Questions tagged [ear-training]

Learning to make distinctions in pitch and/or rhythm when hearing music.

Ear training covers several skills, including pitch and rhythm recognition and reproduction, interval recognition, chord recognition, and melodic memory.

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What are the most effective ear training methods?

Ear training is a very important ability for any musician to develop. From intonation when singing or playing an instrument to playing and transcribing by ear. What is the best way to improve this? Is software like EarMaster or GNU Solfege any…
Lilitu88
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Are there any games useful for ear training?

There have been several popular music games in recent years, but they seem to be most useful for developing a sense of rhythm. Are there any games that are helpful as ear training exercises? What would you recommend?
Brian Slesinsky
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How to transcribe music by ear?

Often times we find ourselves enjoying a piece of music that, for whatever reason, we are unable to find appropriate documentation/tablature for. What are good practices for transcribing music by ear if one does not have perfect pitch? Is there a…
Nathanus
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How to start playing by ear/improvising?

Up till now I've been playing music from the sheet, and eventually I've grown frustrated how after 3 years of playing I can't even play Jingle Bells if I'm asked to without figuring it out from a sheet first. I know some theory but I guess not…
neuviemeporte
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What are some useful and effective exercises for training absolute pitch?

I think by now most people agree that perfect pitch is not genetic. We understand that most people who do possess perfect pitch acquire it very early in life, (around the same time most people acquire language) which makes techniques for training…
NReilingh
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How can I train my ear for music?

I have noticed that some people are better at hearing music, e.g. they are better in distinguishing the notes or noticing mistakes when someone is play. Is it possible to train oneself to hear music better? If yes, how?
user107
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Is there a way to develop "Perfect Pitch"?

I was wondering if there is/are any aural exercise('s), analogous to how playing scales can develop your muscle memory, that can help to develop "Perfect Pitch"?
JustnBeaver
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How to train recognizing chords by ear ?

How should I train my ears to recognize different 'flavours' of chords ? I mean especially recognizing what fourth/fifth notes were added to the chord (beyond the minor/major triads) such as 7#9 etc. (I'm not trying to recognize the absolute pitch…
Andre Holzner
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How do I become better at "playing outside"?

One can spend an enormous amount of time playing melodies "in" the tonic. For example if you are in A major, you might favor A major or A lydian. However, there is a term called "playing outside" in jazz which means you play notes "outside" of the…
piofusco
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Are we all born with the ability to detect a note out of tune?

I would like to know why humans can detect a note out of tune relative to the scale or harmony. We seem to be born with the ability to notice, so why can't every able-hearing person sing or play an instrument in tune?
r lo
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If someone can sing a melody, why can they not also recognize the intervals within that melody?

Surely everyone who struggles with relative pitch already has in-built relative pitch, so why is it so hard to actually recognise intervals? What I mean is from a child I (and most other people I imagine) could sing a tune they had just heard. They…
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Having trouble memorizing intervals in ear training

I've been using some of those interval training games like this one and I have tried some on my phone as well. The problem is that I don't think I'm making any progress. Right now (on the website I linked to above) I have it set to only play Major…
user1028270
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Truth behind Mozart memorizing Miserere and then writing it down later in full

A previous question/answer here mentioned Mozart's ability (when he was a teenager) to sit and listen to a performance of Allegri's Miserere, remember most of the details, and then write it down later that day. Is this really possible? Even for a…
lobi
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How do you practice Audiation (playing music in your head)?

Time for a tricky question. Audiation appears to be the practice of playing music in your head. I found an answer referring to what audiation is in https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/9621/to-sing-is-good-for-ear-training-but-is-it-crucial,…
Alexander Troup
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Able to recall music in its correct key, but don't have perfect pitch -- what is it called?

I don't have perfect pitch, but there are certain things I can do that I've been wondering if there's a name for. Given the name of a piece I've heard reasonably recently, I can sing it in my head in the correct key, and with a little bit of…
Rei Miyasaka
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