I just LOVE seeing piano students who can sight-read well. It makes my heart sing. But another thing I love is seeing a piano student who has, (what we would probably refer to as) “good ears”. And if you have a student who can sight read AND who has “good ears”… well that’s pretty much heaven on a piano bench!
Some kids are naturals when it comes to ear training; whether this is genetics or the effects of their home environment… for some kids it just comes easy. But this doesn’t mean that good ear training skills can’t be taught. And the way you teach these skills can go so much farther than just clap backs and interval recognition.
13 Ways to Improve Ear Training Skills
Today we’re sharing my 13 ways to improve ear training skills; delve beyond the typical “ear training” tests that take place during piano exams and help to create some really musical kids!
Here they are (in no particular order and with no prep needed)….
1. Instead of clap backs where your piano student mimics what they hear, instead clap two measures of rhythm and have your student then create two more measures (different than yours) at the same tempo in the same time signature. This forces him to hear an underlying beat and to naturally anticipate and create rhythm.
2. Instead of simply naming intervals, have your student sing the notes in-between the two given notes (for example, if you are playing the interval of a 5th with C as the root, your student would sing DEF. This can be harder than it sounds, but it’s training them to hear distances between notes correctly and creates a really solid “aural map” of intervals.
3. Play the first few bars of a well-known melody and abruptly stop mid-way. Have your student hum and then play the next note in the melody.
4. Play a simple melody line that ends in a perfect cadence, but only play the V chord. Have your student hum the resolution (the I chord).
5. Play the 4 notes of a pentascale and have your student hum the final note. Make it increasingly difficult by playing just 3 notes, then just 2 (your student hums the remaining notes in the scale). Up the challenge by moving to a full octave and then to minor scales using the same method.
6. Teach your students to create “answers” to melodies that ask a “question”. Play a phrase that creates a “musical question”. Then, have your student play a phrase that would answer that question (see example below for clarification).
7. Play a catchy rhythm on middle C. Have your student hum the same rhythm on a new note you provide. Make this increasingly difficult by changing the rhythm to a melody and asking him to hum the transposition. This is easy for some kids… nearly impossible for others.
8. “Back-and-forth-it”. Using the melody line from your student’s current piece, alternate singing one note at a time switching between the two of you. If you need it, play the keys needed to get either of you back on track! 🙂 Make it more difficult by using a piece your student hasn’t heard before.
9. You play the left hand, your student hums the right hand of her current piece. Or… if she’s really good she plays the left hand AND hums!
10. Draw a simple melody and give your student the 1st note. Have her hum the rest. (Or, if you use TEDDtales, you can also use these technical exercises for ear training too!)
11. Give your student a pencil and paper. Play a simple and short melody line. Have your student draw what he hears using a continuous line (matching the rise and fall of the melody to the rise and fall of the line).
12. Play a recording of some rousing music (March, Rock, Reggae, African, etc.) See if you and your student can create 4 different ways of clapping along with the music. If you have drums or other instruments this is a great time to bring them out!
13. Play “Choose Your Own Melody Adventure” where you begin playing a simple melody, and randomly stop. Your piano student gets to choose the next note by humming the note she feels would sound right. Continue on from this note and then randomly stop again. Have your student provide the following note again. Continue in this way until you stop for your student to provide the final note.
It’s More Than Just Marks on a Test
Once students reach the point where they don’t need so many changes of focus in a lesson, ear training games often go by the wayside as well, meaning that this important skill isn’t often addressed in lessons and ear training often becomes something that we pay attention to when it produces marks on a piano exam. But having great listening skills really makes a big difference in your piano students’ overall musicality and has an effect on almost every aspect of their piano playing. So – give these 13 activities a try and have some ear-training fun!
Fiona@A Woman of Notes says
Fantastic ideas. I will print these out to refer to again and again. I am often flummoxed teaching certain students of mine with difficulty recognizing pitch.
Robbin says
Thank you so much for this wealth of information. I’m cranking up the printer now!
Sandra says
I use some of these techniques, and will certainly try some of the others. Thanks!
But what do you do with a student who flat out REFUSES to sing?? …Or the kid who isn’t genetically wired to carry a tune?
Andrea says
Hi Sandra – I teach singing lessons too – and from that experience I’ve found that most kids will sing if they feel 100% comfortable. Often if they see you singing in lessons regularly (and if its made out to be no big deal) then they will eventually let their guard down. I suggested humming as its less “threatening” than asking kids to sing. I do believe that most kids can sing – being actually tone deaf is pretty rare. More often it’s just that they haven’t had the practice or they don’t naturally know how singing should feel. It’s these kids who need these kinds of ear activities the most! If they are slightly off then you can still do these activities but you can focus in on having them match their voice to sounds on the piano in the process (without making a big deal about being “off”). Kids who have a hard time hearing they are off pitch benefit from learning to feel how pitches should sound in terms of resonance (so humming is also suggested in these cases).
Sandra says
Sometimes it is pride/shyness holding them back. But, boy, when they dig in their heels it is hard to budge them. I usually back off and try again in a few weeks.
Sarah Miller. says
Article in Music Educators Journal a couple years ago – college theory teacher said her instrumentalist wouldn’t sing. She handed them kazoos and they did just fine!
Joyce Keith says
Thank you for sharing your amazing talent, energy, and ideas. You are enriching my life and the lives of my students. All your posts are incredibly helpful!
Eleanor Baldwin says
Each child who takes lessons from me gets rhythm sticks and a kazoo. Kids who hate to sing wail like saxophones on a kazoo. They come in bargain packages at Dollar World in loud colors. A simple zip-lock bag keeps them clean in their tote bags.
Shirley says
I like the idea of giving each student a set of rhythm sticks. Easy to make from dowels and inexpensive, too!
Sandra says
Great idea!! :))
Shirley says
Thanks always for great ideas. I will keep this list handy with my lesson planning resources.
Scott says
These are great tips for getting students started with ear training and aural awareness! I love how they all focus on connecting ear training with music, which helps so much to keep students engaged. I might have to steal one or two of them myself 🙂
Nancy Wang says
GREAT ideas, thank you! Just what I have been looking for lately.
LP says
Thank you for the fantastic ideas, Andrea! I will use them with my piano students and the young students in my music classes as well.
Kristina Lee says
These are great! Thank you!
Laurie says
Thank you so much for sharing these great articles! My students will be benefitting from them tremendously!
EricaD says
These are pretty cool ideas! I can see myself modifying a couple of these just a little to use with my class piano students.
Caroline P says
Wow, amazing as usual! Looking forward to trying some with “Play By Ear Paul”.
Andrea says
Fantastic! Hope it’s helpful 🙂