As pianists, we spend a lot of time training our hands, but while that’s what might get us playing from start to end of a piece, it’s not the only thing important in our piano journey. After all, what good would it be if we could play every note in the right order if it doesn’t sound like we expect it to? That’s where ear training comes into play, teaching our ears to spot mistakes in our playing and to gain a better understanding of any piece. Here are some tips on ear training for the piano:
Listen to your instrument
This might sound like an obvious one, but there’s no better way to train your ear than to pay attention to the sound your piano emits. Every pianist, at some point in their practice, has been guilty of focusing too much on following the score rather than paying attention to the sound they’re making.
While the notes might have been masterfully played in the right order, it would still be no good if they didn’t sound as intended. So next time you practice or play a piece, really focus on how expressive your sound is, and whether you’re playing a piece out as expected. This will help you spot any mistakes!
Learn intervals and chords
As always, there’s no better way to improve than by really mastering the basics of piano playing. Work on recognising intervals and, as you improve, recognising chords too. Ask your teacher for help or look for resources online - the important thing is to start with easy intervals like major 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Don’t fall into the trap of skipping past the basics to immediately try and learn something more complicated like chord progressions! Once you’ve mastered intervals, you’re free to move into learning how to recognise chords, solfege, and genre too.
Try to sing
You don’t need to be a gifted singer to use the power of your voice to further your piano playing. There’s no better way to master pitch than to sing along to your piece. You can try that while playing or even while simply reading your score - in fact, the latter can help you better focus on your singing.
It’s also a great idea to practice solfege and its intervals, which will help you further master the sound of intervals.
Play by ear
The beauty of training your ear is that it allows room for more creativity. Challenge yourself to use the knowledge you’ve gained by learning intervals and chords by trying to play a piece using just your ears. No peeking at the score!
It’s okay if the piece doesn’t sound perfect from the start; this is an opportunity to train your listening skills and deepen your understanding of the piece. You can also do the same by improvising on the piano, following what sounds good to you rather than what’s written in the score!
Use ear training apps
We’re lucky to have access to plenty of platforms and applications that can help us improve as pianists. Software like EarMaster, for example, is designed to provide exercises targeting your interval & chord learning, and can even help with rhythm and training your voice. Perfect Ear is another app that offers even more exercises to get you to master interval recognition!
Use these tools outside of your practice and piano lessons to keep challenging yourself. You can also always ask your teacher to give you specific exercises in ear training.
We hope that this blog has encouraged you to deepen your listening skills and take more time focusing not just on playing, but on ear training too. Knowing how to spot mistakes while playing goes hand in hand with having a well-trained ear, so it’s really something you wouldn’t want to miss out on!
