# Ear training and self improvement rsources



## mordrax

I play a two stringed chinese fiddle (Erhu) which is fretless and relies both on muscle memory and tone recognition to hit notes accurately.

The problem is, i'm completely hopelessly unable to reliably get within 10 cents of the note i want to play. I've been on and off for 5 years and currently do not have enough time/will to commit to a teacher.

I'm interested in ear training, tone, scale, techniques etc etc to train my ear and as a result my fingers to be able to hit the right notes.
I've come across stuff like The Tuning CD and ReelEar. Are these good resources to go by?

Following training music sheets doesn't give me enough feedback as to whether I'm hitting the right notes so currently, I've been using a OnlineToneGenerator to try and commit some notes to memory but I find that after some time (30mins) of practicing with one note, if i go to another note and come back, i'm lost again.

So what resources and techniques do you guys use to train your ear?


----------



## kv466

The only resource I use to train my ear is to use it constantly. Learn songs by ear. Love your instrument and what you're trying to play on it. It's hard to say because having a perfect pitch is what has always come most naturally. It's really nice to see that there are instruments being played around here that actually are better when played with heart and feel rather than instruction. Good luck with your pitch and playing!


----------



## mordrax

The problem with using it constantly is that I don't have a very good grasp of what sounds right. I play a melody twice and can be off by +-20 cents but it's hard for me to pick up the subtle differences so if I keep practicing that, i will certainly get muscle memory, but it won't be on the right note. 

Practice makes Permanent!

So logically following that, I need to improve my ear to the point where I can tell intervals, flats/sharps, identify notes etc etc.

I don't think I have perfect pitch, or relative pitch or any pitch. I can usu whistle a tune after listening to it once but that's as far as my ear goes.

So for those without perfect pitch, it seems like it's a catch 22 for playing fretless instruments as muscle memory relies on constant flat/sharp correction and the correction relies on constantly playing...


----------

