Your ear training path

Short lessons, about three minutes each. Every exercise plays real sound and tells you right away what you heard. It trains relative pitch, the skill musicians use to hear intervals and chords; your progress stays in this browser.

1 Notes: high, low and home

Hear pitch direction, tell close notes apart, and feel where the home note (tonic) of a key is. Open from the start.

1. 1
   Higher or lower?Say whether the second note is higher or lower, from big jumps down to one semitone.
2. 2
   Same or different?Tell two notes apart when they differ by a semitone, then by a quarter tone.
3. 3
   The shape of a melodyHear whether a three-note melody goes up, down or stays.
4. 4
   Do, re, mi: the major scaleHear the eight notes of the major scale and spot the wrong one.
5. 5
   Coming homeHear whether a melody ends on the home note (tonic) or leaves you hanging.
6. 6
   Do, mi, sol in any keyAfter a cadence sets the key, name degrees 1, 3 and 5.
7. 7
   All seven degreesName any degree of the major scale in any key.
8. 8
   Sing it backMatch a note with your voice within 50 cents (optional microphone). (optional)
9. ★
   Checkpoint12 mixed questions, 80% to pass. Passing it completes the unit.

2 Intervals

Recognise every interval up to the octave, up, down and together, with a song for each. Opens after: Notes: high, low and home.

1. 1
   Octave: the same note, higherHear that an octave sounds like the same note; tell it from other jumps.
2. 2
   Perfect fifthTell the perfect fifth from the octave.
3. 3
   Perfect fourthAdd the fourth: P4, P5, P8.
4. 4
   Major and minor thirdsHear the bright major third and the darker minor third.
5. 5
   Seconds: half and whole stepsHear the minor second (half step) and the major second (whole step).
6. 6
   SixthsAdd the minor and major sixth.
7. 7
   SeventhsHear the minor and major seventh against the octave.
8. 8
   The tritoneRecognise the tense tritone, exactly half an octave.
9. 9
   Going downRecognise intervals played downward.
10. 10
    Together: harmonic intervalsRecognise intervals when both notes sound at once.
11. 11
    Every intervalName all 12 intervals in any direction.
12. ★
    Checkpoint12 mixed questions, 80% to pass. Passing it completes the unit.

3 Chords

Recognise the quality of triads and seventh chords, and hear inversions. Opens after: Intervals.

1. 1
   Major or minor?Tell major from minor triads, block and arpeggiated.
2. 2
   Diminished and augmentedAdd the tense diminished and the dreamy augmented triad.
3. 3
   Suspended chordsHear sus2 and sus4, neither major nor minor.
4. 4
   Build the chordHear a triad and tap its three notes on the keyboard.
5. 5
   InversionsHear which note is in the bass: root, third or fifth.
6. 6
   Dominant and major seventhsTell the bluesy dominant 7th from the soft major 7th.
7. 7
   Minor and diminished seventhsAdd minor 7th, half-diminished and diminished 7th.
8. ★
   Checkpoint12 mixed questions, 80% to pass. Passing it completes the unit.

4 Chord progressions

Hear chord functions in a key and recognise the progressions behind popular songs. Opens after: Chords.

1. 1
   Finished or not?Tell a full cadence (V to I) from a half cadence (ending on V).
2. 2
   I, IV and VAfter the key is set, name a chord: I, IV or V.
3. 3
   The sad one: viAdd the minor vi chord and hear I-V-vi-IV.
4. 4
   ii and the ii-V-IHear the ii chord and the jazz ii-V-I.
5. 5
   Name that progressionRecognise six famous progressions by ear.
6. 6
   Minor keysHear i, iv, V, VI and VII in a minor key, and the Andalusian cadence.
7. 7
   Follow the bassTap the root movement of a progression on the scale ladder.
8. ★
   Checkpoint12 mixed questions, 80% to pass. Passing it completes the unit.

5 Melodies

Hear a short melody and write it down by tapping it on the keyboard. Opens after: Intervals.

1. 1
   Three-note echoesTap back 3-note melodies on do, re, mi.
2. 2
   Five-note pentatonicTap back melodies on the five pentatonic notes.
3. 3
   Leaps on do, mi, solMelodies that jump along the major chord.
4. 4
   The whole scaleFour- and five-note melodies using all seven degrees.
5. 5
   Minor melodiesMelodies in natural minor.
6. 6
   Folk tunes by earPlay the opening of public-domain folk tunes by ear.
7. 7
   Play it back by earHear a short melody once, then play it on the piano by ear: no chords, no lit keys.
8. ★
   Checkpoint10 mixed questions, 80% to pass. Passing it completes the unit.

6 Read the treble clef

Name any note on the treble staff, then hear it. Open from the start.

1. 1
   Lines: E G B D FName the five line notes of the treble staff.
2. 2
   Spaces: F A C EName the four space notes.
3. 3
   The whole staffName lines and spaces mixed, against the clock.
4. 4
   Ledger linesMiddle C and the notes above and below the staff.
5. 5
   See it, hear itPick which of two short melodies matches the written one.
6. ★
   Checkpoint12 mixed questions, 80% to pass. Passing it completes the unit.

7 Read the bass clef

Name any note on the bass staff and connect both clefs through middle C. Opens after: Read the treble clef.

1. 1
   Lines: G B D F AName the five line notes of the bass staff.
2. 2
   Spaces: A C E GName the four space notes.
3. 3
   The whole staffLines and spaces mixed.
4. 4
   The grand staffMiddle C and notes on both staves.
5. ★
   Checkpoint12 mixed questions, 80% to pass. Passing it completes the unit.

8 Rhythm

Keep a steady beat, read basic note values and tap rhythms back. Open from the start.

1. 1
   Find the beatTap along with a steady beat within 60 ms.
2. 2
   Quarter and eighth notesPick the rhythm you heard.
3. 3
   Half notes, whole notes and restsAdd longer notes and silences.
4. 4
   Three or four beats?Hear whether music is in 3/4 or 4/4.
5. 5
   Tap it backTap back a one-bar rhythm.
6. ★
   Checkpoint10 mixed questions, 80% to pass. Passing it completes the unit.

Mistakes come back in your review after 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 days (spaced repetition) until you know them. Reading and rhythm are open from the start, so you can begin wherever you like.