How to Find the Note in Your Head on the Mandolin

[PicknMark]

Hello All,

OK, I learned a few scales pretty well in various patterns but I still have trouble quickly finding the note in my head on the mandolin.

Are there exercises specifically for this?

Thanks,

Mark

[Nashville]

Yes, sing the notes as you play them. At moderate to slow tempo. Everyday for 3 weeks. Take a week off, test yourself. Repeat as needed.

[Tobin]

Don't just practice scales. Practice intervals. Do it until you can hear an interval in your head, and your fingers will know where to go.

[JeffD]

Just practice. Practice scales and arpeggios and pentatonic scales. Sing along. It takes time but it all glues together in your head eventually.

It takes about a decade to play like you been playing ten years.

[rubydubyr]

[QUOTE=JeffD;1357091
It takes about a decade to play like you been playing ten years.[/QUOTE]

[farmerjones]

I think of intervals as chord tones. Like 3rds played together, at once. Like C, E, & G. (C chord BTW) If one plays those notes one at a time, in sequence, I know it to be a chord arpeggio, but also as a small phrase. I like to think in terms of phrases, because that's an aural term. I can much more easily find a three or four note phrase than one note. Who knows what that lone note is unless it's compared to others?

Backing up for second. A three note chord arpeggio can also be a type of scale. It's steps are 3rds (every other note) instead of each note in sequence, in a given scale.
There's a scale that walks up or down the octaves in 4ths.
There's a scale that walks up or down the octaves in 5ths, etc.
Walking up and down octaves using theses different ways/scales familiarizes one into hearing the steps. An exercise would be to play a type of scale and think of a song or tunes that has that phrase/scale in it.

Steps or intervals, could be interchangeable. But in the modal area of music theory, steps mean something else. i.e. WWHWWHWW, etc. Water getting muddy.

[journeybear]

You've already gotten some good advice about scales and intervals (sure to get more), but I'm wondering, since you said "note" - singular - whether your issue is one of tonality. I would say just hum a note that seems close to what you are imagining, adjust until it is concordant, then find it on the mandolin. I would also say that if it is an odd note - that is, something other than a key you are comfortable in, adjust it up or down a fret so it is. Just make it easy on yourself.

It takes about a decade to play like you've been playing ten years.

This is so true, and so aptly put, that I wonder why he hasn't added it to his sig line yet. I guess seeing it all the time would lessen the impact it has when it comes out of the blue as a zinger. Still, so many would benefit from it, seeping into their subconscious from their peripheral vision ...

[farmerjones]

Gee JB, I guess I never considered anybody thinking a single sustained note.

I thought everyone thought in quarter notes, like me.


One single sustained note? Simply whistle into a guitar tuner and read the results.

[Beanzy]

Back at the start I was glad of the advice to play along with the radio or a shuffle selection of tunes.
That really brings this on pretty quickly.
Initial attempts can be a car-crash, but knocking out the dents on repeat efforts is where the familiarity comes from.

[PicknMark]

Thanks everyone,

Very helpful again.

I will try your suggestions.

[MikeEdgerton]

I have no trouble finding a note in my head but finding one on the fretboard does tie me up a bit now and then.

[rubydubyr]

Gee JB, I guess I never considered anybody thinking a single sustained note.

I thought everyone thought in quarter notes, like me.


One single sustained note? Simply whistle into a guitar tuner and read the results.

I would hazard a guess the sustained note is so you don't change pitch accidentally everytime you play a note. As far whistle... hmm, a talent I never developed other than to whistle a long blast (one pitch) thru my teeth. And the suggestion of using an electronic guitar tuner as you sing (not whistle for me) ... simply BRILLIANT but not one I would have ever thought of as the only tuners I was ever familiar with was the A tone tuner you blew into on the back of my brother's student violin as a child (and then all other strings were tuned to the A string), and later a little pipe tuner that you blew into that actually had the 4 G,D,A,E tones.
I was using a Snark for a few days after the purchase of my mandolin (and thought it was the greatest thing since the light bulb) until I saw my daughter tuning with an app from her phone, and promptly took the Snark back for a refund.

[journeybear]

The Snark and similar clip-on tuners are great for situations when there are other instruments or ambient noises, as it takes its signal from the vibrations produced by whatever it is clipped to - ie, your mandolin - rather than a device with a built-in mike, like a phone. Also, it responds well to even quiet signals, which is nice for not disturbing others nearby. And lastly, it leaves both hands free, to pluck and tune simultaneously. I got one for just a few bucks but gave it away to the bass player to settle a debt, which was actually considerably more than I'd paid for it, so that was a good trade. And even better, it freed me from him constantly asking to borrow it!

[rubydubyr]

And even better, it freed me from him constantly asking to borrow it!

Yes, I've noticed that when my daughter is here, and I am trying to tune so we can play together, she INVARIABLY has something to tell me..... and you just HATE to say "shut up, I'm trying to tune" to your beloved and only daughter.

[farmerjones]

Hum, whistle, solfege sing, scat sing, anything to get it out.
There are several computer apps. that will transcribe directly from a USB mike.

[journeybear]

...and you just HATE to say "shut up, I'm trying to tune" to your beloved and only daughter.

Well, then, just keep tuning, and say, "Go ahead, dear, I'm listening" - while peering intently at the tuner all the while. It's just multitasking.

The other annoying thing the bass player did that is relevant here (there are many others, just not quite so relevant) was asking me for the time very often during gigs. I guess it was because I have a wrist watch, but he would have to pull his phone out of his pocket, so it was easier (for him) to ask. I have happy memories of the week or two when the watch went missing.

[rubydubyr]

Well, then, just keep tuning, and say, "Go ahead, dear, I'm listening" - while peering intently at the tuner all the while. It's just multitasking.

The other annoying thing the bass player did that is relevant here (there are many others, just not quite so relevant) was asking me for the time very often during gigs. I guess it was because I have a wrist watch, but he would have to pull his phone out of his pocket, so it was easier (for him) to ask. I have happy memories of the week or two when the watch went missing.

Actually, I would do that except for 2 reasons...... a. she always KNOWS when I'm not REALLY listening and b. the darned pointer on this gStrings app jumps all over the place when there is extraneous noise, even when the heater blower is going which I discovered yesterday when trying to tune (YIKES).
I have one of those LARGE galaxy MEGA phones, so tell me about trying to pull a phone out...... It won't even FIT in my pocket, I have to put it in a purse. (And we won't even discuss the hazards of getting something out of a woman's purse..... I wonder where guys put those large phones..... but I digress ) So, I normally wear a watch, except around the house.

[rubydubyr]

Hum, whistle, solfege sing, scat sing, anything to get it out.
There are several computer apps. that will transcribe directly from a USB mike.

OMG...... I MUST be getting old not to have already known this...... <siiiiiiigh>

[Dave Wrede]

Trouble is, the note in my head is usually in the key of H-flat or M-sharp.

[Pete Martin]

The first thing to find out is if you can hear the difference in two different pitches. Play 2 different notes. Can you tell if one is higher (lower) than the other? If so:

Sing that note you are hearing in your mind out loud. Play a random note on your mandolin. Is the note you PLAYED higher (lower) in pitch than the note you sang? If it is to HIGH (LOW), eliminate that note and every note above (below) and repeat the process. Eventually doing this, you will find that pitch.

If you do this enough over time, you will eventually remember where each sound is located. You cant just do this a couple of times and expect it to work, you must do it consistently over time. But it will eventually happen.

[rubydubyr]

Hi Pete, I am a newbie too. I just found your site via a post on another thread, bookmarked it and printed out a few songs to learn. Nice to "meet" you, and thanks bunches for putting that compilation together!

[Ivan Kelsall]

It only comes with practice,& lots of it !. I'm a self taught ear player on banjo & mandolin. I use i/net radio a lot as an on-line 'jam session'. I don't know what's coming up next & in the begining,imostly hadn't played any of the tunes on mandolin,i just 'went for it',& tried to play it. I never got all the notes right the first time,so i got some more right the next time around. Over a period of months,i found that i could find the 'sounds' on the fingerboard that i needed. I know that they're 'notes with names',but when you listen to a piece of music,what you hear are the 'sounds' of those notes even though you couldn't name them as you listen. So,i search for the 'sounds' i want & forget the name,that will come automatically after a while as the fingerboard becomes more familiar. These days i do play 'set' tunes,but i'm more into developing my improvisational skills,& i find that i can usually hit the right note first time because i've learned over time,where the 'sound' is.
I hope that this makes some sort of sense,but look for the sounds - the 'names of the notes' will come soon enough. The other big plus point in 'ear playing',is that you'll develop what i term a 'quick ear'. In other words,in a jamming scenario,you'll pick up on the melody line & key of a tune pretty quickly,& if you know those,you're half way there,
Ivan

[jshane]

+1 for focusing on intervals.

AND, if you can internalize a minor third, a major third, a fifth, and an octave--- you can kinda cheat your way through at the beginning by going..."Hey, that was greater than a fifth but not an octave"... and discovering that it was a flatted seventh or whatever.

If you sing it out, in a week or two you will be amazed at your progress.

[August Watters]

If you sing it out, in a week or two you will be amazed at your progress.

yes -- sing what you play, play what you sing. A million ways to approach this, but vocalizing the notes helps a lot! Understanding scale degrees and feeling the texture of each note helps. Developing a sense of intervals -- the distances between notes -- helps. Enjoy the ride!

[Paleosporin]

Use the lessons and ear training utilities on this website:

www.musictheory.net

Read this document:

http://academic.udayton.edu/tobyrush...f/complete.pdf

Practice.