For my ear training lesson on ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing’ by Ellington, the ‘solutions’ to the music (the notes for this lesson) are listed below the video. They’re not listed all at once though. They’re listed one at a time. You can scroll down to see one and then if you want to check the next one, you’ll need to scroll down farther. In this way, it’s a slight bit of a hassle to check the next note and I would encourage you to not look unless completely necessary.
Try it out! And let me know how it goes and what you think of the format.
Thanks
First Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
E
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
B
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Second Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
A
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
E
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Third Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
A
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
E
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Fourth Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
C
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
G
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Fifth Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
E
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
B
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Sixth Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
A
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
E
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Seventh Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
C
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
G
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Eighth Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
Eb
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
Bb
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Ninth Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
D
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
A
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Tenth Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
C
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
G
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Eleventh Note
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
A
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
E
Tenor Saxophone & Soprano Saxophone:
E A A C E A C #D D C A.
Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone:
B E E G B E G Bb A G E
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Shereen Smith says
I enjoyed playing that although I struggled trying to play it by ear. I’m sure I’ll improve in time.
Neal says
Yes, you get better at it. Think of it like exercise, making you stronger.
Sam says
Neal,
When my son was learning the sax first he nearly drove us mental with endless repetitions of ‘merrily merrily etc’ all from the sheet music. I used the playing from ear method just now and nailed in 10 minutes – if only we had known !!!!
Sam
Neal says
Hey Sam,
That’s funny. I actually think it’s important to learn both to read and to get music by ear. They’re both helpful.
-Neal
Doug says
Neal, I like this format of a starting note and working through the tune to get it. I like the satisfaction of working on it regardless of how long it takes to finish and complete it with no mistakes. I think this is a great approach to ear training.
Neal says
Thanks Doug, I’ll make some more. Maybe the X-Files theme song, that one’s a little different.
KT says
I like the format. I still like to finger and hear each note before playing the phrase. Just a more immediate warm up and more directly related to what I am about to play.
Neal says
Thanks Kate,
Interesting approach. I could make some more exercises like this.