Since I broke my N-UX Mighty Plug headphone amp, I’ve missed it now and again. I’ve therefore just replaced it with a Sonicake Pocket Master - a multi-effects processor, headphone amp, tuner, metronome/drum machine, 20-second overdub looper, audio interface, all for less than $70. Out of the box it was on a preset called RockStage which sounded exactly like the descending arpeggios introduction to one recorded version of ‘Complete Control’. Playing that kept me amused for a fair few minutes. I’ve tried all the presets (several of which I rather like), and tested most features. I’m pretty pleased with it.
I’ve also tried it as an audio interface. This is interesting. I already have my ‘proper’ setup on a desktop, with Presonus audio interface and monitors and Cakewalk DAW. However, I’m using the Pocket Master with my laptop and (for now) Bandlab’s online DAW. It’s all very simple, and I will see whether it is a setup I like. One thing to note is that for a long time I couldn’t get any audio out of the Pocket Master USB connection. It turned out that UBlock Origin was being a little too interfering, so I’ve had to suppress it on the Bandlab website.
Meanwhile, ear training has gone so weird that I’ve almost stopped caring - almost. After a fantastic start with a slightly wider range of intervals, I just got progressively worse over the next couple of days (see chart in next post). I don’t know what’s going on. There was a little upturn recently, but, wow, this stuff is never as simple as I think. Still, I’ve noticed a couple of times, as I’ve mentioned before, that transcribing seems a bit easier; that’s why I haven’t totally stopped caring.
I am quite happy with how my playing of my chosen repertoire is improving, albeit quite slowly. I’m not moving on yet from where I am up to with ‘Marquee Moon’, mainly because I’m having fun.
I can’t edit my last ear training chart, so I need to start a new post to show the latest results:
Mix 7 12 (up and down 7 or 12 semitones). Median 83.
NB: score of 98 on 9 October was for ascending intervals only.
Mix 5 7 12 (up and down 5, 7 or 12 semitones). Median 79.
Mix 2 5 7 12 (up and down, 2, 5, 7 or 12 semitones). Median 84.
It’s been a week since my last post and the most notable news is that my ear training performance has continued to deteriorate inexplicably. I’m puzzled, and slightly disappointed, but now feel resigned to ultimate failure. I have run out of hypotheses, and run out of strategies too. All I can conclude is that the perception of relative pitch is more complex and situational than I expected. I will continue for a while with the current run (5, 7 and 12 semitones) and then proceed to the next (2, 5, 7 and 12 semitones), though I don’t know whether this is really going to accomplish anything. I’ve listened to 11,200 pairs in the last six weeks.
My Pocket Master is turning out to be a lot of fun. I’ve been creating new patches, experimenting with NAM and IR downloads, importing and exporting, and effects adjustments, and all of this has gone well. Today, I also connected it into my audio interface and played through my monitors. The setup looks like this:
Strat > Pocket Master > Wireless Link > Audio Interface > DAW > Audio Interface > Monitors.
This was really enjoyable, and the time just flew past - so much so that I almost forgot I was meeting friends for dinner this evening. As with the sister product, Rockstage, I found it much easier to get sounds I like. It’s a bit late for more playing through this setup today, but I’ve got plenty of time tomorrow to explore further.
I am still working quite hard on getting the changes in Marquee Moon. There is a point in Richard Lloyd’s part where he switches from staccato dyads to a smooth melody. I’m finding it difficult to get my fingers to do this, but I sense success is getting closer.
A pattern of sorts has emerged. On both occasions, as I’ve added a new interval to my test runs, my scores immediately increase, then they start to slide. This is the opposite of expectations. You would expect sudden increased complexity to raise difficulty and consequently lower scores. But what I think happens is that the new interval is so unfamiliar at first that there is simply no mistaking it, and only as it grows as familiar as the other sounds does it get mistaken for them. Perhaps another effect, long-term heightened perception, will begin to offset this, but I cannot be sure.
My faith in this repetitive learning method is moderating, though when I look at the big picture, I have some confidence that I am better at discrimination between intervals than I was when I started all this in late August. After so much work, you would hope so. Also, at the time of writing (3 November 2025) I’ve just finished a run in which my errors were limited to confusing only perfect 4ths and 5ths, on about 1 in 4 occasions. My identification of 2nds and octaves was perfect.
Of course, with shifting harmonic emphasis and weak tonic, a 4th is a 5th and vice versa. The variation in timbre in the tests I do is a distraction that does not help, but I’m for now content to contend with it because the real world is full of distracting harmonics too.
Back to actual music…
I’m still playing and integrating the guitar parts of Marquee Moon. There are some really nice jazzy chords in places. I don’t know whether I will bother to learn the entire Tom Verlaine solo, but I’ve been working on parts of it, mainly the beginning and end. I am also yet to try the dreamy arpeggios Verlaine plays near the end. Most other guitar parts I have now played and practice regularly. The rapid dyads of Richard Lloyd have given me a new callus on the side of my third finger. Putting the whole song together (that is, playing at least one guitar part all the way through) is still not within my reach - it is over 10 minutes long after all.
It seems Intermediate Grade 4 has been reorganised recently, because the part that I started a few weeks ago now appears in something different: Solo Blues With MatchMySound.
But anyway, I’ve just completed all the non-Blues modules in Grade 4. Being indifferent to Blues, I’m not sure whether to be completist and finish the rest of Grade 4 or just jump to Grade 5. Looking ahead I can see that I already know a fair bit of Grade 5 anyway (barre chords with roots on the A string, for example). Is now the time to start specialising in what I find most interesting, or should I broaden my horizons and get the Blues?
What I’ve found slightly curious is that J has waited this long before explaining major scales, and in particular, playing them in thirds. Way back when I started playing bass I immediately began with the major scale, and within weeks had discovered how good it sounded to play in thirds. I’d tried all sorts of variations on the basic ascending and descending sequences, and thirds stood out as being the most pleasant. Not only was playing in thirds melodious, it was also surprisingly easy, and I soon figured out this was related to chords in an important way. I saw the patterns within, and formed a somewhat naive view that maths and musical aesthetics were more or less identical. I now realise that it is the many human variations to pitch, beat and harmony that make music sound expressive, unlike 1980s computer music, but back then I relished the theory aspects that helped explain why things worked or sounded appealing.
At this point, I need to practice and embed the kinaesthetics of playing across six strings. I’m pretty solid on where notes are on the EADG strings, but it is not a simple matter to add in the BE notes because the shapes do not translate. So in some ways it feels like being transported back to 1977 when I would run up and down scales until my hands hurt.
The only other development of the last few days has been playing with the looper on my Pocket Master. This was prompted by J talking about how useful it is to record a basic chord sequence as a backing track on top of which to experiment with one-finger solos, motifs, etc. I think my looper allows infinite overdubs; I was able to build quite big sounding soundscapes with it. It truly is the best value musical item I have ever bought.
Decision made - I tried a bit of the blues material in Grade 4, but confirmed it is just not my cup of Earl Grey. For now it has curiosity value only. I pressed on into the first module of Grade 5 and I think that this is where I’ve found my level. I’m finding some of it easy, some of it hard. To wit:
Barre chords with A string root note:
- major - I’m pretty good (using the third finger), though I tend to avoid strumming the first string rather than muting it. I need to learn to mute better.
- minor - easy.
- dominant 7th and minor 7th - no trouble with the raised finger positions, but need to work on getting the pinky down better in the other positions.
- sus2 - easy (I used this in my songs because it was a cinch to play and I liked the sound. I didn’t think of it as a sus2, but as a 9th).
- sus4 - a bit of trouble with this. Needs work.
Triads:
- I know all this in theory, but it isn’t something I can throw into a song at the drop of a hat. For now, it has to be planned. Needs practice.
Scales:
- 1st position - fine on the low strings that correspond to a bass, but not completely confident on the high strings yet.
- 2nd and 3rd position - definitely still a bit exploratory. I must watch that I don’t accelerate before I can be completely sure of the notes.
So - I predict I’ll be working on this module for a few weeks. Meanwhile, I haven’t stopped doing my ear training exercises. I’ll do another run in a few minutes and reupload the chart.
