Danny Ziemann – Better Ears in 30 Days

Better Ears in 30 Days is the ultimate course crafted specifically for the working musician.

No more tedious interval drills, endless app downloads, or painful sight singing.

Instead, you’ll access a practical training method that delivers fast, professional-level results. So you can start listening like the pros while mastering this listening skill.

What the Practices Inside Better Ears in 30 Days Will Do:

• Gain a competitive edge for auditions and performances.
• Build confidence in jam sessions without relying on sheet music.
• Seamlessly fit 30-day practice plans into your busy schedule with on-the-go training that you can use even without your instrument.

Better Ears in 30 Days is divided into four weeks of content with varying goals. Each week, you’ll master new essential skills including harmonic recognition, solfege, improvisation, composition, and song learning. At the same time, you’ll reinforce previously learned skills, ensuring ongoing review and mastery of all material shared. These carefully chosen goals reflect the real-world abilities musicians need to thrive, and incorporate proven teaching methods and the latest research on aural skill development.

This approach not only improves your skills but also keeps you motivated and consistent throughout your journey.

What You’ll Learn In Better Ears in 30 Days

Days 1-7: Foundations of Harmony I

In Week 1, reset your musical foundation by honing your ear for essential tonic and dominant sounds. Through solfège, interactive audio, and real music exercises, you’ll build confidence in recognizing these core harmonies—critical for any musician.

Even the most seasoned musicians often struggle to distinguish these core harmonies by ear. This week is designed to change that.

Through a unique blend of solfège, interactive audio files, composition, improvisation, and song learning, you’ll immerse yourself in music that features these fundamental harmonies.

What This Will Do for Your Playing:

• Improve your ability to identify and play fundamental harmonies in real-time.
• Enhance your confidence during practice sessions and performances.
• What This Will Do for Your Career:
• Establish a solid ear training foundation that makes you more versatile and reliable in any musical setting.
• Lay the groundwork for advanced harmonic understanding, crucial for professional growth.

Days 8-14: Foundations of Harmony II

This week is all about broadening your harmonic vocabulary and understanding how chords move and interact within different musical contexts. By diving into the IV and vi chords, you’ll start to see how these harmonies add depth and color to music, going beyond the basics of tonic and dominant.

Through more solfège exercises, and an increased focus on composition and improvising, you’ll immerse yourself in the nuances of these new chords and harmonies. You’ll explore how they function and resolve within various musical settings.

By this point, you’ll begin to see deeper, tangible progress in your ear training. You’ll notice a significant improvement in your ability to hear and identify these chords quickly and accurately.

What This Will Do for Your Playing Today:

• Broaden your ability to recognize and incorporate more complex chords in your playing.
• Add richness and variation to your music, making it more dynamic and expressive.

What This Will Do for Your Career:

• Increase your appeal as a musician capable of handling more sophisticated musical pieces.
• Strengthen your understanding of harmonic structure, essential for advanced musical opportunities.

Days 15-22: Transcription

Many musicians equate the term “dictation” or “transcription” with dread and fear, and rightfully so! It’s often presented in a way that doesn’t help you improve your listening. It’s time to flip the script, so that you can leverage the power of this technique and quickly take your ears to elite status.

In Week 3, we dive into techniques that teach you how to write down what you hear on any recording — with absolute certainty — and without your instrument. Imagine mastering the art of learning music by ear and retaining it forever. Through guided exercises, repeated listening, and step-by-step breakdowns, you’ll gain the skills needed to transcribe complex solos and melodies with ease.

This week dramatically helps redefine what it means to be a musician, empowering you to confidently interpret and perform music directly from your ear, bringing that newfound confidence and precision to the stage.

What This Will Do for Your Playing Today:

• Enable you to quickly learn and internalize music by ear, enhancing your ability to play on the spot.
• Improve your memory and recall of musical pieces, boosting your performance quality.

What This Will Do for Your Career:

• Position you as a musician with elite transcription skills, highly valued in both studio and live settings.
• Empower you to learn and perform complex pieces with greater accuracy and confidence.

Days 23-30: Ear Ladders and Advanced Listening

Go deep into the heart of what it means to truly excel in your musical hearing, and push your ears to the limit. Ever ponder the real depth of your listening abilities, or what makes truly remarkable ears?

Week 4 shows you how far you can stretch your listening skills, with techniques and tools that allow you to decipher key changes, hear chromaticism with ease, and navigate complex musical landscapes effortlessly.

Through advanced exercises like Ear Ladders, you’ll learn to recognize and adapt to shifting key centers seamlessly. By tackling challenging pieces and improvisations, you’ll refine your ability to hear and interpret intricate musical details. This week is all about pushing boundaries and discovering just how powerful your ears can become, setting you up for continued growth and excellence in your musical journey.

What This Will Do for Your Playing Today:

• Sharpen your ability to handle complex musical changes in real-time, enhancing your improvisation and adaptability.
• Elevate your precision in interpreting and executing challenging music.

What This Will Do for Your Career:

• Equip you with advanced listening skills that distinguish you in competitive musical environments.
• Prepare you for high-level performances and collaborations, where quick adaptability is key.

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