Develop a musical intuition

This is a course aimed at music producers and songwriters who feel frustrated when it comes to harmony.

Do your choices of chords and notes feel random? Do you struggle to get a particular emotional mood in your productions, but you feel blocked, maybe you don't feel like a "real musician"?

As a musician, when you hear music, you should be noticing common patterns that come back again and again, so that you can then use those patterns to make educated decisions in your own compositions. Ear training is the skill of recognising those patterns.

The good news here is that the only tools you need are your ears and your voice. In this course we will help you connect what your ears hear to what your voice can reproduce. Through many incremental exercises, we will introduce all the concepts and music theory you need to become confident recognising the most common musical patterns.

By the end of this course, you will be able to listen to music, and intuitively say "I think this song is using this chord progression", which means you will be able to reproduce and develop these patterns on any instrument, or in any DAW while producing. 

This is equally valuable to beginner musicians who want to be able to jam with other musicians, to simply 'join in' when other musicians are playing, without needing sheet music or fake books. 

The course has about 7,5 hours of videocontent, plus a series of audio exercises you can do to practice between lessons.

FOUR LEVELS

Level 1

Pitches and scales

We learn to use our voice as a measuring tool for what we hear. That means singing precise pitches, and understanding how those pitches relate to each other in the context of a major scale. — Don't worry, this is not a singing course, we are just using the best pitch measuring tool we have: our body.

Level 2

Intervals and chords

Level 2 helps us recognise intervals much quicker, and then guides us into recognising root movements of common chord progressions. After level 2 you'll already start recognising chord progressions on the radio!

Level 3

Minor scales and spicy chords

So far we relate everything to the major scale, but a lot of interesting music is written in a minor key. How can we use everything we've learned and apply it to the minor scale as well? We also go over some more unique chords that add important flavor to the music.

Level 4: Let's Jam!

Applying all this to real music

What good is theory if it doesn't help us understand real music? All genres of music use these same concepts, pop, techno or electronica: all music follows these structures, so let's demonstrate that!

Two teachers

In this course you'll have two teachers: Constantin will be the master of ear training, with a background as a pop music producer and singer-songwriter. Oscar from Underdog will be the junior teacher, learning and growing along with the audience. We are also just two friends goofing around, which you'll be part of during the course :)

FAQ

  • Do I need to sing in this course?

    You will have noticed: in this course we teach you to use your greatest musical instrument (the voice) as a measuring tool to better understand what the ears are hearing. This is not a singing course, and we don't ask anyone to sing beautifully. Give it a chance, we promise you you'll surprise yourself!

  • I listen to techno, surely this isn't relevant for me?

    We demonstrate in the Techno Jam chapter, that MANY techno songs use these same concepts. Once any kind of harmony exists in the song, this course is relevant!

  • Do I need any tools or software for this course?

    Absolutely not! Just your ears, and your voice, and the exercises. The exercises in the videos also have accompanying "audio exercises" you can follow online or download to your device.

  • I'm not a musician, is this course for me?

    Ear training might be the biggest divider between non-musicians and musicians. Once you recognise chords in music, you might find yourself suddenly attracted to playing instruments because you'll understand how to tell a musical story on them!

  • I'm hesitating: what's your refund policy?

    If this course isn't a match for your needs, we refund ASAP, no questions asked. So feel free to try it out and see if it could be something for you!

  • How long does this course take?

    There's 7,5 hours of video footage in this course, but realistically it will take you weeks or months to really become fluent in the core skills, so take your time and do the exercises until you can advance at your own rhythm.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Level One: Pitches and scales

    • 0 — Welcome

    • 1 — Sing a pitch

    • 2 — The major scale

    • 3 — Two scale exercises

    • 4 — Finding home

    • 5 — Identify notes by singing scales

    • 6 — Two more exercises

    • 7 — Minor and pentatonic scales
  • 2

    Level Two: Intervals and chords

    • 8 — Finding the 5th and the 3rd

    • 9 — Finding the 4th

    • 10 — Major and minor 3rd intervals

    • 11 — Meet the chords

    • 12 — The four magic chords

    • 13 — The 145 progression

    • 14 — The 1564 progression

    • 15 — The 1645 progression

    • 16 — The 6415 progression

    • 17 — The big chord exercise video
  • 3

    Level Three: Minor scale and spicy chords

    • 18 — Welcome to day 3

    • 19 — The 6425 progression

    • 20 — 2 and 3 are like 4 and 5

    • 21 — The spicy III chord

    • 22 — Is the home on 1 or 6

    • 23 — The last exercises
  • 4

    Let's Jam!

    • 24 — Jam (top 40)

    • 25 — Jam (techno)

    • 26 — Jam electronica

    • 27 — Thanks and goodbye

    • (Bonus jam until the batteries die)
  • 5

    Audio Exercises

    • Audio exercises companion

    • 1.1 Sing a pitch

    • 1.2 Determine your vocal range

    • 2. Let's sing the major scale

    • 3.1 Zigzags

    • 3.2 Ladders

    • 4 Find home

    • 5 Identify a note by singing the scale

    • 6.1 Sing the rest of the scale

    • 6.2 Jumps from do

    • 8.1 Let's sing the 5th

    • 8.2 Let's sing the 3rd

    • 9 Let's sing the 4th

    • 10.1 Let's sing the minor 3rd

    • 10.2 Is it major or minor 3rd

    • 13 Sing root movement - 145

    • 14 Sing root movement - 1564

    • 15 Sing root movement - 1645

    • 16 Sing root movement - 6415

    • 17 the big chord progression exercise

    • 23.1 Hear two simultaneous tones

    • 23.2 Sing chord tones - major or minor

    • 23.3 Let-s sing chord inversions

    • 23.4 Identify inverted chords