A Healthy Reality Check for Figuring Out Chords by Ear (Harmonic Ear Training)

Over nearly two decades of teaching music, I've been asked countless questions about harmonic ear training, music theory, and developing the ability to figure out chords by ear. In this 45-minute session (or rant, if you will), I share my honest experiences, insights, and a practical toolkit for improving your musical ear. Key takeaways: the most commonly asked questions about ear training, why Music Theory is your best friend for harmonic ear training, a step-by-step toolkit to decode chords by ear, and some good habits and hacks to develop a sharper ear. Whether you're just starting out or are an experienced musician looking for fresh perspectives, this talk will give you a clear and honest reality check on your ear training journey. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 00:00 - What will be discussed? 00:20 - My music learning era 00:40 - Sheet Music and me 00:52 - Reality Check 01:43 - The only chords I knew 03:11 - The “other” chords 03:34 - The good habits back then 04:04 - My issue with Notation books & Google Chords 05:37 - How to address doubts? 06:10 - Jamming with Guitarists 06:49 - Hearing things out of the blue 07:19 - Music Theory - The Ears best friend 08:11 - Using packets of data 08:45 - The essential toolklit 09:30 - A Major Diatonic Harmony 10:02 - Moving out of the Scale 10:21 - The two chord connection 10:56 - Non-Diatonic Chords 11:31 - The Problem with cult following 12:27 - A Democracy for Music - The Radio 13:04 - Searching for the Cadence 13:24 - The curious case of the Major 7th 14:30 - Improving our Vocabulary 16:11 - Naming your own Cadences 16:58 - Advantage of learning on multiple keys 18:33 - The Epic Cadence 19:20 - The Chainsmokers Cadence 20:04 - Fancy names for fancy chords 21:14 - The Plagal “Amen” Cadence 22:06 - Jailhouse Rock 22:46 - Detecting the Notes of a Chord 23:04 - Listening to the Bass 24:42 - The Theory Hack 24:56 - The Quality of Chords 26:13 - The Melody Line 27:05 - The Guessing Game 27:45 - Within the Ballpark of Bb Major 28:26 - Physics Arpeggio Hack 30:58 - Speed Music Theory 33:16 - The Reality Check 35:25 - Your Piano Skills 35:53 - How to ask for help? 37:57 - When you are not prepared 38:09 - Some good habits to close this talk 38:53 - Wrong sources for Chords 39:35 - High Information music with variety 40:41 - Conclusion - The Grammys 41:10 - Variety of Genres 42:03 - Classical greats and their notation 44:15 - Conclusion ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses & Private Lessons ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com ============================= ▶️ Related Lessons & Playlists 🎵 Music Theory lessons ➡️ https://geni.us/PianoTheory 🎹 All our lessons on Chord Inversions (Playlist) ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC 👂 Ear Training lessons ➡️ https://geni.us/EarTraining ============================= 🎓 Learn Music with Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac ➡️ https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) by skill level, topic & genre ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com ============================= 💰 Donate on PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes ➡️ music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music ➡️ https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #HarmonicEarTraining #ChordsByEar #EarTraining