The short guide
Understand the idea
Ear training is practice in noticing what you hear in music. This lesson focuses on relative pitch and melodic shape. Rhythm ear training is a separate skill: recognizing when sounds start against a beat. Relative pitch includes whether one note is higher or lower than another, whether two phrases match, how far apart two notes are, and the overall shape, or contour, of a short melody. You do not need note names.
What you can explore
- Tell whether a second note is higher or lower than the first.
- Notice when one note changes between two short phrases.
- Recognize steps, leaps and four common melody shapes, then build your own four-note riddle.
A worked example
Hear the shape of four notes
Listen to four notes at heights 1, 3, 5 and 2, where 1 is the lowest. The first three climb and the last one drops back. That shape is “up, then down”, sometimes called an arch. You can name it without knowing any note names.
- Notes 1 to 2
- A leap up of two heights.
- Notes 2 to 3
- Another leap up of two heights.
- Notes 3 to 4
- A leap down of three heights.
- Shape
- Up, then down.
How to practice
Listen first, answer second, then check the explanation. Replay as often as you like; there is no timer, score or lives. If an answer is not right, try again, or ask for the answer and its reason.
If you are stuck, the visual hint shows each puzzle as dots on eight heights. Answers given after the hint are labelled as hinted, and answers you ask to see are labelled as shown. These labels describe what was on screen, not what you heard. With sound off, the lesson becomes visual pattern practice: it trains reading the shapes, not listening.
Short, regular sessions tend to be easier to keep up than long ones. Humming a phrase back quietly can help you remember it while you compare.
On the final step, build your own riddle and hide its answer for a friend. Hear my riddle plays only when you press it; Reveal the answer or Escape returns to editing without changing your notes. With sound off, the optional riddle uses the visible dots and is visual practice.
Common questions
Do I need to know note names?
No. Every puzzle uses heights 1 to 8 and words like higher, lower, step and leap. Note names are not needed to hear direction or shape.
What is the difference between a step and a leap?
In this lesson a step moves to the next height in the scale. Anything wider is a leap. Stepwise melodies tend to sound smooth; leaps stand out more.
What is melody contour?
Contour is the overall rise and fall of a melody, such as keeps rising, keeps falling, up then down, or down then up. It describes direction, not exact notes.
Does this lesson use my microphone or test me?
No. It never uses a microphone and it is not a test. Your puzzle answers stay on the page and are not saved or sent anywhere. This browser keeps your riddle draft, the step you are on and whether sound is on.
Published by TunePal. Interactive examples for beginner music producers.