Ear Training Similar to Riding a Bicycle

Q: Thank you so much for the detailed reply and the words of encouragement.

Please pardon me for asking one last question – assuming someone gets to your level of “hearing” harmony, does the ability go away without regular practice or is it like bicycling or swimming – something that stays with you?

Thanks once again for writing.

A: Once you start to hear notes in relationship to a key center you will steadily improve with this ability. You of course need to get to a point where you are applying this ability to real music. After that it will just continue to improve over time. That is why I recommend that you start using the Direct application courses. Once you are getting around 50% correct with the one note ear training courses like:

These will really help you to gain this ability. Also remember that it’s important to work with a singing method like Contextual Ear Training. That will help you improve faster. Also this will help you a lot with composing, improvising and singing.

So the answer is yes. It’s like riding a bike, but you need to ride for awhile so that when you hear music you can turn on your ear training skills. Once you turn those skills on you can know what’s being played or just listen without bothering to figure it out.

Hope that helps

Bruce

It is also recommended that you read Bruce Arnold’s Blog at his artist site. It contains more discussion of the musical topics found in these FAQs as well as other subjects of interest. You will also find the “Music Education Genealogy Chart” located here which shows you the historic significance of the music education products found on the Muse Eek Publishing Company Website.

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