Ear Training 1

unit 9

2013 Musicians Institute

Unit 9: Diatonic Harmony
• In this Unit you will learn about:

• Major Scale
Major - Minor - Diminished
Harmony:
Diatonic Triads

• Diatonic Major Scale I - IImi - IIImi - IV - V - VI mi - VIIº

Harmonic Analysis

• Triad Chord I - IV - V - I
Progressions
I - VImi - IImi - V

I - V - VImi - IV
 Major Scale
Diatonic Triad Harmony
• Major Scale Harmony is constructed by stacking diatonic thirds and fifths
above each scale degree of a Major Scale. The result is a series of triads that
are diatonic (or belong) to the Major Scale because they were built by using
only the specific scale degrees of the Major Scale.

C Dmi Emi F G Ami Bº C

1, 4, 5: Major
2, 3, 6: Minor
7: Diminished
 Exercise 1
• In this exercise you will arpeggiate the diatonic triads of the C Major Scale. You
will initially hear each chord played harmonically (preceded with a root bass
tone) followed by a melodic arpeggiation. Sing along with the arpeggiations.

C Dmi Emi F G Ami Bº C

 Major Scale
Roman Numeral Harmonic Analysis
• In music, Roman numeral analysis involves the use of Roman numerals to
represent chords. In this context, Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII) typically
denote scale degrees (first, second, third, fourth, etc.). Roman numerals are used
to represent chords, meaning to indicate the scale degree corresponding to the
root note (which is the note on which the chord is built). In pop, rock and jazz
music, all triads are represented by upper case numerals, followed by a symbol to
indicate chord quality.

C Dmi Emi F G Ami Bº C

I IImi IIImi IV V VImi VIIº I

 Exercise 2
• In this exercise you will hear a root bass note followed by an accompanying
triad (played harmonically). Name the quality: Major, Minor, Diminished or
Augmented. Each chord will be played three times. There are ten examples,
answers will follow after each example.
 Exercise 2
• In this exercise you will hear a root bass note followed by an accompanying
triad (played harmonically). Name the quality: Major, Minor, Diminished or
Augmented. Each chord will be played three times. There are ten examples,
answers will follow after each example.

1. Major 6. Minor

2. Diminished 7. Minor

3. Minor 8. Major

4. Augmented 9. Major

5. Diminished 10. Augmented

 Chord Progressions
• A chord progression is a series (or pattern) of chords played in a sequence.
Chord progressions are the building blocks for song creation. It is essential for
all musicians to be able to quickly process and decipher a chord progression.
Just like intervals, the ability to recognize specific chord progressions improves
with a steady regimen of daily training.

• Listen to the following chord progression. Take note of the bass pitch
movement to help you figure out how to properly label each chord with
Roman Numerals.
 Common Chord
Progressions
• While there are practically an infinite number of chord combinations that can
be created there are a few typical progressions that all musicians should be
able to detect quickly. Having this skill will help you learn songs quickly and will
make you a more seasoned musician.

• Listen to the following chord progressions. Take note of the bass pitch
movement to help you figure out how to properly label each chord with
Roman Numerals.
 Chord Progression
Examples
• The following list provides audio examples of typical chord progressions in
practical contexts. This is not a complete list but use this list as a reference for
these stock progressions.

I - IV - V - I I - V - IImi - IV

I - VImi - IV - V I - IV - V - IV

I - VImi - IImi - V I - IV - IImi - V

I - VImi - V - IV IV - I - V - VImi

I - V - VImi - IV VImi - IV- I - V

 Exercise 3
• In this exercise you will hear tonic followed by a sequence of five pitches from
the accompanying Major Scale. You must name each scale degree using the
Number System. Each sequence will be played three times. There are ten
examples, answers will follow after each example.
 Exercise 3
• In this exercise you will hear tonic followed by a sequence of five pitches from
the accompanying Major Scale. You must name each scale degree using the
Number System. Each sequence will be played three times. There are ten
examples, answers will follow after each example.

1. 1-2-3-4-5 6. 1-6-4-5-1

2. 1-3-5-3-1 7. 1-4-2-5-1

3. 1-5-8-5-1 8. 4-1-5-6-1

4. 1-4-5-4-1 9. 1-5-6-4-1

5. 1-6-2-5-1 10. 1-2-4-5-1

 Exercise 4
• In this exercise you will hear tonic followed by a Major Scale triad chord
progression. You must label each chord with the appropriate Roman Numeral
(I - IImi - IIImi - IV - V - VImi - VIIº) and chord quality. Each triad will be
preceded by the root of each chord. Each progression will be played three
times. There are ten examples, answers will follow after each example.
 Exercise 4
• In this exercise you will hear tonic followed by a Major Scale triad chord
progression. You must label each chord with the appropriate Roman Numeral
(I - IImi - IIImi - IV - V - VImi - VIIº) and chord quality. Each triad will be
preceded by the root of each chord. Each progression will be played three
times. There are ten examples, answers will follow after each example.

1. I-IImi-IIImi-IV-I 6. I-VImi-IV-V-I

2. I-IV-V-IV-I 7. I-IV-IImi-V-I

3. I-VImi-IV-V-I 8. I-IImi-V- IV-I

4. I-IIImi-IV-V-I 9. I-V-VImi-IV-I

5. I-VImi-IImi-V-I 10. I-IImi-IV- V-I

 Assessment #9
This concludes Unit 9 of Ear Training 1.
Your next step is to pass Assessment #9
before moving on to Unit 10.