Ear Training - Interval Crash Course

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Instructor

Yannick Lambrecht

Course Type

Workshop

Skill Level

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Duration

02:44:08

Have you ever wished you could hear a melody and figure it out on the piano? It all starts with intervals, the distance between two notes. Intervals are the building blocks of music, and learning to recognize them is the first step to training your ear. Don’t worry if you think you don’t have a “good ear.” This workshop takes it one simple step at a time, and anyone can build this skill with practice.

You’ll start with a few musical basics, like major and minor scales and simple chords. Then comes the fun part: learning each interval by connecting it to a familiar song. For example, the opening notes of “Amazing Grace” can help you remember one interval’s sound. Once you’ve linked a song to each interval, you’ll be able to recognize them much more easily.

Next, you’ll put your ear to the test with listening games. You’ll hear a short pattern of notes, then try to play it back. The sheet music includes blank pages to write your answers on, plus an answer key to check your work. Finally, you’ll use your new skills on familiar melodies, starting with “Ode to Joy,” then “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and finishing with “The Star-Spangled Banner” as a bonus challenge.

For software ear trainers, we recommend the following: Keyboard Relative Pitch, Note Relative Pitch, Intervals, Scales, Chords

Course Objectives

Understand what intervals are and why they're the building blocks of music
Review essential musical vocabulary, including major and minor scales, major and minor triads and the chromatic scale
Recognize every interval using familiar song associations
Practice melodic dictation by listening to note sequences, then playing and writing them back
Apply ear training skills to melodies and harmony in "Ode to Joy," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Learning Focus

Ear Training
Harmonization & Reharmonization
Practice Tips

Featured Reviews

View PWJ member reviews of this course!

Kelvin Hannon verified

challenging

This is a very informative course.

Carolien Altena verified

Super interesting stuff. I loved it

It was great

Vatroslav Koralic verified

Very happy to finish this part and excited to move on!

Keep up the great work :)

Barbara BeVier verified

Ear Training-Application to Melodies

I appreciated all the tips and techniques to use to achieve this skill that so far has eluded me. While I can repeat most melodies by singing, it is like pulling teeth applying it to an instrument but it makes sense now that it is more a thing of patience and diligence for me. I liked that Yannick said that music is a forever learning thing. It is so true! I also really enjoyed the harmony explanations.

Malia Luss verified

Practice more

This wasn’t easy for me even though I thought I had a good ear. I will need to review this again.

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