I think the easiest way for anglos to get tones is to use the ! for the 4th tone the ? for 2d and 3d and . for 1st and 3d.
Fourth tone words tend in Chinese to be indicative or imperative – just like English!
Third tone words in English tend to be interrogatives or indicatives, not imperatives.
And though 2d tone words are not always questions they often are. And in Canadian English 2d tone is often used for indicatives!
First tone words tend to be indicative not imperative or interrogative.
I can’t believe no one else has noticed this.