great comment! My piano teachers always had me ascend-descend in things like scales, arpeggios, etc. I had thought about why from a mechanical sense, but I hadn’t really thought about the ear training aspect of it.

[@drymonday6832]

I learned how to play by ear and music theory from a very young age and i can say hands down it is the most important thing you can learn as a musician that will separate you from others

[@germansniper5277]

10:25 when I heard the note and you then started to sing it was eye-opening

[@xperta1986]

Wow! Golden! Trust your feeling and then find the courage to improvise. Resolve when you are lost by reaching the tonic. Thank you.

[@FreeQueenSee963]

Thank you for this insightful video! I live with a very musical caique parrot and he can listen to any song and I will hear him sing that note that pulls it all together, as you say! I never knew how to describe it, but let me tell you, this feathered friend of mine sure has a natural feel for it. Thank you! Much appreciated.

[@maxkonyi]

Wow that sounds unbelievable! You could make a KZbin channel of just that...

[@FreeQueenSee963]

Who knows what the future brings! I'm personally more interested in 432Hz music myself. Still researching that and wanting to learn to play guitar tuned like that. One day it will all come together, I'm sure. 😉🎶 Thank you for your response!

[@PawanNandwani]

Ah! This is an interesting approach - I remember studying this with my piano teacher when we went through a (terrifying) book on harmony in music. The theory of it made me stress out to such an extreme point that we eventually ended up with me ditching the book and he taught me to learn by “feeling”. Seeing a visual element added to that is fascinating! Took me back to when I was in school. Good video :)

[@amandaturnerpiano]

Amazing video. I'm a private piano/music teacher of many years and I was NOT taught this logic as a student. I love finding resources like this online and sharing them with my students. I will definitely be sharing this with them, along with your course.

[@maxkonyi]

Nice! Thank you 🙏

[@iestynne]

Thank you so much for making this. What a wonderful gift to young people learning to understand and create music. I wish my music teacher had approached teaching like this. I wasted 8 years on empty technique, learning nothing of musicality itself.

[@kenneth1767]

This is great. I'm an artist relatively new to making music, and I use the same approach in color mixing. Instinctively note the feeling the color produces, and then mix till that feeling is matched. With the music I've been singing to harmonize with notes or chords, and find that this feeling and expectancy for notes is slowly developing.

[@maxkonyi]

Yeah! Great to hear. It all comes in time...

[@jhilmiliqueen]

when that last note was not played, i felt so restless and uneasy, like suffocating!

[@Xitaychin]

In the end I could recognise the tonic! When i started learning the theory it seemed so frustrating these scales and I don't know how the notes sound but here i understood how to find it with my inner voice or by singing aloud. Thank you a lot!!! Will practice.

[@maxkonyi]

Great to hear!

[@lavatr8322]

Is that why I get shivers on certain notes , Or I get excited when listening to _For eg: HansZimmer-Man of Steel tracks_ And this is how Films are scored right??? I never understood how to explain to people the Way I listen to Music and Sounds.... but this is what it is... And i think most people just put on headphones and blast something..... But i truly get immersed into it..... its actually incredible to have that ability. To feel.

[@maxkonyi]

While getting shivers and becoming emotionally moved by the feelings of a song is definitely related to the tonic (tonality in general), there are many more factors at play. Also, beyond all the theory, some people are just more sensitive and attuned to music in general!

[@JAMES_III]

Gustav Mahler's Adagietto (Symphony #5) ... The most breathtaking resolve you'll ever hear ❤

[@maxkonyi]

Will check!

[@Gamvrelis]

In addition to the importance of your presentation, I really liked the depth/fullness of the piano or keyboard you were playing. Please tell us the make, model, etc. - thank you.

[@maxkonyi]

I believe I was using a plugin called Keyscape for this. An amazing sounding piano. I'm playing on a MIDI controller, not a digital piano. The controller is a NI S61 mk2

[@neftalialavez2970]

This is the key to being able to talk through your instrument

[@PaulaHeartland]

Thank you. My history is that of not being able to carry a tune, but I easily felt/heard the tonic note.

[@miahlovato81]

LOVE this video!!! I'm a live musician that pursued DJing. I highly recommend this to any DJs out there. I use it to fine tune my students ears. I myself watch it frequently to keep my ears sharp. thank you for making such an awesome tutorial!!!

[@sagar.wankhede.thisside]

I learned so much and I'm glad I could resolve the parts ❤

[@maypling]

i think this concept exists in language learning too. in our native tongue, we won't always be able to say exactly how we know something is gibberish, or why someone's accent doesn't sound native - we just know that it sounds 'off'. (maybe two words that should rhyme don't, or a word is unusual for a certain context, etc.) spelling as well - if it looks off we keep trying different things until it's resolved/familiar. this intuition is built somewhat passively over time as a child, but can still be achieved as an adult, especially with active learning. all to say, listening is super important to build a strong foundation! thanks for sharing ♥

[@Whatismusic123]

This is an extremely important skill many fail to learn, even with years of experience. It's also good to watch out thay you don't confuse the tonal center, with the tonic function, as they are not the same. Many confuse tonicization for modulation due to that.

[@maxkonyi]

An important distinction for sure. Both leverage the same mechanism but with varying degrees of strength and permanence.

[@isaacbeen2087]

"atonality doesn't exist" - @Whatismusic123

[@StevenSuarezArdila]

I can't describe how much I appreciate this video! This is the best ear training I've seen so far! You're amazing! Thank you very so much!

[@calebhylkema2862]

You're an excellent teacher. This is the first time that ear training has really made sense to me.

[@aster6000]

Subscribed after the intro. That tickled my brain in the perfect way

[@maxkonyi]

SUCCESS

[@nefertitimontoya]

I got chills

[@apokalyhpse]

Same here, sinestesic ❤

[@Garfield_633]

OMG I thought I’m the only one who does this… Thanks for sharing! I use this method to quickly recognize the locrian mode since the next note it gives me is automatically the tonic

[@godisgoodallthetimeman4796]

yoooooooooooooooooooooo thanks again for the help in discord, I honestly dont deserve to know all of this so quickyl tysm

[@maxkonyi]

My pleasure!

[@silva1686]

I tend to always resolve in 6th instead of 1st, so everything almost always sounds sadder than it should be haha

[@BBsheepy]

Amazing my brain automatically do that, especially when the radio stopped in the car and I will finish the note or the sound ... So cool and I have no idea... 😊 Thanks

[@bransunmitchellartist9229]

Much more palatable than most who try to explain music theory. Thank you

[@kalyanoliveira3224]

The first time I actually felt a major third was like magic!Suddenly, I was able to understand the importance of hearing intervals and thinking relatively between pitches.

[@wagonet]

Ive never thought about music like a feel. Mind blown 😲

[@saik5307]

Therapist: how r u feeling today? Me: Tonic. Yep

[@hearpalhere]

Hi Max, greetings from Hungary! I really appreciate your video - I just came to this one after watching the replay of the livestream on feeling the major scale. I have struggled with ear training for all my years playing guitar. It's only been the last couple of years that I've felt like I've made some progress. I look forward to putting your techniques/exercises to use because I get a strong feeling that you've really landed on something super important. So thank you!

[@maxkonyi]

Great to hear! My last name is Hungarian 😎

[@BloodSavedMe]

Saving this for later reference Max! Thanks for all you do

[@XxFunkMachinexX]

Great video. Had a teacher tell me that an easy way to find the tonic is to find a note that you can hum throughout the entire piece that makes sense at any point in the song.

[@maxkonyi]

Not always true but not a bad starting place!

[@gusty17]

THE SONG YOU PLAYED SOUNDS AMAZING. Will def check out all your playlists, especially weekly productions

[@Ratstick58]

This is so true for technique, writing etc. art is so intellectualized because of the educational complex where people are just trying to make a living while “explaining” music, but so much of it is…. Not at the core of actually learning it. Videos that describe the truth are few and far between. Thank you.

[@maxkonyi]

Agreed!

[@irisbrasch7955]

Love you! Amazing how easy the complicated stuff gets through you!

[@stranger5312]

wow the animations with the music made the video much more enjoyable

[@maxkonyi]

Glad you like them! Trying new stuff...

[@bizzar2792]

Did this in realtime w/ my midi keyboard. Great breakdown!

[@ericashmead4049]

Lately Ive been trying to rework the way I think about music, using functional harmony and some Barry Harris techniques. I think this is one of the main concepts to grasp, being able to feel and identify the direction of music and how each part 'relates' to its counterparts. Really cool video man!

[@barbarasayas7536]

I’ve never checked this out before, because I didn’t know it existed. I just know I’ve been doing it now that I’ve seen this video. The first example was easy for me… not sure of the second example… but it was a great experience.

[@Leviathan894]

This was a really refreshing and I think approachable way to think about ear training. Also it got the listener involved and all around this was really helpful.

[@grungeamy]

Thank you for this! It was so surprising and exciting everytime i got it right. Super engaging and compelling, will keep practicing ❤

[@kspades2530]

This was good thanks In my experience don't think anyone has ever done something like this

[@animalspirits5141]

A feeling state. The word "Tonic" might be on my mind for the rest of the day. Thank you. 😮

[@1nfius948]

Finding the tonic is easy. Its finding out what note it is so I can play it

[@israeltechint]

Amazing video. I didn't think it could be so easy to get the tonic in a complete song.

[@Sophia_Regina]

You have a great storytelling ability. Thank you for this video

[@marceline8488]

I was so happy when I got the challenges at the end but on the last one I did one lower octave than the note highlighted in the song.

[@maxkonyi]

No need to worry about which octave. It's just the note/degree that matters!

[@lakep7798]

Wow, what a different take on it! I can really appreciate this-thank you!!

[@hotpenguin607]

The thing I love about music is that it teaches me to learn to feel!

[@oscarwong67]

This was awesome. Just bought the ear training course since it’s on sale! I’ve got tons of theory resources but the method of ear training you show in this video really clicked with me in ways other content hasn’t before.

[@maxkonyi]

You bought which ear training course?? I don't have one...yet

[@oscarwong67]

​@@maxkonyioh I meant MWD1! My point was that I'm primarily interested in the ear training section

[@maxkonyi]

@@oscarwong67 Got it!

[@bryermusicstudio2727]

Thank you very much for a perspective I have not seen before and more importantly I relate to seemingly innately. Congratulations and again thank you.

Hey thanks for the info, I would also recommend that after you watch this video watch it again with your eyes closed and just feel the difference with your hands on your laptop feel the difference with your eyes open then closed......

[@connorrobinson9268]

Awesome videos. You are a great teacher. Keep it up. Love this stuff.

[@maxkonyi]

Thanks!

[@matttyner8804]

My grandfather tried to explain this to me when i was a teenager trying to emulate his guitar playing but he wasnt great at explaining stuff, this is helpful for me. He was self taught and just played by feel on several instruments with real skill and natural instinct. But he couldn't say why the tones should change, for him it was just obvious and natural where to go with the melody and progression, i wish i could do that myself. He gave me his song book but it was just lyrics because he didnt need to know the chords lol 😂

[@maxkonyi]

That's great ✨

[@chandlermccoy1813]

Looks like this video is popping off now man. Awesome! I bet it feels weird since it's been 10 months lol But honestly about time. You did a GREAT job describing this and giving examples. Reqlly walked us through it. I pretty much copied your video and used this as a script to teach my own students the same thing!! Love it. The production level is also fantastic. Love it

[@maxkonyi]

Yeah super weird to see it take off all of a sudden! Glad you enjoyed it. I'm happy to hear you're using the ideas with your students! 🌞

[@krytux]

hey!! great video, thanks a lot. I would really love it if you make another one about feeling the fourth,sixth and fifth degree of a scale!! a

[@maxkonyi]

Coming soon!

[@annaleekornelsen]

Great exercise! Thanks for putting words to the feeling, Max

[@maxkonyi]

Thanks Annalee! Nice to see you here 🌞

[@mohammadaminmemarzadeh45]

Wow you are so underrated. I really needed this since many months ago that I started learning music. Please let us know how we should move forward from this.

[@RogerBeckett]

Thanks for this great video, Max. Music = Emotion. That's why it transcends all languages and effects us as at a very organic level. Someone once asked me at a songwriting workshop, "How do you know if a song is good?" I replied, "If it doesn't make you feel something, it's not."

[@maxkonyi]

Yessir!

[@Whatismusic123]

Jesus christ you are so terrible wrong.

[@billyraymyers1002]

Stumbled across this vid today and I felt compelled to say that your delivery is fantastic! These demo tracks sound amazing too, definitely going to deep diving your discog! +1 Sub

[@horstjuergen99933]

What an amazing video. I have developed a quite finely tuned and discerning ear towards exotic scales, different textures and timbers of sound, individual to cultural styles and stylistic choices, and can count and produce odd time signatures with ease, while at the same time having the feeling like I have always been missing a fundament to my harmonic competency... This is like the central puzzle that I have been ignorant of for to long and which I am hoping to develop more now. You have a super empathic way of teaching! Looking forward to checking out more of your work. Thank you a lot!

[@maxkonyi]

So happy it was helpful for you! Sounds like you've developed some very useful skills in other areas, which also very valuable.

[@TheFlamingChips]

Great video. I wished I was able to watch this as an intro to music instead of being overwhelmed with theory

[@KCdeeya]

the quality of this channel insane!! def subscribed

[@austin9526]

this just came up on my recommended..thankkyouu universe

[@alexandra.v]

This is very interesting! I'm not a music professional or something but I listen to music a lot. I actually have like a radio in my head. I think this helps a lot to remember the notes exactly like in the original song. Sometimes I need to listen to a song multiple times (if it has a complicated melody) but I finally end up "feeling" the entire song. The problem is that I can't name or produce the notes, just feel them.

[@Nakkiteline]

i was so excited that i screamed "YAAAS!!" when i resolved the last example perfectly! the E minor one, i resolved a octave lower than you played and it was bit off maybe but the G was exactly the same tone and pitch that you sang! this affirms me so much in that i am not too late, i can really do this! i think how i learned to find the tonic is because when i watch movies and there's some movie music i've never heard before, i always guess where the music goes next! it has trained my ear without me doing actually anything ear training related ever!! i can't believe that i just have this accurate ear, it must be because of this! well, i am an high functioning autist so maybe that has something to do with it too! bit context for interested, i was always a musical child, could sing well before my voice change but stopped singing in 7th grade. tried to learn a bit of guitar and bass as a kid and played a bit of drums in highschool, actually performed one song in our schools spring fest. after school i only listened music, didn't sing or play anything really. in 2020 i was exhausted, i burned out in my job. i dropped to welfare to cure my depression that had lasted for years. i started to dabble with guitar when i met the first person i ever knew who can play a solo on a guitar. i wanted to do that, but in my experience the learning curve was so deep i thought it's mere impossible to try and learn instrument at age 26. but i tried and actually did learn some, but got discouraged for some reason after less than a year of playing. one reason was i didn't like my instrument, a cheap strat knock-off, not even a squier. i was disappointed in myself and got even more depressed. two months ago i found my dream guitar, the exact one i knew i maybe could be able to afford on social security. Epiphone Les Paul, in black, even the colour was right! it must've been the universe looking out for me because i just happened to have the money for it since it was payday that day, i was looking to get strings to that shitty strat because i wanted some guitar to play. it was godsend. i bought the strings, left the store, turned back after hundred meters and bought the damn guitar, i said to myself this is something i cannot pass, let me atleast try it if it feels good to play. went to store, tested it briefly (ppl came in an i hadn't played in two years or more, sucked so much i was so embarrassed) and thought fuck it, i'll be hungry af this month but i have to get the guitar. and so i got it. have played every day for almost two and a half months now and i got all i lost back very quickly with so much more. i'm so glad i did buy it. friend says i could have what it takes to be great because of how fast i learn. he bugged me to take a teacher for myself, i thought i would never dare bcos of my shyness. but i sent a message to his old teacher, a superb musician of 30 years. left him a long message introducing myself and evem though he doesn't really teach that much anymore, he was intrigued and accepted!! i start next month with a purpose to get in a music school here in finland in next 5 years. i am so excited and this video did actually affirm me that i do have musical proclivity, or even little bit of talent. now i apply hard work and see where all this goes. wish me luck all, and thank you Max for these great ear training vids! most helpful stuff on ear training i have come across if you read all the way down here, thanks and cheers from 🇫🇮!!

[@maxkonyi]

That's wonderful to hear 🌞 Thanks for sharing the story! Excited for you to explore the musical world. You will not regret it

[@Nakkiteline]

@@maxkonyi thank you so much! i'm so excited too. the hard thing for me is, to stick with it when the excitement inevitably lessens. actually improving and getting deeper understanding of music through these kind of super valuable lessons helps with that for sure. but inevitably it's up to me and only me; and it has helped to reach this conclusion. as i was younger i searched for motivation from outside sources, or rather just waited doing nothing, for the inspiration to come around. now if i feel uninspired i just still pick the guitar up and the inspiration usually comes, or it doesn't. there's always s next day and there's no point to beat yourself up for not being inspired 24/7. it's all a learning curve and it all helps with other areas in life aswell. music truly is a cure for depression for example.

[@itorres008]

Good stuff! I can identify the tonic on all of those. I also know a lot of theory, scales/modes, extended chords, harmonic analysis. I also have what I can only call tonal memory, don;t know if there is a term. I just heard a song from the Police from whatever album, I can't remember, and having heard the album in order years or decades ago I knew/felt next song in the album was Message In a Bottle. I remembered the starting note, and checked it on the piano and I looked for the recording and it was correct (C#). Now, I don't know what relation (or interval) it had to the previous song, but I just remembered the note. I can hear songs and in one or two notes can "Name that tune", but it's also using the instrumentation, timbre of voices, etc. Anyway, I haven't found a way to use those abilities to follow in my head what the progression or just the bass note of the chords are. I could do it if it's just I - IV - V, but I can't do it on more complicated songs. I can identify and sing the bass note in the chord progression, but don't feel the interval between notes if it's more than stepwise motion. I can identify intervals if presented melodically and given time, but not follow the movement up and down. Perhaps I haven't worked at it enough or not had the training and method needed. I will check out your other videos.

[@maxkonyi]

Great! Yeah, I address things like this in some other ear training videos. It's about the feeling of each scale degree and/or chord position as opposed to melodic interval distances between them.

[@ryancarter6876]

Yeah, i loved that first track you played at the ending section! it was the bassoon playing the tonic most of the time. Killer!