Ear training is the skill most players admit they should do and rarely keep up. It means hearing a note, an interval or a chord and knowing what it is without checking an instrument. Most routines fail because they are too long or too random. This one is short and ordered.
Why routines fall apart
People start with ten minutes of everything: intervals, chords, melodies, rhythm. A week later they have quit. The fix is to work on one skill at a time, for five to ten minutes, in a fixed order, and to repeat the same level until it feels easy before moving on.
A drill ladder from easy to harder
- Hear the difference between high and low notes, then between two notes close together.
- Match a pitch: play a note, then sing or hum it back.
- Recognise two or three intervals that sound very different (for example a perfect fifth, a major third and an octave).
- Add more intervals one at a time, and link each to a song you know.
- Tell major and minor chords apart.
- Pick out simple melodies and write down the first few notes.
Keep it small
Five to ten minutes a day beats an hour once a week. Do it before you start playing, when your ears are fresh, and stop while it is still going well.
Check yourself properly
Use an instrument or a tool to confirm your answers, and keep a note of which items you get wrong. Those are the ones to repeat tomorrow, not the ones you already know.
Theory and ear work together
Knowing what a major third is on paper helps you listen for it, and hearing it makes the name stick. Doing both beats doing either alone.
My full guide has the chart and a longer version of the ladder: How to Train Your Ear for Music Theory (Without a Teacher).
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