Re: ear training
Let's keep the chord of the moment separate from the issue of tonality -- which key you're hearing the notes in relation to. If you're hearing that D chord as a IV chord in the key of A major, then E and F# will sound in relation to A major, not the key of D major (unless there's a modulation to that key). You may also hear E and F# as one and two scale degrees higher than the root of the IV chord, but I approach teaching this relationship as a later step -- it's not the most direct way to approach thinking about chord/melody relationships. For now I would focus on identifying all melodic notes in relation to the key. If you're confident with that, work on identifying roots of chord progressions -- and when those chord roots become easy to identify, your ear will compare those to the melodic notes, and draw deductions about how the melodic notes are functioning in context of the chord.
This would be easy to demonstrate with a mandolin!
Exploring Classical Mandolin (Berklee Press, 2015)
Progressive Melodies for Mandocello (KDP, 2019) (2nd ed. 2022)
New Solos for Classical Mandolin (Hal Leonard Press, 2020)
2021 guest artist, mandocello: Classical Mandolin Society of America
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