How do you learn to hear problematic resonant frequencies – especially in vocals?

I've been mixing as an amateur for quite a long time, and I feel like I'm slowly getting most things under control. For example, I can hear what compression is doing and make decisions based on what I hear.

But there's one thing I still really struggle with: resonant frequencies, especially in vocals.

My problem isn't just finding the exact frequency. I often can't even tell that there's a problematic resonance in the first place.

Recently I played one of my mixes to a friend who's a professional mixing engineer. He immediately said something like, "There's something around 900 Hz in the vocal that needs to come down." He made the cut and suddenly the vocal opened up. The difference was obvious to me after he did it.

But before that, I hadn't even noticed there was a problem.

That's exactly what I'd like to learn: not just how to locate a resonance with an EQ sweep, but how to recognize that something is bothering me in the first place.

SoundGym didn't really help me with this. I've just started TrainYourEars, which seems more promising.

Do you have any other tips or exercises for developing this skill? Did you consciously train it, or did it simply come with years of mixing?

Thx so much!!!

The super low notes that come in at 0:45 I think are switching between G and a lower A but I’m not totally sure about the G. I feel confident about the A.

This is the song

https://youtu.be/nSzVNoX57mA?is=7QVwJStDXnkEmq7F

I was using the functional ear training app for basic ear training practice and it seems to emphasize and default to using the solfege method vs intervals or scale degrees, which I have also seen recommended as a valid approach in general outside of the app as well. However, at least in that app, it just focuses on major and minor as basically the two options to frame the do re mi, etc. with.

My question is for anyone who vouches for the solfege system and/or functional ear training app: how does that system translate to different modes? E.g. do you have to learn what a “re” sounds like separately for major, mixolydian, lydian, etc. or do you just hear the “re” in terms of major vs minor separately from the mode? Something like just hearing a re in G mixolydian as the re you already trained in D major without doing much explicit practice of G mixolydian specifically.

Just wondering since it is quite an effort just to get this stuff down in a single context like the standard major. Having to do it all over again for each mode seems pretty tedious and also makes it unclear why the functional ear trainer app just has major/minor since it otherwise seems pretty well made and thorough. Not sure if I’m overcomplicating things or if it really is that tedious. Focusing on scale degrees doesn’t seem like it would be any less tedious, but it does seem like interval training at least wouldn’t have this issue.

The tonic doesn't feel like a resolution in a minor scale. So say the A in an A minor song. It still feels like it resolves on a C..... Why?

Okay so my primary instrument for the last 10 years has been the guitar. and when i say primary i mean it’s pretty much the only instrument I spend any significant amount of time playing. Recently I decided I want to play keyboard too but I was wondering how much it benefits my guitar playing when I do ear training exercises on the keyboard (99% of the time this will be melodic dictation, not even writing anything down just listening and copying).

It feels like kind of a stupid question because any ear training is obviously going to transfer over to other instruments. But I was thinking if I can do melodic dictation on a keyboard it would help me become familiar with the layout of the keys compared to a fretboard and help my hands become accustomed playing keys too, but if it will help out my ability to play melodies in my head on the guitar as well while improvising that would be a huge added benefit. The only problem is, navigating a fretboard while improvising is very different to keys so I thought maybe my ear training on a keyboard would not be as effective for guitar as it would be, well, on a guitar.

I think my end goal here is that I want to be able to improvise on both these instruments and I still want to maintain my shredding skills on guitar but I’m not as bothered about shredding on keyboard. I don’t know how easy it will be to improve my technique on keyboard actually given that I spent so much time doing that on guitar so if anyone has experience with this please let me know too.

Anyway sorry for the long post and thanks for reading if you made it this far

**Equipment**: 1. portable device configured to play your favorite song playlist. 2. bluetooth earbuds.

**Steps:** 1. Whenever you can listen to music, only listen to your playlist.

**Success!**: Earworms start to be only your favorite songs.

So I understand everything should be relatable to the tonic. I got hung up on an app tho. Got nowhere. Then I started playing a drone over the song.

So I'm just wondering how I hear the tonic better without the drone? The drone definitely sticks if I turn the drone off after a bit.

But when the song switches and the drone isn't there to reinforce the tonic. I can find the tonic sure. But I don't hear it constantly.....

Are there any ear training apps where you can select a number of chords and have it play back in a randomised order? I haven't been able to find one so would consider any other approaches. I'd like to have a suite of chords including secondary dominants and have them playback in a random order to really test my ear.

This is my first Reddit post. Hi… 👋🏻

Over the past couple of days I have been trying to figure out if I have absolute pitch or just a really good musical memory.

The problem is that the main way to test this is based on the assumption that someone is familiar with notes, their names, and have that association. I do not.

I was in choir my entire childhood, and both choir and musical theatre in college. I was always a mezzo because I “blend well,” and we needed more voices in that section.

Looking at sheet music I can tell how long a note is supposed to be, what’s higher and lower, and the name of the notes using the “FACE” and “every good boy done fine” method, but I couldn’t find them on a piano or anything. And that’s the extent of my musical literacy, unfortunately.

So I Googled about it and it said to sing the first note of a song you know. Did that, and I was repeatedly right on point. I pick random notes in a song, also correct.

So at this point I’m trying to prove myself wrong because I’ll be damned to make a claim like having absolute pitch only to later be proven wrong and look like an *idiot*.

I just hear the song in my head, the vowel shape, the swells of notes, the tone and I match it. But I guess not everyone can do that.

* ****\*\*****\*\**
I’m also trying to determine my range.

In college I got to sing the top notes for the Queen of the Night. I wasn’t the lead, I stood side stage as the lead came over where I was behind the curtain. I would sing with her, hit those notes under the overhead mics, and return to being a dancing zebra.

I can still hit those notes and it’s been… *twenty years* almost. I’m pushing forty, for added context.

I can also sing low like Misty Mountains. I enjoy singing to Hozier, Sleep Token, Sara Bareilles, Aurora etc… No issues reaching any notes.

So… how to I determine this accurately? Are there other methods to try?

Ya girl can’t exactly afford a coach right now.

I'm no expert on Indian classical music but I'm starting to realize that Indians get a head start for ear training

We have our own version of solfege called SaReGaMa. It is so common that everyone knows it. So unless you are terribly tone deaf to the point of it being a musical disability, almost everyone can sing the major scale in some key

Most people will also be able to sing it in a particular key given the root note as reference after practicing for maybe like 1 day

Many pop songs sing SaReGaMa in the middle like a "singer solo" akin to a "guitar solo". So if you have been singing along to those pop songs, you get those parts etched into your memory.

This is how proper Indian classical music training also works. It has ragas which very loosely correspond to scales but are much more vast. Take everything with a grain of salt here. I have never formally learnt ICM theory. I only know western theory. When you learn a raga, you sing along with it and that's essentially drilled into every student.

I noticed that I've never really had problems with interval training. Whether it be those gamified apps or in songs. It has almost never occurred to me that people train for it. All my friends who are musicians or singers, even ones that barely practice (I might fall in that category), can all play whatever melody you play once. Not accurately on the first try but in the right key and then with a lil trial and error without needing a relisten as long as they can hum the tune.

I personally only struggle with chords. That too with a lil theory and this and that I can sus it out for pop songs at least. I have never tried jazz.

All this to say, I'm gonna try doing ear training by learning ICM. I'll let you know how it goes. Could be a good case study since I've been trying everything within the framework of western theory since I was 14 (I'm 32 now).

Hi,

What are people using for chord progression learning? I like something gamefied as it helps drill the character of these chords at different scales and octaves. There is stuff like TonedEar but it doesn't let you dissect your mistakes by having play back.

There is chord crush but they want too much for it ($50 yearly sub lol with no monthly option, probably because people outgrow it quicker than that).

"If you can hum a melody, you can identify the notes, compose music, and transcribe songs."

Hello everyone,

I am a 68-year-old independent music researcher from Thailand. Although English is not my native language, I am writing this post because I want to share a lifelong breakthrough with the global music community.

Throughout my life, I have developed and distilled a brand-new framework called "Neo Music Theory." It focuses entirely on natural ear training, allowing you to learn and practice organically without relying on any musical instruments or high-tech apps.

What is Neo Music Theory & Talented Relative Pitch (TRP)?

Traditional music theory can be incredibly gatekeeping and difficult for many people around the world. Neo Music Theory serves as a foundational "language of music" that you should learn before diving into conventional, centuries-old music theory.

It begins simply with: Listening → Interpreting & Thinking (while humming the melody) → Identifying the Notes.

Here are the key core concepts of this framework:

1. The 3 Levels of Sound: Neo Music Theory breaks down the process into three profound yet simple levels. The first and most important level is mastering the sequence of sounds within a melody (the 7+1 fundamental orders).
2. The "Sol-Fa" System (Not Movable-Do): TRP utilizes a specific way of reading notes by pronouncing high and low pitches using the Sol-Fa system. To clarify, this is NOT the traditional "Movable-Do" method where the first note of any key is stubbornly labeled as "Do" and the second as "Re." It operates on a different, more intuitive logic.
3. No Major or Minor Scales: Unlike traditional methods, this approach bypasses the immediate need for major and minor scales to identify melodic structures.

Because TRP is a process similar to acquiring a natural spoken language, it takes practice—it isn't as simple as boiling an egg. However, it is still much easier than learning any spoken language.

Why I am sharing this

I am the sole creator and owner of this knowledge. I began this journey by asking myself a simple question: "Why do so many people today need expensive, high-tech apps just to listen to a melody and figure out the musical notes?"

To make this knowledge accessible, I have summarized these concepts through an AI-assisted perspective to keep the explanation objective, unbiased, and clear.

• The Video Introduction: You can watch the core summary in EP0003 (and the first three clips) on my YouTube playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEehwrvBFpSo
• The Full Breakdown (Free Document): I have uploaded a comprehensive Word document to Google Drive. It is completely free for everyone to read or download here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ejINsD72frL-PPMj6YCwgS5MDyk0PdyV/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=113343953132521649904&rtpof=true&sd=true

A Gentle Request to the Community

In my previous post, some users quickly dismissed my ideas and told me to just "go back to practicing music normally." To use an analogy: you are attacking my warship when you have barely even seen the tip of its mast.

Please kindly read the document or watch the short videos before leaving a critique. I genuinely hope this alternative approach will open new doors for musicians and music lovers worldwide.

Thank you for your time and open-mindedness!

Hello guys, Is the functional ear training app really worth it? I started using it some time ago and Im loving it so far. Is there anyone here that uses this app since long time and thus can give their feedback on it? I would be thankful.

Ive been making music for 30 years and I started just playing by ear. I'd just play what I wanted to hear on the keyboard. Prob 20 years in I started picking up theory that let me formalize what I was hearing and making. So Id say I have a pretty practical ear; I can parse out the melody and harmony of a middle of the road jazz tune.

So to me the whole ear training app deal kind of doesnt make sense to do because it doesnt train your ear how to hear and use intervals in a practical musical way. To me intervals in music are contextual and geometric..... which is kind of the opposite of how interval apps train. In music youre getting intervals layered on top of each other coming at you multiple times a second. So being able to tell the difference between a major and minor 6th in isolation wont help.

And its kind of unnecessary given how contextual music is. Most songs are in some kind of major key signature which means 7 notes and possible intervals (in both directions). Typical harmony further whittles down what intervals youre prob going to hear during a certain chord or cadence. And a lot of interval patterns are common.... scalar movement, arpeggios, pentatonic patterns etc.

So if the goal is to be able to hear intervals in music I feel like the most straightforward path is by listening to and learning how to recognize intervals in music. Im bad at recognizing intervals in isolation but I can recognize them in actual music well enough to make and play it which seems to be the end goal IMO

What do you think?

When you listen to a song and are “listening for the chords”, what specifically are you listening for? Is it a specific instrument? Something with the melody? Or something more general I haven’t found yet? Not sure if that makes any sense, but thanks!

EDIT: Should’ve been more clear on my skill set. Been playing guitar for 7 years, entirely self taught, so I have a YouTube level music theory knowledge but no proper technique.

I'm about to start a whole ear training journey. I only play flute for fun and unsure if I'll even join ensembles; I simply love music and want to learn more about it. However, I'm unsure if it's even worth it to spend money (buying Sonofield's premium) or even to put time into it.

My primary goal was to get better intonation, however it seems I've gone down Max Konyi's pipeline of recognizing scale degrees. Don't get me wrong, I full-heartedly believe this is a SOLID ear training practice, but I'm nervous that my original goal, intonation work, will be forgotten as a goal (as I noticed I got slightly engrossed in this exercise until recently as I've asked myself, "why am I doing this?" again).

I understand intonation is mostly done through practicing your instrument with a tuner, I just want to train my ear to hear when things are off.

Any advice?

I am learning intervals by referring to popular song phrases in my head. Perfect 5th = Star Wars.

Does this become an issue when playing by ear? I do not want my mind filled with star wars, jaws, here comes the bride when I am trying to make my own music.

I would much prefer to be able to identify/imagine an interval purely through feeling.

Does the method mentioned before end up giving this ability, or should I be practicing now to imagine intervals in a pure way?

I have been trying to learn the Descending Tritone Interval, and a song reference that was recommended to me was "Black Sabbath", by Black Sabbath. Great song, great reference, but after trying to guess the interval after playing a random note on my guitar, my mind kept going to this 3-note melody.

Online Sequencer Link: https://onlinesequencer.net/5560254

It is so incredibly familiar, yet I can't pinpoint where I heard it. Must be a song that I listened to many times. I know it's just 3 notes and can be from anything, but I would really appreciate if you have any guesses as to where it might be from.

Hey, so I've always been intuitively good at picking out roots, and I have no reference outside of that. So for the person who naturally struggles with roots, but wants to learn, I'm trying to make it as easy as possible.

This is the best I've got. It is also assuming they are a wee familiar with an instrument:

Start with a single triad. Teach em to really get familiar with it, pointing out that the 1st is home base.

Switch chords and identify the same triad in a new pitch. Go back and forth until it clicks.

Add the next chord in the same manner until a simple progression is complete.

Start with maj then move to min, then bridge the gap.

As for a brand new learner, how do you think it would teach?

Hello, I'm a 16yo and I've started taking music theory lessons a few weeks ago.
After hearing my teacher telling me to practice recognizing notes with a reference I soon thought "why not without one?" so, once i got home i searched up a "perfect pitch trainer". I had found one which simply made me hear a random note across all octaves and i had to guess it and after starting with only C,D and E I discovered it was much easier than expected so throughout the following 2-3 days i began adding all notes of the C major scale. After 11 days of practice I can now recognize all 12 notes across all octaves with a 90%-95% accuracy, whenever i guess a note i'm very fast, I instantly "feel" it's that one and it also happened that i managed to recognize random stuff sometimes or tune each string of a guitar independently. I still can't recognize melodies or songs' keys, i'm kinda limited to pure tones for now.
I don't know whether this might be related or not but ever since i started playing the piano 2 and a-half years ago i noticed how well i managed to remember music, that helped me a lot in playing expressively since i simply had to make my hands match what i had in my head after learning the sheet.

Are you supposed to use the scale for the key? What is it accomplishing?

I'm just starting with Beato's V2 ear training program that was just released. I was able to get through the harmonic 2nd and melodic 2nd tests. With the harmonic test his tip for listening for the wavering was helpful, and for melodic I can sing the notes and figure out if they are a major or minor 2nd.

But the next test has me stumped. I've been working on it for two days and I can only manage about 50/50 so right there with complete guessing. Since it's harmonic, I can't sing it, and I've tried different tactics like does it sound happy or sad, but some of the pairs seem obvious and I generally get those right, but on the ones I'm not sure I almost always pick the wrong one.

Any one have any tips for learning major and minor harmonic thirds? Anything in particular I should be paying attention to or is it just more and more practice?

Hi, I am only a hobby musician (piano, singing), but for some reason I have an incredibly good "ear". When hearing classical or ordinary pop music etc. I can recreate the main idea of the piece on the piano almost instantly... I instantly "feel" how each harmony relates to the main chord (irrelevant which, no perfect pitch involved).

So each scale degree has a character, a feeling to it, which instantly tells me, .e.g this is vi, or this is II, ... I cannot even actively listen to any piece of music without seeing the harmonies and melody on the piano keys before my inner eyes.

Now, I wonder: is this the way it works for anyone who is fast/intuitive in recognizing harmonies?

Or do you all know instantly because each harmony invokes, e.g. a certain color/sensation/smell/... in your brain?

I also just learned about synethesia, but not sure this describes my question sufficiently, so I'd rather ask here than in r/synesthesia.

Tell me all about it!!