Introduction to ear training

Ear training is one of the best ways to develop your musicianship. Simply listening to music is an excellent way to train your ears. Another way to begin training your ears is to practice interval recognition. Like with any skill, start slowly and patiently progress to more advanced ear training skills such as harmonic intervals, chords, chord progressions, and note recognition.

A common way to recognize intervals is to compare them to the first few notes of a familiar song. Aim to eventually recognize intervals without these songs. This is a starting point. Choose a song that you know for each interval in the list.

When learning to hear both ascending and descending intervals, start slow. Choose a few common intervals (M2, M3, P4, P5, Octave) to start, then add new intervals one at a time. Progress may come slowly at first, but stick with it and practice ear training daily. You will be surprised how quickly your ears grow. Listen for intervals in daily life: songs you hear, door bells, ring tones, etc.

Ascending intervals

Minor Second: (C-Db) Ascending Chromatic Scale, Jaws, White Christmas
Major Second: (C-D) Ascending Major Scale, Happy Birthday, Silent Night, Frere Jacques
Minor Third: (C-Eb) Smoke on the Water, O Canada, Seven Nation Army, Minor Pentatonic Scale
Major Third: (C-E) When The Saints Go Marching In, Kumbaya
Perfect Fourth: (C-F) Here Comes the Bride, Auld Lang Syne, O Christmas Tree, Amazing Grace
Tritone: (C-F#/Gb) The Simpsons theme, Maria
Perfect Fifth: (C-G) Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Star Wars (Main Theme), Baa Baa Blacksheep
Minor Sixth: (C-Ab) The Entertainer, In My Life, She’s A Woman, We Are Young
Major Sixth: (C-A) My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, NBC, For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow
Minor Seventh: (C-Bb) Theme from Star Trek
Major Seventh: (C-B) Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Notes 1-3), Take on Me, Don’t Know Why
Octave: (C-C) Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Singin’ in the Rain, Let it Snow, Blue Bossa

Descending intervals

Minor Second: (Db-C) Descending Major Scale, Für Elise, Joy to the World, Fly Me to the Moon
Major Second: (D-C) Mary Had a Little Lamb, Yesterday, Three Blind Mice, Deck the Halls
Minor Third: (Eb-C) Hey Jude, Frosty the Snowman, The Star-Spangled Banner, This Old Man
Major Third: (E-C) Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Beethoven’s Fifth, Summertime, Giant Steps, Misty
Perfect Fourth: (F-C) I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, O Come All Ye Faithful, All of Me
Tritone: (C-F#/Gb) Enter Sandman
Perfect Fifth: (G-C) (Meet) The Flintstones, Minuet in G, Have You Met Miss Jones
Minor Sixth: (Eb-C) The Entertainer (notes 2-3)
Major Sixth: (A-C) Crazy, Sweet Caroline, Body and Soul, Take the A Train
Minor Seventh: (Bb-C) Watermelon Man, Hee Haw from the Grand Canyon Suite
Major Seventh: (B-C) I Love You, Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen, Take on Me
Octave: (C-C) There’s No Business like Show Business (notes 2-3), Bulls on Parade

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