Customer question:
“If I only bought one volume of ‘Ear Training,’ which would you recommend?”
A word from Dix Bruce:
People have asked me that question for years. “Ear Training” is a great series and each volume provides one part of a well-rounded ear training course. Prof. D’amante designed and produced the books in the order he taught his Ear Training classes.
I usually recommend starting with Vol II: Twelve Basic Interval Sounds to Master. Then follow that with either Vol. I: Scale Forms through Six Basic Tetrachords or Vol. III: Capturing the Basic Chord Qualities, in any order.
When I first worked through the series I loved the Vol. II process of learning to hear and name all the intervals. And, after working through that book and the audio drills I suddenly began hearing and recognizing intervals in songs and in my improvisations. I also started visualizing the intervals on the different instruments I play. The study made me a better player. It improved my singing too by giving me a deeper understanding of pitch.
Vol. III: Capturing the Basic Chord Qualities is the natural followup study after Vol. II: Twelve Basic Interval Sounds to Master. I think Vol. III would be difficult without Vol. II.
Vol. I: Scale Forms through Six Basic Tetrachords (a tetrachord is a consecutive four-note passage like C-D-E-F or A-Bb-C-D) is also essential since it teaches the student how to recognize all the different scales and modes. In my humble opinion I believe it can be approached at any time during ear training.
Together the three volumes get you thinking about, defining, and hearing different musical elements that you might not have considered before.