Ear training

Ear training

Ear training is what musicians do to improve their ability to identify, relatively, chordss, intervalss, rhythms, and other elements of music. Singing plays an important part in ear training, since one must be able hear music in one's head and match pitch before it is possible to sing it reliably. One does not need absolute pitch to succeed at ear training and the development of relative pitch is the goal of ear training.

Transcribing recorded music is one way to practice all of these things. Some music teachers teach their students relative pitch by having them associate each possible interval with the first two notes of a popular song. Here are some examples:

Major second: Frere Jacques
Major third: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Perfect fourth: Auld Lang Syne ("Should All...") [1]
Perfect fifth: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001), or Hey There, Georgie Girl
Major sixth: My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean [2]
Octave: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Other methods include solfege and sargam.

[1] The first interval in Auld Lang Syne is actually from the V to the I, however, the fourth and fifth intervals are perfect ratios, so the example given *is* identical to a I to IV interval.
[2] The first interval in My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean is from the V up to the iii. Note that only in Equal temperament (not in Just intonation) is this interval equal to a Major sixth. The most popular example of a true I to VI interval is first two notes in the chorus of "Buddy Holly" by the rock band Weezer.

Further reading