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You are here: Home / Jazz Lessons / Ear Training / Developing Relative Pitch-Hearing the Key
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Developing Relative Pitch-Hearing the Key

Developing Relative Pitch-Hearing the Key

$9.99

SKU: 106 Category: Ear Training Tags: ear training, hearing, intervals, jazz improvisation, video lesson
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Description

Learning to play by ear is one of the most important aspects to jazz improvisation.  When I was a young student in junior high school, I was taught from a few great method books.  The main books I worked out of were the Charlie Parker Omnibook and Patterns for Jazz by Jerry Coker.   For  a couple of years all I did was work out of these books but there was a missing ingredient………………I wasn’t learning to play by ear!  Everything I learned was from a book.  Luckily, during this time, I discovered the local library.  I would go there every Saturday and checkout a bunch of jazz albums.  I would go home and listen to them in awe of what I was hearing.  I wanted to play like that!  Somehow  my books didn’t seem like they were taking me there.  There was one album specifically that was a breakthrough for me.  It was Dave Sanborn’s album “Voyeur”.  I got it home and put it on and was amazed.  I had never heard an alto saxophone sound so cool and funky.  I remember taking my sax out and trying to play with the recording.  I must have played to that album at least 1000 times in that week.

The big moment came when I discovered that the notes that fit the song I was playing over fit a blues scale that my teacher had given me. (even though it was 30 years ago, I can still remember that it was the C# blues scale)   It was like a light bulb went off in my head.  I soon discovered that there was a blues scale that fit every song on that album.  I also realized that Dave Sanborn was mostly playing notes from that blues scale.  As I played more and more to music, I realized that this held true to most songs I heard.  Of course, many of the jazz albums had harder changes than a blues scale would fit but the other 90% of music I heard was perfect for the blues scale.

It was during this time,that I learned how to hear what key a song was in.  I was playing by ear.  I didn’t realize it then, and didn’t know if songs were major or minor.  All I realized was that for each song, there was a blues scale that fit the best.  Later in my development, I learned about major,minor and dominant tonalities.  Thanks to my early work with those blues scales it was easy for me to figure out those sounds and keys when I played with a song.

It was also during this time that I developed a blues scale vocabulary.  Practicing a scale from a page of music will only get you so far.  Hearing the blues scale played by a legend and copying that legends best ideas is a totally different learning experience.  You are learning from that persons learning.  All the years they have spent studying and perfecting their playing  is summed up in the choices they make on  that album.  When you copy their best ideas then you are learning from there learning…………much better than starting from scratch!

In this lesson on relative pitch, I take what we’ve worked on so far and apply it to figuring out the keys of a tune.  I demonstrate how to use your saxophone to figure out what key the song is in and give you many helpful hints. I take you through how you can use the Aebersold play alongs to practice this skill, hear the key of a song, play by ear and also to test yourself.  I take you through  many major and minor tonalities and show you how to start working on hearing the key yourself.  Hearing the key of a song is a fundamental building block to playing by ear.  Playing by ear, is of course what jazz improvisation is all about………..Enjoy! (29 Minute Video & Audio)

 

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Lesson Sample

https://public.neffmusic.com/Developing%20Relative%20Pitch-Hearing%20the%20Key%20clip.mp4

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Hello Steve,

I have not received my alto yet but have already gone through 14 lessons. I love your approach, style, knowledge and competence. I now regret so much to have stayed away from playing the sax for the past 45-50 years…(I am 65).  But It is never too late to get back to your first love. After 23 years in compuer sciences and 22 years in finances…I am now back to music for the rest of my life.

Doing some research on the net, I found this:

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Claude

Mr. Neff,  I want to thank you for sharing your God-given talents through your on-line lessons.  My husband, Michael, is blind, but he is a great sax player and he has been enjoying your lessons for quite some time now.  It’s not unusual for me to hear “Hey, babe, listen to THIS!” – and he will cut loose on his sax, just thrilled at what he learned during his session with you.  His excitement warms my heart!  You have no idea how much you have poured into my husband.  You have opened musical … Read more

Carole B
Thank you so much for the great job you are doing to help further our jazz studies. Though I make my living as a repairer of musical instruments I am a student of jazz and have been fortunate enough to be involved with a big band and a combo for the last several years. As my children began to leave “the nest” I had decided to dedicate the next half of my life to a more serious study of the sax but I didn’t know exactly how I would go about doing this until a friend of mine turned me onto your si… Read more
Jon

Steve,  Just want to say thanks for all you are doing for all of us. I’ve learned more from you than anyone else in my 40 years of playing.

If you can give some tips on One Note Samba, Ceora, and Wave… that would be cool.  I really like learning how you apply your concepts to actual songs!

Have a great year,

Kevin Ledbetter

I've learned more from you than anyone else in my 40 years of playing.

I want to thank you for your “Ultimate II-V-I Primer”  which has sent me off on a much better path to improvisation.  The primer and the four bound books I have will keep me busy for a long time.  I like your lessons for two reasons.  The lessons work and THEY ARE FUN.  Thanks again.

Robert

Robert
I am a music book junkie and I have to say that your books are the most clear, user friendly, and helpful books I own.  They are my absolute favorites and I only wish I had them years ago.  I wouldn’t change a thing about the experience I had in acquiring my degree at Berklee, but my playing has perhaps grown more in the time I’ve spent buried in your books and lessons.  Keep up the great work!!! Thanks, John
John
I want to let you know that your instructional material is transforming my playing.  It is an immense pleasure to learn and play now, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am. The instructional material I got from you is by far the best of any I own (and I have over 100 books, DVDs, and what not). I literally can’t thank you enough! Deric
Deric
Hey Steve! I hope you and your family are well.  I’m just writing to say thank you so much for all the resources you have made available to the saxophone community. I have been using your material for many years and I always come back to it… in fact I just took a break from practicing to write this…( reviewing “CreatingModern II-V-I Lines with simple pentatonics”.) I am, and continue to be, one of your raving fans! Blessings to you and your family this holiday season! Wishing… Read more
Gerry Aylward
First, I’m really excited about your materials! This site is a vast resource for any aspiring (and maybe already inspired) jazz musicians. I’m not a sax player, I play mandolin and fiddle, but have been learning jazz and playing weekly with a quintet for the past 6 months and have been struggling with all of the issues you get into in your lessons. I bought several books and lessons and plan to continue with some others as soon as I organize my practice routine. Thanks again for a great site … Read more
Tony Galfano

Steve, just a note to say thanks.

I’ve been playing a long time, but your material, laid out in such a thoughtful way, helps me to understand concepts in a new and deeper way.

You are a true gift to the jazz community.

60 lessons and going strong,

Kevin Ledbetter

Kevin Ledbetter

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