EAR TRAINING AND MUSIC READING

Ear training and music reading are closely related. One of the first things both adults and young keyboard students are encouraged to hear is the difference between higher and lower sounds. The student hears and sees a piece go up the keyboard, then is shown musical notation that goes up the page. As the ears are trained, music reading progresses in a similar fashion.

Eventually, students who are good at reading music can audiate, or internally hear, a piece of music, without having to play it out loud, by simply looking through the music notation. At that point, they are much more successful when the piece is actually played, even if it's the very first time they played it. This process is known as sight-reading, or sight playing.

LISTENING, LISTENING AND MORE LISTENING!

Plenty of supplemental activities that further train the musical ear are used in teaching beginners and intermediate level students. In group lessons, students enjoy activities, often playing fun games, where they listen for notes changing or chords changing, and then notate them. Piano students can listen for many different musical elements, including dynamics, smooth or bumpy sounds, phrases that are the same or different, rhythm patterns and more.The ear becomes trained to hear not just differences in pitch, but also articulation and expression.

In many teachers' studios, students often sing, which is also wonderful for training the ear. Transcribing favorite pieces from CDs is another highly motivating activity, which greatly benefits the ear and in turn, further improves music reading abilities.