Ear Training Course

Lesson 1 • Physics of Musical Sound

Covers frequency, amplitude, and waveform shape as they relate to musical perception. Establishes the acoustic vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • How the Ear Perceives Pitch

Examines cochlear mechanics and auditory nerve processing to explain why certain pitches feel higher or lower. Links biology to musical listening habits.

Lesson 3 • Dynamics and Timbre Recognition

Trains listeners to distinguish loudness levels and instrument colors by ear. Develops the perceptual sensitivity needed for all subsequent interval and chord work.

Lesson 1 • Recognizing Perfect Intervals by Ear

Focuses on unison, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, and octave through melodic and harmonic listening. Uses reference songs to anchor each interval in memory.

Lesson 2 • Recognizing Major and Minor Intervals

Drills major and minor seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths in ascending and descending contexts. Connects interval quality to emotional character for faster recall.

Lesson 3 • Singing and Notating Intervals

Transfers interval recognition into vocal production and written notation. Solidifies the ear-to-voice-to-page connection essential for dictation tasks.

Lesson 4 • Tritone and Chromatic Intervals

Addresses the augmented fourth and diminished fifth as the most challenging interval. Extends practice to all twelve chromatic intervals in random order.

Lesson 1 • Major Scale Structure and Sound

Establishes the whole-half step pattern of the major scale and its bright, stable character. Serves as the reference point against which all other scales are compared.

Lesson 2 • Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic Minor

Contrasts the three minor scale forms by their raised or lowered sixth and seventh degrees. Builds the ability to distinguish minor variants in melodic passages.

Lesson 3 • Church Modes and Their Characters

Covers Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian by comparing each to the major scale. Trains the ear to detect the single altered degree that defines each mode.

Lesson 4 • Exotic and Synthetic Scales

Explores whole-tone, diminished, and other non-diatonic scales used in jazz and contemporary music. Expands the listener's tonal palette beyond common practice.

Lesson 1 • Pulse, Tempo, and Beat Subdivision

Establishes the concept of a steady pulse and its subdivision into halves, quarters, and eighths. Grounds all subsequent rhythmic work in a felt, internalized beat.

Lesson 2 • Simple Meter Rhythmic Patterns

Drills reading and clapping rhythms in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 using quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes. Introduces ties and dots as duration modifiers.

Lesson 3 • Syncopation and Off-Beat Patterns

Trains recognition of accents displaced from the strong beat in jazz, pop, and Latin styles. Builds rhythmic flexibility essential for real-world musical contexts.

Lesson 4 • Compound Meter and Triplets

Introduces 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 meters and the triplet feel that defines compound subdivision. Contrasts compound and simple meter through active listening.

Lesson 1 • Seventh Chord Types and Sounds

Covers major seventh, dominant seventh, minor seventh, half-diminished, and fully diminished chords. Distinguishes each type by its unique interval combination and tension level.

Lesson 2 • Extended and Added-Note Chords

Introduces ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, and suspended chords as coloristic extensions. Prepares students for the complex harmonic language of jazz and contemporary styles.

Lesson 3 • Seventh Chord Inversions

Extends inversion recognition to all four positions of seventh chords. Develops the fine-grained harmonic hearing needed for chord progression analysis.

Lesson 4 • Triad Inversions by Ear

Trains identification of first and second inversion triads by their bass note and overall balance. Connects inversion recognition to voice-leading awareness.

Lesson 1 • Secondary Dominants and Tonicization

Introduces chords that temporarily tonicize non-tonic scale degrees, creating brief key shifts. Trains the ear to hear the characteristic raised leading tone of secondary dominants.

Lesson 2 • Common Cadence Patterns

Focuses on authentic, half, plagal, and deceptive cadences as structural landmarks in music. Trains the ear to detect phrase endings and harmonic closure.

Lesson 3 • Modal Mixture and Borrowed Chords

Covers chords borrowed from the parallel minor or major to add color and surprise. Develops sensitivity to the subtle shift in harmonic color that mixture creates.

Lesson 4 • I-IV-V and Blues Progressions

Drills the most common three-chord progressions in pop, rock, folk, and blues. Builds rapid recognition of foundational harmonic patterns across genres.

Lesson 5 • Diatonic Harmony and Roman Numerals

Maps all seven diatonic chords to their scale degrees and functional roles in major and minor. Provides the analytical framework for all progression listening work.

Lesson 1 • Transcription from Recordings

Moves from controlled exercises to transcribing real musical recordings in various styles. Develops the practical skill most valued by professional musicians and producers.

Lesson 2 • Dictation Strategy and Workflow

Establishes a systematic listening process: meter, key, contour, then detail. Reduces errors by teaching students to work from large structure to small.

Lesson 3 • Chromatic and Modulating Melodies

Extends dictation to melodies with accidentals, secondary dominants, and brief modulations. Challenges students to apply chromatic interval skills in a flowing melodic context.

Lesson 4 • Short Diatonic Melody Dictation

Practices two- and four-bar melodies using only diatonic pitches in major and minor keys. Builds speed and confidence before introducing chromatic complexity.

Lesson 1 • Texture and Voice Leading by Ear

Develops the ability to distinguish monophony, homophony, polyphony, and heterophony. Trains tracking of individual voices within complex textures.

Lesson 2 • Style and Genre Recognition

Builds the ability to identify historical periods and genres from sonic characteristics alone. Connects harmonic, rhythmic, and timbral cues to specific stylistic conventions.

Lesson 3 • Integrative Listening Projects

Assigns complete-piece analyses combining form, harmony, melody, rhythm, and texture. Synthesizes all course skills into a single, professional-level listening report.

Lesson 4 • Real-Time Harmonic Analysis

Practices labeling chord progressions by Roman numeral while music plays at full tempo. Builds the processing speed needed for professional session and performance work.