Seventh Chords: Patterning
Goal: To prepare seventh chords melodically and harmonically (inversions of half diminished seventh and fully diminished seventh).
Out of Tempo
All Levels
“Out of Tempo” exercises are not presented separately in Ear Training III and Ear Training IV improvisations. Should any exercise prove difficult performed in tempo, out of tempo versions of the materials in Ear Training III and Ear Training IV can be modeled on Ear Training I and Ear Training II approaches to out of tempo improvisations.
In Tempo
Teacher sets up a tempo, time signature, tonality, and rhythms.
Phrases can be four to thirty-two measures in length depending on the student’s ability.
Start with one note per measure and add different rhythms as students become more comfortable with the exercise. For more confident students, use non-repeating notes and rhythm patterns.
Students sing one, two, three, or four notes per measure.
Speaking, singing, playing.
Refer to the Seventh Chord Smorgasbord for ideas.
Beginning
- Teacher sets up as above and prompts, “Treating this starting note as the root, sing a fully or half diminished seventh chord."
- Students do so.
Intermediate
- Teacher sets up as above and prompts, “Treating this starting note as the third, sing a fully or half diminished seventh chord from bottom up."
- Students do so.
Advanced
- Teacher sets up as above and prompts, “Treating this starting note as the fifth, sing a fully or half diminished seventh chord from bottom up
- Students do so.
- Process continues starting on the seventh.
More Advanced
Sing the above from top down starting on the seventh of the chord, then continuing with the other chord tones from top down.