Easy Ear Training...is that possible??

By now you all know how much we love technology and anyone who uses it well (especially in our profession). Easy Ear Training is a place for people who are 'interested or involved in ear training' to get hints and tips, and learn ways to improve more rapidly. One of the coolest features of the site is an iPhone app called RelativePitch. It is devoted to interval training – from the basics right up to advanced skills.

We downloaded the free trial version for the iPhone (called RelativePitchLite) and loved it's ease of use, the tone choices, and the ability to both 'train' and 'test' intervals from a unison to an octave. You can select as many intervals as you like for the training and the tests. The full version has lots of extra features including a Custom Mode that allows you to train and test in specific areas.

I 'trained' using 4 different intervals. The pitches sound randomly and your are promptly coached the answers. I chose 7 intervals to test; unison, major third, minor third, perfect fifth, tritone, minor sixth and major sixth. Once I got past some of the nomenclature issues (tone=whole step for example) and a case of iThumb fumble, I scored 14 of 16 (one was a misread... I swear!).

The site also includes a drum kit quiz. Being a saxophonist, I basically choked on this one getting just 5 of 10, but it sure was fun! It really allows ear training to be practiced anywhere and in a short amount of time. So the answer is ...yes, easy ear training IS possible.

Thanks to Kelley Rodill for finding us and kudos to founder Chris Sutton and his team for this super use of technology. We commend their group for thinking outside the box and using technology to find their niche in music education. We are happy to let our users know about this site and look forward to future collaborations with Easy Ear Training in the coming months!