# Am I deaf or something?



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

That's what I'm wondering. Am I deaf? I want to quote a passage from other composer's (orchestral) work in my own and find out that the score is very difficult to get anywhere. Then I think "wait, shouldn't I be capable of writing it down by my ear?". Well, I can write down the trumpet's melody on single pitches (and the contrabass accompaniament too) without greater problems but not the whole thing, especially not the final crescending chord with timpani roll. Harmonies are not some fraking avant-garde chords. Yet I'm not able to just sit and write it down as I hear it. I suppose I could write someting that sounds right to me but I wouldn't be sure without the score.

So the question I'm asking myself is if I should be capable of doing such thing. If I'm not, does it mean I have really bad ear? Below the average? Or is it normal?

Here is the sound file with all of it:


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https://soundcloud.com/aramistm%2Fvzemu


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Writing things down by ear is tough man, even if you have a good ear. I took an ear training class at my college last semester and my teacher played a chord and then a series of other chords and we had to name what the other chords were in relation to the first one e.g. bV/VI. Man was that hard!


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

You're not deaf, you just don't have autism. High class autism anyway, I dunno


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## Pieck (Jan 12, 2011)

I think it's only 3 notes (and their octaves [B,D,G]). But if you cant write a chord doesnt mean you're deaf, most people cant point an octave when they hear it.


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

I couldn't write down sequences of chords by ear until I took ear training and got a fair amount of practice in harmonic dictation. Maybe it comes naturally to some people, but not most, so I don't think you need to be worried if it's not easy for you. It might be easier if you can pick out and notate one voice at a time all the way through instead of trying to just do the chords, doing it horizontally rather than vertically (up until the big chord at the end where it's harder to distinguish them). Though the other voices being quieter than the melody might make this tricky.


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## Nix (Feb 20, 2010)

Aramis said:


> So the question I'm asking myself is if I should be capable of doing such thing. If I'm not, does it mean I have really bad ear? Below the average? Or is it normal?
> 
> __
> https://soundcloud.com/aramistm%2Fvzemu


It means you have an untrained ear. Getting the melody and bass shouldn't be too hard, at which point filling in the harmonies is less ear work and more common sense.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Nix said:


> It means you have an untrained ear. Getting the melody and bass shouldn't be too hard, at which point *filling in the harmonies is less ear work and more common sense.*


I think that depends heavily on the composer in question.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Thank you for all answers.


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

This would be a good dictation test for second year at university level. you'd get about 10 playings with 2 or 3 minutes in between to write. It's all 4 part brass choir except for the last expolsion.
Try getting it down in about one hour. use 2 staves like a Bach chorale.
Good luck.
FC


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

He, I sat, wrote down the melody and harmonised it like I felt was right, without trying to closely follow the original, here you can hear what I got so far:


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https://soundcloud.com/aramistm%2Fzakfa


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Aramis said:


> That's what I'm wondering. Am I deaf?


May explain your penchant for opera.


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## Nix (Feb 20, 2010)

violadude said:


> I think that depends heavily on the composer in question.


I think it depends on the amount of training... some pick it up quicker then others, but it's all stuff that can be learned (and these are meant to words of encouragement).


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

Is this from some Wagner I don't know about?


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

PostMinimalist said:


> Is this from some Wagner I don't know about?


What, the choral thing? No, it's from symphony by Mieczysław Karłowicz, highly recommeded on the side note.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Ear training, I need it as well...


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

clavichorder said:


> Ear training, I need it as well...


My ear needs toilet training.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

I like how everyone is bringing up really old threads, cause most of the threads made recently are kinda....


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

If this guy is deaf...I don't want to say/think about me...Maybe I am dead?

Martin, ashamed


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## Taneyev (Jan 19, 2009)

I can't heard anything you said. Suppose I'm deaf.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Odnoposoff said:


> I can't heard anything you said. Suppose I'm deaf.


LOL LOL LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Martin, dead


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