And just like learning a language learned by ear, there starts with a few comfortable phrases, such as “mama” and “baba (bottle)” and works from there.

For me, the comfortable places are G (on the D string) and a few others where I know where the note sounds right.  Other places seem less familiar by ear, such as B when it is the first note in a phrase.    I suppose ear training will help with that – but how do you ear train when you’re not enrolled at a music school with people who know how to administer such exercises professionally?

Simple songs are great for piecing things together because we know from childhood how they are supposed to sound.

But what is really throwing me right now is minor scales.  I know how a major is supposed to progress and I can tell when I’m out of tune.   However, on a minor scale, I’m still without a point of orientation because the entire “unit” hasn’t been stored in my brain yet the way the basic major scale has.

Interestingly enough, I do feel at home with some of the Kummer sections that have minor progressions.