Ear Training: Wagon Wheel

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 Wagon Wheel

For Wagon Wheel you have the option of working on the the first Level 1 solo (immediately below) or the first half of the solo shared by both Level 1 and Level 2 students (L1 solo 2; L2 solo 1) which you will find a little further down the page. I'd suggest you start with the first and then, if you find that easy, go on to the second.

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

Level 1, Solo 1

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 (played 3 times)
	Next three notes of the phrase

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

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

Level 1, Solo 2 (1st half)

Here's the first half of the second solo. Use it to find the tonal center if you did not do so above. (If you did, the tonal center here is the same.)

Here's that solo broken into three phrases. Please note that these "phrases" are not the same as those indicated on the CD or in the written music for the song. Together, these three phrases make up the first two phrases of the L1 solo 2 / L2 solo 1. If you find this manageable, feel free to work out the rest of the solo by ear on your own!

Audio	Notes to Identify	Rollover X for Answer
Phrase 1	First note (played 3 times, ignoring the slides)
	Next three notes of the phrase

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

Audio	Notes to Identify	Rollover X for Answer
Phrase 3	First 5-note ascending phrase
	Closing 4-note 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 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.) Remember not to "feel" your way through the melody at this point. Use the work you've done to nail it, first time through.

Below are a couple of audio tracks devoted to the Level 1 rhythm guitar part to this song played at different tempos. Use them to do two things:

• Play the melody you've just learned using these tracks as backup.
• 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.