Ear Training: Goodnight Irene

First, print out this page so you can write the scale degrees in the blanks above the notes as you go:
Get Ear Training Sheet for Goodnight Irene.

Start by listening to the full melody below and use it to find the tonal center (do, or 1) of the song. Sing that note, then check yourself by clicking on the Tonal Center text to the right below.

Melody, Chords and Tonal Center

Answer

Once you are sure you're singing the right pitch, find that note on your guitar by singing it as you play a single string, moving up fret by fret. When the pitch you're playing matches the one you're singing, stop and name the note. When you think you've got it, roll your mouse over the X to the right for the answer. That's the tonal center of this melody, the first scale degree.

Audio	Notes to Identify	Rollover X for Answer
Phrase 1	First note of the phrase
	First three notes (include the first)
	Last three notes of the phrase

Audio	Notes to Identify	Rollover X for Answer
Phrase 2	First note of the phrase
	All four notes of the phrase

Audio	Notes to Identify	Rollover X for Answer
Phrase 3	First note
	First four notes (include the first)
	Last four notes of the phrase

Audio	Notes to Identify	Rollover X for Answer
Phrase 4	First note
	First four notes (include the first)
	Last two notes of the phrase

Once you've got either or both of these melodies sketched out in scale degrees, the next step is to translate it onto the guitar, based on your understanding of the C major scale. (The most common major scales are in the answers to Exercise 11 in the Theory Primer, located at the end of the primer.) Remember not to "feel" your way through the melody at this point. Use the work you've done to nail it, first time through.