The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #34037   Message #457326
Posted By: Mark Clark
07-May-01 - 05:05 PM
Thread Name: How to train one's ear?
Subject: RE: Help: How to train one's ear?
IceWolf, I once posted a tuning tome that may be helpful. What I don't think I included there is that you can learn to hear a "beat" (Doppler effect?) created by the interference of two tones that are close but not exactly the same. Two adjacent guitar strings aren't the same pitch but overtones of one will match the pitch of the next. You can learn to hear the pulsing "beat" when two adjacent strings are played and when that beat slows down to the range of zero to two beats per second, you're there. With practice you can learn to do this very quickly. Don't use harmonics, as that will produce a less satisfactory result, just pluck adjacent strings pretty hard using a flatpick somewhere between the bridge and the sound hole. You'll quickly find the right spot to produce the most productive overtones.

Tune your A string to a good quality fork then tune the E, D, G and treble E using the technique. Finally tune the B using the treble E rather than the G. After a little practice, you'll look like the guy with perfect pitch.

      - Mark