Playing By Ear IV

Now Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. As I said, unlike Mary Had a Little Lamb where nearly every note is right next to the following note, this one has a big jump or interval. When you hum it, can you hear the interval I'm talking about? All of the notes are right next to each other with the exception of these 2.

You should have come up with this:

-----0-0-2-2-0-X---------------
-----------------1-1-0-0-------
-0-0---------------------2-2-0-
-------------------------------
-------------------------------

That big interval I was talking about is between the 2nd and 3rd notes - G to D - and it's called a fifth. The reason is because there are 5 scale notes between these 2 - counting the first note as 1: G(1) A(2) B(3) C(4) and D(5). When speaking of intervals we only count the notes within the scale.

Now if you couldn't get these 2 tunes figured out, then you'll need some ear training that I can't do on a blog. If that's the case you need to stop here because the rest of the lessons will probably be much too frustrating. The good news is that your ears should improve somewhat just by practicing and playing your banjo. Don't be afraid to sing as you play.

j