Introduction to the Octave Roadmap

The Octave Roadmap Ear Training Series

What does traveling on the road have in common with an octave of the major scale? Surprisingly...quite alot. And that's what we'll explore in this series. We all have experience travel before. We have also spent the last x amount of years internalizing certain movements through an octave that always sound satisfying to our ears. In this ear training series, we'll put you on the path of GREAT melody writing just by using a simple analogy: The Octave Roadmap.

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This specific program is great for you if you:

• Know the major scale, but find you're always doing the same movements in it.
• Don't know the major scale at all, but want to learn to hear the notes of it in a musically authentic way.
• Want to begin with ear training in a more helpful way than just memorizing intervals and pitches.
• Want to improve or maintain your musical ear and creativity, in any capacity during your busy work day.
• Want music theory to be explained like your five for now, but also to be exposed to proper musical terminology so you can communite musical ideas with others in the long term.

I would look for a different teacher if you're looking for:

• Absolute Pitch Training: Ear training for the pitches of A, A#, B, etc.
• Interval Quizzes: Although we will explore intervals, if you just want to name intervals all day I suggest free trainings on youtube.
• Intense Jazz Theory and Advanced Concepts: Right now, Busy Bards does not cater to jazz, and jazz theory. Perhaps one day, but that would be so far in the future that you're better off looking elsewhere.

(Future Plans) I would subscribe and stay put if you're looking for:

Busy Bards is entirely created by one person, and will be expanding to cover ear training themes such as:

• Rhythm Application Ear Training: Learning rhythm is best done by doing a case study of a specific rhythmic phrase, and practing the application of that rhythm with the musical building blocks. Stay Tuned.
• Harmony and Chords: Chords provide a context for the melody to sit in. Luckily, it's very easy to create contexts with a few simple rules. Then, you can start to HEAR chord progressions as they happen, so you can join in instantly. Stay tuned.
• Phrasing: The ultimate sign of purposefully creating melodies is the ability to hear a musical phrase, and to respond to that phrase in a meaningful way. Phrasing includes the ability to hear how it starts, ends, the path it takes, the rhythm, and the tension and release choices. Luckily, all of this we can train our ear, and eventually our creativity to. Stay tuned.
• Melodic Targeting: We always hear about "targeting the chord tones" during solo. Targeting is more about having a sight for where you want to go, and then trusting your muscle memory to get you there in a cohesive way. Luckily, we can train that during your commutes. Stay Put.
• Chord Movement: Once you've learned the 7 chords, we can focus on how to actually arrange chord progressions by hearing the effects of functional harmony. Stay tuned.
• Chord Targeting: The same concept of melodic targeting, except used as a way to spice up your chord progressions, Stay tuned.
• Diatonic Modulation / Pivot Chords: The Circle of Fifths is the most common way to practice key changes. But there's a much more spontaneous and fun way to change keys on the spot, if you're willing to train your ears to it. Stay Tuned.
• Tony's Tracks: I'll be honest. Busy bards formed because I made these tracks for myself to hit my goals. If I ever have a track that doesn't quite fit a category above, but I think you'll find it useful, you'll find those too.
• & More....

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In this Program...

• Over 3 Hours of Podcast-Style Audio Lessons to guide you through each concept before delving into the tracks. (or, you can skip it too!)
• 5 Ear Training Tracks (45 minute run time)
• Each track contains a visual PDF guide for that specific track. Lovingly crafted and designed to train your mind, eyes, and ears as one unit. Or, you can use it for silent reading practice.
• One "Test Track" in 7 Keys, to apply all of your knowledge.

Lesson 1: Intro / The Octave Airplane

• Lesson 1 Commentary: Using a PDF and Audio Commentary (40 minutes), you will enter the analogy of the Octave Roadmap, and go on a guided tour of the first ear training exercise track.
• Ear Training Track 1: With each listen of this track, you’ll improve your ability to apply ONE note to different rhythms, and to hear how an Octave is the same note as the root. Using the graphic PDF, you’ll also get used to the incredibly simple visualization system of Busy Bards.

Lesson 2: The Chord Tone Highways

• Lesson 2 Commentary: Using a PDF and Audio Commentary (40 minutes), we’ll explore the analogy of the Chord Tone Highway system. The highway allows you to skip around the octave in a way that’s ALWAYS satisfying to the ear. You’ll then go on a guided tour of the main ear training track.
• Ear Training Track 2: This track slowly introduces you to the chord tone highway system. Alongside the PDF, you’ll be able sing and visualize melodies that use the chord tones of an octave. There are four rounds in this exercise:
• Round 1: Only notes 1 and 3
• Round 2: Only notes 3 and 5
• Round 3: Only Notes 1 and 5
• Round 4: All Notes of the Highway

Lesson 3: The Main Road through the Octave

• Lesson Commentary : Using a PDF and Audio Commentary (40 minutes), we’ll explore the analogy of the Main Road of the Octave. The main road provides a satisfying journey through tension and resolution, and is simple to sing. After, you’ll then go on a guided tour of the main ear training track.
• Ear Training Track 3: This track introduces you to using the main road to get to the various “cities” of the major scale. Alongside the PDF, you’ll be able sing and visualize melodies that journey through tension and release. There are four rounds in this exercise:
• Round 1: Only notes 1 - 2 - 3
• Round 2: Only notes 3 - 4 - 5
• Round 3: Only Notes 5 - 6 - 7 - 1
• Round 4: All 7 Notes of the Major Scale

Lesson 4: The Backroads of Tension

• Lesson 4 Commentary: Using a PDF and Audio Commentary (40 minutes), we’ll explore the analogy of the Back Roads of the octave. The Backroads demonstrate the sounds of ONLY using the tensions of the octave, and never resolving them. This will train your ear to hear the *longing* effect this creates. As always, you’ll go on a guided tour of the main exercises.
• Ear Training Track 4: This track ONLY uses the tensions of the scale, and never resolves them. If used with the PDF, you’ll easily sing and play along to notes that purposefully evade the chord tones. There are four rounds in this exercise:
• Round 1: Only notes 2 and 4 (avoiding 3)
• Round 2: Only notes 4 and 6 (avoiding 5)
• Round 3: Only Notes 6 and 7 (avoiding 1)
• Round 4: All notes 2 , 4 , 6 , and 7.

Lesson 5: Flying through the Movement Arcs

• Lesson 5 Commentary : Using a PDF and Audio Commentary (40 minutes), we’ll explore the arcs of movement in an octave. If a melody is a chance for you to tell a story, every story has a different arc, or flow. In music, there are four main arcs of movement worth knowing from the start. We will also go on a guided tour of the main exercise.
• Ear Training Track 5: This track explores the four movement arcs to use to move around an octave. With the visual PDF, you’ll be able to recognize these shapes and movements on the melodies you work with throughout Busy Bards. There are four rounds:
• Round 1: The Stepwise Movement Arc
• Round 2: The Checkmark Movement Arc
• Round 3: The “Fill in the Gap” Arc
• Round 4: Being “Thrown Around” the Octave

Test Track in 7 Keys

Composing is simply applying solid melodic understanding, to solid rhythmic phrasing. This track contains percussive rhythms for you to listen to, and to sing your own melodies on top. I recommend using it after each lesson, to test out what you’ve learned. This track is available in 7 keys, so you can also play along to it on your particular instrument.

• Available in the keys of: A Major, B Major, C Major, D Major, E Major, F Major and G Major.
• Contains an accompanying PDF to help you visualize the rhythm.

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