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
Practice Tips
Reharmonization

Featured Reviews

View PWJ member reviews of this course!

Sueci Carmichael verified

Super Important!

This is one area where I struggle a lot. I'm planning on taking so many tips from this course and develop my aural skills. A little a day, will do wonders in time!

Walter Suhr verified

Most important!!

One of the big takeways from going back to basis is that I am trying now not to learn only the tactile and muscle-memory aspects of exercising at the piano, but always getting my ear involved and trying to hear notes before I actually play them. So, now when I learn a diminished chord I try to learn both the fingering and the sound my fingers are going to produce. I know this word is used a lot, but this course is truly FUNDAMENTAL !

Candice Yee verified

Appears simple but not easy

There are so much to learn and practice in this ear training course. This is not easy for me but I now start to appreciate the importance of training the ear to hear music accurately. Thank you 🙏🏻

Pat Collins verified

This was a great workshop!

It was a well structured and fun approach to ear training. It gave me hope that all is not lost with my ear.

Bruno Emond verified

Great course

I love this. I feel that it opened a life long of learning.

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