Ear Training News

October 12, 2011 at 10:00 am by Christopher Sutton

Here are a few things you might have missed in the world of aural skills development and ear training lately. Let us know if you have any to add!

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Halloween Sound Design Contest

It’s October, and you know what that means… Halloween!

The Designing Sound website put us onto this exciting and fun contest from

Prizes include a copy of SONOPEDIA 2.0 from Blastwave FX, an autographed set of limited edition Hollywood-is-Dead poster prints from Matt Busch, an autographed copy of the Halloween 4 Soundtrack by Alan Howarth and an autographed copy of “The Sound Effects Bible” by Ric Viers.

Read the full contest information at BlastwaveFX.com. And then what are you waiting for?

If you need a little help getting spooky, keep an eye on EasyEarTraining.com over the next few weeks……

Theta Music Marks 1 Year With a Major Update

About a year ago we covered the launch of Theta Music Trainer, a new suite of online games designed to make ear training fun. We couldn’t agree more with the spirit and goals of Theta Music’s games, so we’re delighted to congratulate them on a successful first year – and the major update they’ve just released. Check out the video below for a tour of the training on offer and the new additions to the Theta Music programme:

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Tags: advice, contest, games, Halloween, improvisation, learning, pentatonic, piano, sound effects

Music & Life: The Power of Rhythm

May 25, 2011 at 12:00 pm by Sabrina Peña Young

Children, Rhythm, Series

Rhythm guides your lives. From the steady rhythm of the heart pulsing life-giving blood, to the breathing in and out of oxygen necessary for survival to the simple left-right-left-right marching pace as you walk along your path, rhythm governs each second that tick, tick, ticks away.

It is no wonder that rhythm has been proven to affect the human body in a variety of physiological, psychological, and emotional ways from infancy to adulthood:

Infants find rhythms and song comforting, often internalizing the rhythms of familiar nursery rhymes. Mimicking rhythm through movement and vocalization increase language development, even at this young age. [5]
The ideal window for learning rhythm and music in a child occurs up to six years of age, when the child learns the bulk of the rhythm and movement skills she will have for the rest of her life.[4]
Use of rhythmic drumming therapy with low income students reduces stress, improves mood, and improves social-emotional skills across diverse cultures.[1]
Dealing with rhythms, identifying patterns, and practicing musical instruments use both sides of the brain, resulting in a “total brain workout” which improves performance in both the arts and the sciences. [6]

Get started with rhythm here, and then increase the use of rhythm in your home or classroom with the following fun music activities:

Rhyme Time

iRhyme for the iPhone Add rhyming to your life, whether it’s reading some Dr. Seuss to your children, listening to urban rhyme on the radio, or attending a poetry jam at the local coffee shop. Sing along with the radio and enjoy coming up with silly rhyming games with your kids on long car trips.

You can work on language and reading skills and have fun, too! Stumped on what rhymes with purple or yesterday? Check out iRhyme for the iPhone, a songwriter’s dictionary that can find a rhyming word for almost any word! The websites Rhyme Zone and Rhymer.com are great online alternatives.

Virtual Drumming Fun

Don’t have room for a drum set or want to practice some rhythms on the road? Then check out some of these virtual drumming websites which offer a fun way to practice your rhythm even if you don’t own a drumstick!
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Tags: benefits, Children, early music education, fun, games, ideas, Instruments, music education, nursery, rhyme, Rhythm, world music

Ear Training News

April 22, 2011 at 5:00 pm by Christopher Sutton

News

Here are a few recent developments in the world of music and sound which might help inspire or guide you in your ear training!

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Big Update for Theta Music Trainer

Back in October we covered the launch of Theta Music Trainer, an exciting new website which provides a wide range of ear training games. You play online via your browser, and the games teach everything from intervals and chords, to rhythm, music reading, and more. Varying difficulty levels make it easy to get started, and there are ‘courses’ you can take to build up your skills in a structured way.

Here at Easy Ear Training we love seeing fun new ways to develop aural skills, and so we were excited to hear about the new version of Theta Music Trainer, which introduces three new games, a smart Personal Trainer feature, and strong support for music teachers to use the games with students in the classroom. It also adds Spanish to the English and Japanese language options already available.

Number Blaster is a fun arcade-style game to learn musical numbering

Two of the new games focus on your ability to judge pitches, with Speed Pitch testing your ability to make broad judgements quickly, and Dango Brothers essentially making a game of tuning a guitar string. I’ll admit, I had to look up what a Dango is – but fortunately this didn’t hinder my ability to enjoy the game!