Hearing training: intervals exercise

How exercise works

Each question touches two notes at random, starting at some point between Sol3 and Sol4, and you choose what range they form. You can repeat the sound as many times as you wish before answering, and score and streak show you how you're going.

• Basic level: The second largest, third minor and largest, fourth just, fifth fair and eighth. They are the most common intervals in simple melodies.
• Full level: 12 intervals of the octave, including the second minor, the tritone, the sexas and the sevas.
• Ascendant, descending or harmonic: The notes sound serious to acute, acute to serious or at the same time.

The intervals and their reference songs

A range is the distance between two notes, and it's measured in semitones. The reference songs help at first: if the leap sounds as the beginning of a melody that you know, it's probably that interval. With practice, the goal is to recognize it by its sound, without passing through the song.

Ascendant, descending and harmonic

The same interval sounds different as it appears. In the ascending mode, the second note is more acute and at the bottom, more serious, and many reference songs stop serving because the leap goes upside down. At the harmonic the two notes sound together and we have to listen to the color of the whole rather than the leap, so it usually costs more at first.

Consonances and dysonances

One way to orient you in harmonic mode is to listen to how much tension the sound has. The octave, the fifth and the fourth just sound open and stable (perfect consonances). The third and the sixth sound full and sweet (imperfect consonances). The second, sevilight and tritone sound tense as if they asked to move to another place (dysonances).

How to practice

1. It starts at basic level and ascending mode.
2. He's been mentally singing both his notes before his answer.
3. When you get right most of the time, it goes down and then harmonic.
4. It activates the complete level to add sextas, sevids and trittle.
5. He sings out his interval after every answer with his note names if you study solphis: so they put them in his ear and his voice.
6. He practises five to ten minutes a day and his constancy weighs more than his long sessions.

Common errors

• To depend always on the song: It helps at first but it's slow. When you get to know her quickly, she tries to answer before thinking about her.
• To practice only ascending: in real music intervals come down and sound together. Alterates the three ways since the basic goes well with you.
• Answer without singing: singing the interval, even with a low voice, connects the ear with the voice and fixes the sound in memory.
• Long sessions: The ear gets tired. Ten minutes with care give up more than an hour distracted.

From ear to dictation

Recognize intervals is the basis of the melodic dictation: every new note of a melody is an interval from the previous one. When the complete level is comfortable, try to write short ear melodies and share them with the score. We tell you how to do them in the guide to Social and Social and what's the solpus and how to practice it.

Frequently asked questions