Module 1

Syllabus

Ear Training for Beginners is a 10-day introduction to three key areas in modern ear training using the unique Integrated Ear Training™ framework.

Designed for beginners and experienced musicians alike, this 10-day course will let you Learn, Practice and Apply ear training like never before – and see the real benefits throughout your musical life right away.

MODULE 1

Module 1

There are many misconceptions about ear training that lead to discouraging experiences. But ear training is fun and rewarding when it is done in a whole, integrated way.

In this module, we will get set up for success by learning about ear training:

  • what it is (and what it isn’t) and what the benefits are,
  • how it’s done if you want the best results, and
  • how this course makes use of our Integrated Ear Training™ methodology to bring you more and quicker success.

MODULE 2

Module 1

If you’ve had any exposure to ear training, you’ve most likely heard about intervals – the space between two pitches. While the concept appears to be simple, many have become confused and frustrated by the endless drills usually associated with interval ear training. With Integrated Ear Training™, interval training becomes much more fun and effective.

In this module, we will:

  • learn about intervals: what they are, and how to make the most effective use of them in your ear training,
  • practice hearing three very important intervals, and
  • apply these intervals to our instrument practice through play-by-ear and creative exercises.

MODULE 3

Module 1

All intervals are not the same. Each one has its own special quality – that’s what makes interval training work. In addition, they fall into several categories – in Module 2, we addressed “major” intervals, and today we meet a new interval “family”.

In this module, we will:

  • learn about the “perfect” intervals. We will begin to explore their special quality and the particular ear training challenges that they present.
  • We will overcome these challenges with practice exercises, and
  • apply these intervals to our instrument practice through play-by-ear and creative exercises.

MODULE 4

Module 1

One of the most misleading practices typical of traditional ear training is to take intervals out of context. Our brains naturally hear music in the context of scales, and harmony, yet traditional methods don’t address this, resulting in many baffled learners wondering why interval training seems so difficult.

But when you recognize our natural tendencies to look for context, and how intervals fit in with the way we hear music, it all makes more sense, and we are able to “ground” our ears as we train and create.

In this module, we will:

  • learn more about the nature of intervals, their relationship to the scale degrees, and how they go beyond scale degrees.
  • Then we will practice exercising our ears with all the intervals we’ve learned so far together, and in the end
  • apply our Perfect Unisons, Major 2nds, Major 3rds, Perfect 4ths, and Perfect 5ths to playing by ear and creating music.

MODULE 5

Module 1

Though for many intervals are the beginning (and the end) of ear training, intervals are by no means the end of the story. Learning to hear relative pitch in the context of scale degrees is a very powerful skill that unlocks much of the music we know and love, and works with our brains’ natural way of organizing music.

In this module, we will:

  • Learn about solfa – a different, scale degree-based approach to developing relative pitch – and how it’s different than intervals.
  • Practice identifying notes using solfa.
  • Apply solfa to playing short melodies by ear and creating music.

MODULE 6

Module 1

As with intervals, scale-degree-based ear training benefits from adding a little at a time, and by applying new skills directly to your music-making. 

In this module, we will:

  • learn more about some of the many useful aspects of solfa.
  • Then we will practice with two more solfa syllables, and
  • apply these new syllables to our musical vocabulary through play-by-ear and creative exercises.

MODULE 7

Module 1

While at first they may seem like very different approaches, intervals and solfa work together beautifully to consolidate and expand your abilities to hear, identify, and create satisfying musical experiences.

In this module, we will:

  • learn how solfa and intervals work together. And we will discover how you can build the rest of the major scale with what you have learned so far.
  • Then we will practice with two of the new intervals you will discover in this process, and
  • apply these new discoveries through play-by-ear and creative exercises.

MODULE 8

Module 1

So far we’ve been training with single notes. But in most of the music that we play and listen to, we are also dealing with chords and harmony. How do we move from simple intervals and scales to a full-fledged harmonic universe of layered sounds?

In this module, we will:

  • learn what happens when notes are stacked atop one another, moving through time as chord progressions. Then we’ll figure out how we can build on what we know to break down this complexity.
  • We will practice ear training with chord progressions, and
  • apply this to playing chord progressions by ear and creating with them.

MODULE 9

Module 1

Another common mistake made in traditional harmonic ear training is to start with chords, when it is much easier and much more useful to hear the movement of one chord to the next, rather than pick apart the individual notes in a chord.

In this module, we will:

  • learn more about how music theory can narrow our choices and help us hear chord progressions,
  • practice hearing chord progressions with more musical tracks on a single instrument, and
  • apply our practice to playing in different musical styles by ear, and creating with our new understandings of chord progressions.

MODULE 10

Module 1

Oftentimes, learners tend to focus on one ear training approach at a time, hoping to “conquer” intervals before moving on to chords, for example. But in our musical practice, these different approaches, strengthened through Integrated Ear Training™, cross-pollinate to produce greater ease and enjoyment in all your music listening and music-making.

Now it’s time to see how all of the training you’ve done so far works together for a real musical task!

In this module, we will:

  • learn the different strategies that we can use to learn a song by ear,
  • then we will practice those strategies in figuring out the Ear Training for Beginners theme song, and
  • apply them to playing it by ear and adding to it creatively.