When I am playing around with chords and voicings, sometimes I like to omit each note individually to notice what it brings to the overall feel of the chord, so I think it is kinda related to the second tip, just reversed.
You can take the inverse of this technique to build more interesting chords. Just play a simple Triad and then just pick a note at random to add to and notice how it changes the feel
You’ve just jumped in my head and conveyed what I think (can’t be sure) you were trying to convey. Useful perspectives, thanks, I’ll carry those around with me.
One thing I like to do to break listening routine is just focus on the snare. Listen to a song you think you know inside out, and really only listen to when, how and how often the snare is hit. You might be surprised! (Of course this works best in genres like Indie, Metal or Jazz, not so much in EDM or Rock)
As a self-taught keyboardist who doesn't read music, I've often thought about music in the context of this for tip. I'm trying to figure out how to play a song I'm always listening for the roots help me figure out where my left hand should be. It also gives you a foundation for deciphering more complex chords with just your ear.
Very good advice. :) I have a lot of weaknesses as a musician, and many of my peers have always been better then I at things like timing, theoretical understanding, sightreading etc. But ear training/interval recognition was always my strength. And For sure the first piece of advice you gave here has helped me a *lot* in developing that ability. I remember way back when, when trying to learn the chords to songs by listening to them on record and following along, my parents advised me to listen for the bass first, and that stuck with me. It's been very helpful.
I love listening to how the individual voices in chords form their own little melodies, of varying complexity. It's cool when they're more than just clearly separated lines and instead you could go from the bottom middle voice in the first chord to the bottom middle, bottom or middle voice etc. and it still sounds like a grooving melody, almost no matter which ''path'' through the voices your ear takes. J Dilla made up for repetition using this
This video is such an eye opener for me, I tried it out and I thought my brain was melting I could really feel the groove. Thanks for making this video.
Am I the only one that naturally gravitates towards the bass in a song? I find it the most intriguing and have noticed that by focusing on it, you get a deeper feel for the song's groove. I've noticed that it's also easier to hear/recognize all of the parts in a song when you focus on bass instead of the melody. It's just so grounding. This is how I eventually came to play the bass guitar; I think it's a great instrument that allows you to truly be one with the music
Good stuff Ben! Ear training is so interesting. I recently started playing around with bass guitar(I normally play solo acoustic) and was surprised that my ears couldn’t keep up with my fingers on the lower frequencies at first. I knew shapes but I literally couldn’t hear fast enough for a month or so. Cool!
Similarly to listening to the 3rd or 5th of the chords I usually try to listen to the vocal harmonies. At first it seems invisible but with time you really can hear that 2nd melody !
ben, my main instrument is bass and one of the things I've done in my road as a bass player to be better on my instrument was to listen to the bass first. but I became kinda addict to this and after some years it turned out as a problem to my melodic ear. I started doing singing class 3 years ago and my teacher aways said to me that I listen to the songs harmonically and not melodic. I went out of tune a lot of times because of that. im not saying that your approach in this video is wrong, im just saying that it has a limit. I was trying to sing the chords and not the melody. a lot of radio and rock popular songs are just 5 or 6 notes on the entire composition. sometimes is nice to balance this
I actually listen to either a single note, and it's really hard to hear any other, or some sort of quick arpeggiated scale, sort of like a cello, where I'm actually just adding passing notes out of intuition, with no real control
Hey if I become a patreon member for 15 do I get the stems to your time lapse video (commented on that video as well)? Trying to get a similar effect on one of my arrangements and am dying to see stems for this. I can just paypal you as well. Please let me know. Thanks!!
Hi there! Have you seen the video where I outlined how to make the texture? ruclips.net/video/F-kY27rIxGw/видео.html I feel like that's the most helpful thing, but if that's not sufficient, I'll see if I can find the stems for that video.
I find I can't tell if a note is the same as the one I'm singing, like especially if it's a different timbre I just can;t tell what the notes are, what do I do?
Try recording yourself while you are singing and playing notes to see if that gives you additional insight into how much you're on or off. Don't worry, what you are experiencing is actually very common.
Hey Ben. In a livestream, Adam Neely responded to my superchat (concerning my sock puppet rap group) by saying I should hit you up since you have done puppetry stuff before. I'm not asking for a collab, but how did you go about making a professional video that could be taken seriously? Any tips would be much appreciated.
The people who "do sound" (that is: turn everything up to eleven so that our ears will bleed, and we cannot actually "hear" anything like "music" ) are the people most in need of "ear training". Next come bass players. I can "listen to the bass", by the way, when the deaf electric bass player across the street and halfway down the block decides to make himself "deafer". It actually sounds exactly like bombs going off - even in the backroom of my house, with all the doors shut.
When I am playing around with chords and voicings, sometimes I like to omit each note individually to notice what it brings to the overall feel of the chord, so I think it is kinda related to the second tip, just reversed.
You can take the inverse of this technique to build more interesting chords. Just play a simple Triad and then just pick a note at random to add to and notice how it changes the feel
Super sick nasty awesome info, in the video, and now in the comments. Thanks!
Ben looks really good in that yellow jacket
I agree!
It's a suit tho.
Agree!
Matches the speaker cones!
Your mom looks good
Me: *Bass player.*
Ben Levin: Listen to the bass notes.
Me: *Uses it an an excuse to avoid personal growth*.
Yeeeeaaaaaa boi.
same broski
You’ve just jumped in my head and conveyed what I think (can’t be sure) you were trying to convey. Useful perspectives, thanks, I’ll carry those around with me.
One thing I like to do to break listening routine is just focus on the snare. Listen to a song you think you know inside out, and really only listen to when, how and how often the snare is hit. You might be surprised!
(Of course this works best in genres like Indie, Metal or Jazz, not so much in EDM or Rock)
As a self-taught keyboardist who doesn't read music, I've often thought about music in the context of this for tip. I'm trying to figure out how to play a song I'm always listening for the roots help me figure out where my left hand should be. It also gives you a foundation for deciphering more complex chords with just your ear.
you saying "la" to an E note short circuit my brain
Same
thx
Also I love the color scheme, it grabs your attention
That's cool!
Very good advice. :) I have a lot of weaknesses as a musician, and many of my peers have always been better then I at things like timing, theoretical understanding, sightreading etc. But ear training/interval recognition was always my strength. And For sure the first piece of advice you gave here has helped me a *lot* in developing that ability. I remember way back when, when trying to learn the chords to songs by listening to them on record and following along, my parents advised me to listen for the bass first, and that stuck with me. It's been very helpful.
I love listening to how the individual voices in chords form their own little melodies, of varying complexity. It's cool when they're more than just clearly separated lines and instead you could go from the bottom middle voice in the first chord to the bottom middle, bottom or middle voice etc. and it still sounds like a grooving melody, almost no matter which ''path'' through the voices your ear takes. J Dilla made up for repetition using this
Ha, my phone cant play the bass
This video is such an eye opener for me, I tried it out and I thought my brain was melting I could really feel the groove. Thanks for making this video.
Am I the only one that naturally gravitates towards the bass in a song? I find it the most intriguing and have noticed that by focusing on it, you get a deeper feel for the song's groove. I've noticed that it's also easier to hear/recognize all of the parts in a song when you focus on bass instead of the melody. It's just so grounding. This is how I eventually came to play the bass guitar; I think it's a great instrument that allows you to truly be one with the music
Great stuff as always
Great exercise, thanks, Ben!
*listening on phone speakers*
There's a bass line?
J E L L Y M O U N D ! ! !
So excited!!
Thanks Justin!
thanks. I think these 2 tips are very good for transcribing music. Something I like to do.
great practical but powerful tips. thank you!
I'm learning bass.., so this is kind of my new life and it has made listening so fun.
Wonderful, enjoy the journey!
Thank you, great video! Greetings from Brazil!!
I've always had trouble hearing the lowest note of a chord. Now I can listen to all the notes in a triad with help from advise like this. Keep it up!
Ben hopping on the anti-clickbait train I see! Nice.
Good stuff Ben! Ear training is so interesting. I recently started playing around with bass guitar(I normally play solo acoustic) and was surprised that my ears couldn’t keep up with my fingers on the lower frequencies at first. I knew shapes but I literally couldn’t hear fast enough for a month or so. Cool!
Thanks Ben - always a delight to learn from you.
Cool video!
Love that new song!
Thanks Aaron!
Similarly to listening to the 3rd or 5th of the chords I usually try to listen to the vocal harmonies. At first it seems invisible but with time you really can hear that 2nd melody !
Very good ear exercises.
Once again Ben Levin makes a fantastic video!
Good and interesting tips. Thank you.
Gret tips, man. Thanks!
Looking even more like Uncle Frank today, Ben. Must be the jacket 😊👍🏻
Beautiful n nice
Quick fashion tips next please
1. Wear, not where
2. Be a-wear of your clothes!
Enlightening
ben, my main instrument is bass and one of the things I've done in my road as a bass player to be better on my instrument was to listen to the bass first. but I became kinda addict to this and after some years it turned out as a problem to my melodic ear. I started doing singing class 3 years ago and my teacher aways said to me that I listen to the songs harmonically and not melodic. I went out of tune a lot of times because of that. im not saying that your approach in this video is wrong, im just saying that it has a limit. I was trying to sing the chords and not the melody. a lot of radio and rock popular songs are just 5 or 6 notes on the entire composition. sometimes is nice to balance this
That suit looks like something Adrien Belew would wear.
Adrian Belew shoutout!!!
Thanks for those voicings
Musical perspecticises :D
looking sharp mr levin !
thank you for the tips, cant wait for the album !
Is jelly mound going to have that you're a liar song that sneaks back into my head all the time?
No, but it is still good I promise!
i like this a lot
I'm glad, thanks!
An idea: for hearing different notes, use a piano (or any keyboard with velocity) and stress each note differently.
STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM NOW WE HERE
Is that you DAKE!?R
Yellow Sport Jacket = Fire!
What if I'm listening to Metallica - And Justice For All?
In that case I'd listen to the kick drum first. Good question!
loooooll
wasn't there a version online where Jason's parts are boosted and easier to hear?
TheZooropaBaby hahahahaha that sounds like the opposite of those “ Garfield without Garfield “ cartoons
Every song is in E minor.
I really wish Ben and Mononeon would work together in future im praying that'd happen
you are a super teacher
Thank you very much!
Ben get more subs. You deserve them.
I don't subs, I need suds! I'm dirty!
the 'so many modes' track in the background :)
nailed it!
I need to learn all the fancy note talk
Great vid Banana Jacket Man!
new album hype!! yall bouta be doing any shows?
Not yet, but I hope to. Bent Knee is touring a lot though!
Ben Levin the BK concert I went to last summer continues to be the best concert I’ve been to, so I’m gonna try to go again this summer :)
Hot damn that song is amazing!!!
Oh thank you smooch!
dope
Stevie wonders song all I do is a good song to try this with too, great bass line, but it's so low in the mix that you really have to focus
For Once In My Life also has a fantastic bassline as well.
I’m starting with intervals
I wanna hear the full song!
Thank you very much! I'll have it up on May 28th!
I really should practice ear training, my mother sang to me in such a tonedeaf way as a kid and I have to undo the damage
That made me laugh, but you can do it!
I actually listen to either a single note, and it's really hard to hear any other, or some sort of quick arpeggiated scale, sort of like a cello, where I'm actually just adding passing notes out of intuition, with no real control
3rd dimension! Haha, got it!.. So what would be listening for the 4th dimension?
Wilber Moody he showed that on the next 7th chord. Ha.
Or maybe a 9th.
This month in May??? :O
I have an opposite problem, I can easily come up with good grooves for bass and drums, but struggle with high stuff.
I've found that learning to sing is helpful for that. Have you done much singing?
THAT. SUIT. JACKET.
I love a nice jelly mound I cannot lie
Oh yeah!
Good thing I’m a bass player and already listen to the bass first lol
That was literally the first thing I learned when I picked up a guitar.
👍
Hey if I become a patreon member for 15 do I get the stems to your time lapse video (commented on that video as well)? Trying to get a similar effect on one of my arrangements and am dying to see stems for this. I can just paypal you as well. Please let me know. Thanks!!
Hi there! Have you seen the video where I outlined how to make the texture? ruclips.net/video/F-kY27rIxGw/видео.html I feel like that's the most helpful thing, but if that's not sufficient, I'll see if I can find the stems for that video.
I find I can't tell if a note is the same as the one I'm singing, like especially if it's a different timbre I just can;t tell what the notes are, what do I do?
Try recording yourself while you are singing and playing notes to see if that gives you additional insight into how much you're on or off. Don't worry, what you are experiencing is actually very common.
My perspective on woman is about the same
Hey Ben. In a livestream, Adam Neely responded to my superchat (concerning my sock puppet rap group) by saying I should hit you up since you have done puppetry stuff before. I'm not asking for a collab, but how did you go about making a professional video that could be taken seriously? Any tips would be much appreciated.
Jish the Fish hey there! Can you send some examples to me at BenLevinMusic@gmail ?
I actually need to practice listening from the top
jokes on you i actually play bass
Fun? not there yet mostly frustration
The return of fake Dr. Levin without the fake Dr. part
Assuming I can sing the note I want, instead of screeching like a baby seal.
:)
did i accidentally make shroom tea instead of black tea or did you put like the sliiightest bulge/bubble effect on your face after 1:00
saifmanman I noticed that too, but when I went back I didn’t see it. I had some tea, too.
The people who "do sound" (that is: turn everything up to eleven so that our ears will bleed, and we cannot actually "hear" anything like "music" ) are the people most in need of "ear training". Next come bass players. I can "listen to the bass", by the way, when the deaf electric bass player across the street and halfway down the block decides to make himself "deafer". It actually sounds exactly like bombs going off - even in the backroom of my house, with all the doors shut.
cool fake nose!!
Sick, thank pal!
Clean up your room
I've tried but it keeps getting messed up.