All Scale Degrees – Hands-Free Ear Training 3

This type of ear training is also known as Functional Ear Training. Many people don’t know that each degree of the major scale has its own distinct sound, as well as something I call “musical gravity.” These exercises will train your ears to recognize all seven degrees of the major scale. The full playlist is available on my Patreon for 1$ with audio downloads, but will gradually be made available on this channel for free. See below for links and a listener’s guide.

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/JoeLuegersMusicAcademy
FREE YOUTUBE PLAYLIST: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL40pFkWbVtdlAY_g71Pf9RBy97mqXpQHK

Tonic (scale degree 1) – Everything wants to resolve to the tonic, and this is the only note that has a feeling of total completeness.

Supertonic (scale degree 2) – The supertonic is equidistant to both 1 and 3, so it is the only scale degree that naturally pulls in both directions. However, the tonic (1) is so powerful that the supertonic generally wants to move down in its direction.

Mediant (scale degree 3) – Because this is the defining note of a major chord, the mediant tends to have a bright tone. Ending on this note feels less complete than ending on the tonic, and perhaps not quite as stable as the dominant, depending on the musical context.

Subdominant (scale degree 4) – The Subdominant very much wants to resolve down to scale degree 3 (mediant), which is only a half step away.

Dominant (scale degree 5) – People tend to get the dominant and the tonic mixed up in ear training tests. Ending on the dominant will feel a little more open-ended than ending on the tonic, but not quite as bright as ending on the mediant.

Submediant (scale degree 6) – Why is it called the submediant? It’s because the submediant is the same distance under the tonic as the mediant is over the tonic. 1-2-3 (mediant) 1-7-6(submediant). This can be one of the more difficult ones to identify. The submediant wants to resolve down to 5, but not as much as the supertonic wants to resolve down to 1.

Leading Tone (scale degree 7) – This should be one of the easiest to identify. It is the only scale degree that REALLY wants to resolve up to the tonic, because it is only a half step away.

You’ll likely find it more difficult when the scale degrees are played in extreme ranges, either below or above the given scale. Remember that in the key of C, a C is the tonic regardless of where it is played and still has a sense of rest.

Thanks to @BrandonWalid, Martin Shaw, Tóth Ákos, Austin Kwan, and Rafael Belor for proof-watching this video.

CONTACT: joe@luegerswriter.com

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