Auditory Discrimination - Learning Method, Exercises

Most of us use to listen to music passively. We enjoy it's sound, but barely can recognize what particulary is happening there. It is standard starting point. To change this into state when we can recognize individual features by ear, needs systematic training.

Now we are in the position when we are able to play songs from memory well, as well we have a diatonic symbolic system to describe not only individual diatonic notes in songs, but harmonic features/funcions/chords in it. These are two important ingredients to start our ear training.

As our ears are not listening actively, recognizing what is happening there in the music, we need to start slowly activating them for active listening with recognition. A first step  to start with is recognition of diatonic functions. And at the very beginning it is main diatonic functions.

When we do it, we realize, that diatonic functions are 'like a melody' in the background. They create the character of the music we play, but as well they express certain progression of tones that are mainly root tones of the chords uded but with occasional influence of different base tones used. We should playing sequences, listen to the character of the sound - harmonic functions, realizing them and their relations as they follow each other.
Sometimes it is useful to play the chords and their progression in their pure original form so that you can compare the applied version with the original/pure one, that can be considered as an etalon. Watch the bass tones, when on distant position, have strong impact on the sound of harmony, sometimes even change it's function when don't belong to the previous/last harmony/chord.