I have been using EarMaster for maybe a little more than a month and I am very pleased with the results. I haven't yet been able to just hear a melody and then transcribe it without an instrument, like I thought I would, but I have become far more proficient at improvising and making new melodies with my guitar. That is a great achievement, though it worked differently than I thought!
First, I feel that EarMaster should have a lot more to offer for those who want to recognize notes by function. I think this is very important for improvisation and transcribing melodies. Perhaps especially for guitarists, because if you play in, say E major, and then want to play in A, you just move your hand up 5 frets, and the tones with the same function relative to the key, will have the same placement relative to the hand.
What I am currently doing, is I am making custom exercises, with my own scales, with only a few notes. I get EarMaster to play a cadence, then a single note, and then I have to select from the (currently) few notes which one it is. Then I add notes to the scale one by one, in a fashion similar to the interval recognition exercises, so that it gets progressively harder, and I only have to learn a few notes at a time. The first exercises in the melodic-dictation exercises were a bit to hard in the beginning. It should be more gradual like the interval exercises. I am planning to move up to a chromatic scale in the end, because I like to play freely without being to tied up to a specific scale. I think this type of exercise would be great for players of probably most styles, especially those who focus on slower sequences with few tones (finding the right tones for the right gefühl).
Second, I have noticed that when trying to use my new skills at recognising intervals into transcribing melodies, I often get "confused" by the rythm, and that tones often serve different functions within the melody (not the key). Some notes are like "departures", some are like "destinations", and yet others seems to be just "transits". Some tones are just preludes to a more significant tone, like the first tone in "My Bonnie". I'm completely self taught, therefore I don't know the theory or the correct words for this. Also, since the melodic-dictation exercises are a bit too hard yet for me, I don't know if this issue is being dealt with in this exercise.
Third, the standard exercises and graphics should reflect that most rock/blues players (among others) don't use the guitar like i.e. a violin, were open strings and finger positions near the nut are emphasised. Often, instead, we might play an entire melody never going below the 10th fret, for instance. Or even higher. All tones from the low E to the 12th fret on the high E strings are frequently played, and should be included in std. exercises. Most rock guitarists go even higher.
Sorry about the length, I hope you bothered to read it...
