Ear Training: Waltz Across Texas

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 Waltz Across Texas

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

Full Melody & Chords

Audio: 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.

Before getting started on the transcription, here's a heads up that this melody includes a three-note chromatic phrase — that is, a phrase that moves in half steps — which means that it will include at least one note outside the major scale of the key you just identified. If the phrase is not immediately obvious to you, I suggest you approach it by identifying the first note (which does belong to the key) and working from there. Remember, chromatic passing tones simply fill the space between the notes that are a whole step (or more) apart within a scale. Identify the scale tones, then fill in the gap with chromatic passing tones by adding sharps or flats to the surrounding scale degrees.

The table below has an audio clip of the short chromatic phrase in question and, to the right, the scale degrees that make it up. See if you can figure it out before starting the rest of the transcription.

Audio	Notes to Identify	Rollover X for Answer
Chromatic Phrase	First note
Chromatic Phrase	All three notes

That phrase will reappear in the song's melody below, but now you are ready for it!

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

Audio	Notes to Identify	Rollover X for Answer
Phrase 2	First note of the phrase
	First three notes (include the first)
	Next four notes

Audio	Notes to Identify	Rollover X for Answer
Phrase 3	First note of the phrase
Phrase 3	All seven notes of he phrase!

Once you've got these phrases sketched out in scale degrees, the next step is to translate them onto the guitar based on your understanding of the G 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.) The printable worksheet (see the link at the top of this page) provides a Tab staff for this purpose.

Once you've got the melody down, use the CD tracks devoted to this song to do any number of things:

Play the melody you've just learned using these tracks as backup.
Learn the other, slightly more embellished version of the melody, using this simple version as a foundation.
Learn the rhythm guitar part by ear. Maybe you can just "hear" the chords with no effort. If not, use the scale degrees you've sketched out to inform your search for the right chords.
Work up your own variations on the melody or second guitar parts.