#MUSICIANSHIP AND AURAL TRAINING HOW TO#
#MUSICIANSHIP AND AURAL TRAINING PROFESSIONAL#

Looking back at the music, she notices she missed the fact that accidentals carry through the measure, and she fixes the problem right there. As she plays, she misses the same notes as Jimmy, but every time she plays it, her ears tell her something is wrong. When her teacher leaves on vacation for a couple of weeks, she starts to learn the same long piece. This is because she takes lessons on the violin and with ear training. Susie plays the violin well and has a good grasp of music theory, performance, and aural music skills. Because it’s become a habit, Jimmy has to work twice as hard now to fix the mistake. He missed that there is an accidental (changed note) on one of the lines that repeat and has now learned the piece with wrong notes all over the place. When he comes back, his teacher is frustrated. He practices it daily as he’s supposed to and gets pretty good at it. The violin teacher is going on vacation, so she gives Jimmy a longer piece to learn in the two weeks until the next lesson. His private instructor doesn’t reinforce aural skills, and Jimmy’s parents do not have additional aural music lessons for him. He’s learning at a quick pace and has a good grasp of music theory and violin performance techniques. Your eyes may think they see everything on the page, but there are always times when you make mistakes in what you think you see.

#MUSICIANSHIP AND AURAL TRAINING HOW TO#

Having a “good ear” can actually help your child learn how to play faster and more efficiently. If your child has received consistent aural training, they can look at the music as they play and anticipate where the piece goes, and connect the phrase into a more musical performance. Many television singing competitions have judges complaining that their singers are “pitchy.” What they’re really frustrated by is the singer’s lack of aural skill that keeps them in tune.įor pianists and wind players, the same ideas apply but a bit differently. With ear training in music, the vocalist is freed from the over-reliance on the piano corrected their tuning (intonation) which helps them sing better. This gives you a natural, complete picture of how a phrase fits together with the rest of the piece and enhances your playing.įor vocal students, this is an essential idea. When your ears are more developed, you can hear the music in your head before you even play the notes. You see a middle C quarter note you play a middle C quarter note. It’s a common problem, with young musicians, especially that playing becomes robotic. You may hear a part of the melody, but without ear training in music, you won’t understand that the melody actually doesn’t resolve the piece harmonically, which means you need to play it differently. You also won’t be able to understand what it is you hear with theoretical understanding. Without truly hearing what you or those around you are playing, it’s much more likely that you miss wrong notes, bad tuning, inconsistent style, and many other things. Without a complete musical understanding that includes aural training, your child’s ability to engage musically is forever handicapped.

Hear the quality of sound (timbre) of different instruments.Identify important performance information and stylings from listening.Match pitch and intonation more effectively.

Write down musical elements of a piece from hearing only.Identify pitch intervals, chords, rhythms, and time from hearing only.Hear and sing/playback a melody without written music.Here are some things that those with aural music training can do: Combining aural music skills with performance skills and music theory understanding is what makes the best musicians. Read on for more details about why it is essential and what you can do to help your child.Īural music skills are the brain’s ability to interpret and understand musical elements based entirely on what is only heard (that’s where aural comes in).

#MUSICIANSHIP AND AURAL TRAINING PROFESSIONAL#

This is something most professional musicians understand well and is important for doing well when taking the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) exams. True musicianship can only come from a deep understanding of the three pillars of music skills: performance, theory, and ear training. But your child is never going to master this skill without specific training, which is something that some private instructors can help you with.īut if they do not know why aural music training is essential? Read on… Many parents and music students taking private lessons just assume that aural music skill (ear training in music) just comes the more you practice, and that may be true to a certain degree.

Musicianship and aural training