The Tune Indigo Podcast

Hans Indigo Spencer
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  • Performing Arts

Listen, Play, and Create music using your most musical asset: your ears! Creative, ear-forward inspiration to help you find your own musical style and create music you truly own. Each episode is a short, listening-first lesson in Holistic Ear Training (HET) — a Kodály- and Third Stream-inspired approach built on Sound Before Symbol. Instead of starting with notation and theory, you'll train your ear through singing, movable-"do" solfège, and creative listening, then use that ear to shape music that's genuinely your own. Hosted by Hans Indigo Spencer, ear training educator and founder of TuneIndigo, each episode pairs a short listening practice with a creative prompt you can use right away — whether you're a music student, a teacher, or just someone who wants to hear more of what's already inside the music. New episodes go out alongside the TuneIndigo newsletter. Subscribe at tuneindigo.com for every episode plus the ear-training tools that go with it.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    Where are the half-steps? Sing to find out!

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Where Are the Half Steps? Step On Down to La You can recite the major scale formula. Can you hear where the half steps are? And can you hear home move when a song settles onto la? In last week’s episode I gave you a short song I wrote, “Step On Down to La.” This week I spell out what it teaches and connect each idea back to the song, so you get the most out of singing it. In this episode: – The whole-step/half-step code of the major scale, and a simpler way to hear it: mostly whole steps, with two specially placed half steps – Where those half steps live in solfège (fa–mi and ti–do), and how the song’s lyrics help you feel them – What the relative minor is: same tones, new home, with la in place of do – Two worked examples: C major to A minor, and G major to E minor – Two ways to practice on your instrument, starting from any tone Sing it first: (SING-ALONG LINK) Watch the explainer: (EXPLAINER LINK) Sheet music and recordings, with my vocals (LINK) and without my vocals: (RESOURCES LINK) Tune Indigo helps you improve your music making by leveling up your listening. More at tuneindigo.com.

    Where are the half-steps? Sing to find out!

  2. Nov 1

    Step on Down to "la" | What Is the Relative Minor? Sing It to Find Out

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Sing along with Step On Down to La, a learning song with the lyrics and solfège on screen. It holds the answers to two questions that trip up a lot of musicians: where are the half steps in the major scale, and what does the relative minor sound like? The answers aren’t spelled out. They sit just below the surface, like a puzzle you solve by listening and singing. How to use it: – Listen a few times. – Sing along. – Sing the solfège on your own, from memory if you can. – Connect the lyrics to the solfège they’re sung on. That’s where the solution is. Two questions to ask as you listen: – Between which solfège steps are the two half steps? – Which phrases lean on “la”? Listen for what happens to the sense of home. Once you solve it, major scales get easier to play on any instrument, by ear, by eye and by heart, and the relative minor becomes something you can hear, not just look up. VIDEO VERSION HERE: https://youtu.be/Wl86yOTtec0

    Step on Down to "la" | What Is the Relative Minor? Sing It to Find Out

  3. Oct 25

    Make Ear Training Drills Pay Off

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! You’ve done the interval drills and chord drills, but learning real music by ear still feels slow. What’s missing is a framework you can repeat on any piece. Here’s how to play by ear, step by step. In this video, we learn a short piece I composed for you, entirely by ear. We start with an open listen, then listen with a focus: one question at a time. We ask how long it is, what repeats, where it goes highest and lowest, and which patterns you already know. Then we sing, tap and use solfège to make it your own. Free audio, worksheet and sheet music: https://www.tuneindigolearning.com/downloadable-pdfs?site_template_id=65945494e89ded9dc006710b VIDEO https://youtu.be/kcIHtCjuASg

    Make Ear Training Drills Pay Off

  4. Oct 10

    The simplest way to draw music

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! If you try to hold a whole piece of music in your head while you learn it by ear, you’re working harder than you need to. In this news-lesson, Hans shows you how to listen with a focus: one question per listen, with a simple graph on paper to hold what you find. Think of a piece of music you know well and try it as you listen. The five questions: Does the music move in groups of 2, 3, or 4 beats? (What’s the meter?)How many measures long is it?How many sections or phrases are there?When does each section begin?Which sections are the same, which are different, and which are similar?See an example graph. You’ll come away with a clear framework of the piece, ready to fill in with tones and rhythms. FREE LIVE WEBINAR: Listening and Personal Style Saturday, October 17, 10:00–11:30 AM EDT, on Zoom. Learn how to take a song you love, learn it by ear, and use what you find to learn more music by ear. SAVE YOUR FREE SPOT Get the weekly news-lesson by email: https://www.tuneindigolearning.com/newslesson-signup-page More from Tune Indigo: https://tuneindigo.com https://www.youtube.com/@tuneindigomusic Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome: pick a piece of music 00:00:25 Free webinar, October 17 00:01:07 One song opens the next 00:02:18 Your memory is busy 00:03:20 Listen with a focus 00:05:56 What meter is the music in? 00:06:20 How long is it? 00:06:56 How many sections are there? 00:07:12 When does each section begin? 00:07:30 Same, different, or similar? 00:08:30 Learn the rest of the framework READ the Transcript

    The simplest way to draw music

  5. Oct 2

    The steps to make your ear training pay off

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! You do well on your ear training drills, but when you set out to learn real music by ear, you get stuck partway in. The skills are in place. What's missing is an order in which to put them to use. In this episode I lay out the steps I use with my ear training students, from far away, and then we take the first one: the open listen. In this episode: Where students get stuck when learning music by earOpen listens: let the music affect you before anything elseFocus listens, one element at a time: form, then time, then pitchListening for contour, listening for "do", and singing it back in solfègeMaking an assertion before each listenUsing your eyes, voice, body and imaginationLetting the music in instead of grabbing at itPractice for this week: choose a piece you're learning by ear, or one you'd like to learn. Listen to it once, start to finish, with no task in mind. Afterward, name one moment that affected you. That's your first landmark. Read this news-lesson: [NEWS-LESSON LINK] Free live webinar, Saturday, October 17, 10:00–11:30 a.m. EDT. Bring a song you love, and we walk through the Holistic Ear Training process together. Save your spot. Get the news-lesson by email each week: https://www.tuneindigolearning.com/newslesson-signup-page READ TODAY'S EPISODE. Watch the video lessons on YouTube (next Saturday's video walks through every step on a short piece: https://www.youtube.com/@tuneindigomusic More from Tune Indigo: https://tuneindigo.com

    The steps to make your ear training pay off

  6. Sep 26

    How to reduce cognitive load when learning something by ear

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Struggling to learn melodies by ear? You might be trying to hold too much at once. In this news-lesson, I share the one change that helps my students most: listening with a focus. That means choosing a single feature to listen for, like the highest tone, the sound of "do," or when an instrument drops out, and letting the rest of the music wash over you. You'll learn: Why straining to catch everything at once makes learning by ear harderHow to "guess, then check" to give your attention something to hang ontoWhy form (what's the same, similar and different) is the most useful focus of allA quick form exercise with "Ode to Joy"🎙️ Free live webinar: Listening and Personal Style Saturday, October 17, 10:00–11:30 AM EDT. Bring a song you love, and we'll walk through the Holistic Ear Training process together on music that matters to you. Save your free spot: https://www.tuneindigolearning.com/quick-webinar-registration Also mentioned: This week's video, "There's No Shortcut to a Great Ear"Tone Hole for iPhone (free levels 127–129)This episode for your eyes (It's a news-lesson.)Get the weekly news-lesson by email.

    How to reduce cognitive load when learning something by ear

  7. Sep 19

    What a Lawrence Song Taught My Cohort About "do re mi"

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! A student brought a Lawrence song into the current Listening and Personal Style cohort, and it turned out to be carrying the very first pattern I teach beginners: "so–do–re–mi." In this episode we listen our way into the intro, sing it, and move it through three keys. Then we go one layer deeper, into the bass line, where something a little spicier is waiting. Wherever your ear is right now, there's a rung here for you. LINKS Webinar info "Where We Started From" "You Are My Sunshine" Tone Hole on the App Store

    What a Lawrence Song Taught My Cohort About "do re mi"

  8. Sep 13

    Not All Half-Steps are Created Equal

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Not all half-steps are created equal Most ear training introduces the half-step as a single thing — usually as danger, with the Jaws theme as the mnemonic. That gets you an interval you can name. It doesn't get you the one thing you actually need when playing by ear: knowing which half-step you're hearing. In this episode: Why "half-step" as a category is too coarse to be useful in real music, and what gets lost when the Jaws theme becomes the reference pointThe mi-fa half-step inside "Ode to Joy" — the same interval, an entirely different tone-feelingHow fa leans down toward mi, and how mi sits without the same need to moveA set of transformations that strip the opening phrase down until only mi and fa remain, so the pair concentrates in the earWhy you should build your own transformations rather than use mine, and the recipe for doing itThe second half-step hiding in the same scale — same interval, different gravityTry this after listening: sing the opening of "Ode to Joy" in solfège, then sing it again leaving tones out, keeping only what belongs to the mi-fa pair. Trade back and forth between solfège and a neutral syllable. Let it settle — no forcing. Coming up: Listening and Personal Style, a free 90-minute live session — Saturday, October 17 · 10:00–11:30 AM EDT. Links: Ode to Joy In Solfège Play with the mi-fa half-step. This Episode as a Newslesson (with images!)

    Not All Half-Steps are Created Equal

  9. Aug 15

    Harmonic Interval Ear Training: How to Hear Motion Where There Is None

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Learn to hear harmonic intervals and understand why they're trickier to identify than melodic ones — plus a look at the science and art behind this week's practice exercises. In this episode: Cohort enrollment now open — Listening and Personal Style, a 6-week ear training cohort starting September 7th. Early-bird pricing ($300) through 8/21, regular price $350 after. 15-seat limit. tuneindigo.comThis week's video tutorial (audio version): hearing harmonic intervals and the motion between voices that creates themNews-lesson: why training your ear with a purpose — not just "because you should" — changes how you listenBehind the scenes: how Voice Leading: The Science Behind a Musical Art by David Huron shaped the ten listening examples in this week's tutorialWatch the video: Harmonic Interval Ear Training - How to Hear Motion Where There Is None (add YouTube link) Join the cohort: tuneindigo.com

    Harmonic Interval Ear Training: How to Hear Motion Where There Is None

  10. Aug 8

    Offloading Melodies - Cohort Course Announcement - iii chord vs. vi chord

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Two chords, three notes each, two notes in common — no wonder iii and vi get confused. This episode starts with the full audio of this week's tutorial, where a single scale degree settles the question for good. Then it's on to the news-lesson. This week: what happened when a group of Foundations students joined me for impromptu office hours (Carole King, harmonic listening, and some composition practice); news of a small real-time Holistic Ear Training course starting in September; and a look back at the final Compose With Me livestream, where "offloading melodies" turned "Interplanet Janet" into something that sounds nothing like it. Chapters are enabled — skip straight to the news-lesson if you've already watched the video. In this episode: Tutorial: telling iii from vi in major keysOffice hours with Foundations studentsThe September cohort courseOffloading melodies, and building a tune from borrowed rhythmLinks: Cohort Course INFO Compose With Me replay Free email Course Info Video Tutorial: iii chord vs. vi chord

    Offloading Melodies - Cohort Course Announcement - iii chord vs. vi chord

  11. Jul 28

    The Simplest Improv You'll Ever Play

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Plus a listening guide for a Carole King classic and a 600-year-old composing habit. LINKS: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow Shirelles 1960 Version Carole King Version Compose with Me! Livestream Tune Indigo on YouTube tuneindigo.com

    The Simplest Improv You'll Ever Play

  12. Jul 17

    Chase the Bass, Catch the Chords: Hearing "Eight Days a Week"

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Can you hear what Paul McCartney's bass line is doing under "Eight Days a Week"? In this episode, we chase that bass line to uncover the chord progression driving the whole song — then take those same chords and go hunting for them in four other tunes, from bossa nova to hip-hop. You'll: Sing the root notes of McCartney's bass line against the original recordingTest your ear by finding do and singing that same bass line over "Exactly Like You," "Take the A Train," "Forget You," and moreClose with a fully improvised vocal line over a stripped-down version of the progression — no solfège, no chord names, just your ear and your voiceWant to go deeper? The full step-by-step video on learning any song's chords by ear is linked below. Links: Original recording: Eight Days a WeekTutorial video: How to Learn a Song's Chords by EarMore at tuneindigo.comCorresponding Newsletter Issue: Chase Bass, Catch Chords

    Chase the Bass, Catch the Chords: Hearing "Eight Days a Week"
  • 12 Episodes

About

Listen, Play, and Create music using your most musical asset: your ears! Creative, ear-forward inspiration to help you find your own musical style and create music you truly own. Each episode is a short, listening-first lesson in Holistic Ear Training (HET) — a Kodály- and Third Stream-inspired approach built on Sound Before Symbol. Instead of starting with notation and theory, you'll train your ear through singing, movable-"do" solfège, and creative listening, then use that ear to shape music that's genuinely your own. Hosted by Hans Indigo Spencer, ear training educator and founder of TuneIndigo, each episode pairs a short listening practice with a creative prompt you can use right away — whether you're a music student, a teacher, or just someone who wants to hear more of what's already inside the music. New episodes go out alongside the TuneIndigo newsletter. Subscribe at tuneindigo.com for every episode plus the ear-training tools that go with it.

Information

  • Creator
    Hans Indigo Spencer
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Hans Indigo Spencer
  • Show Website
    The Tune Indigo Podcast