Ear training — recognising intervals

Why ear training matters

If theory gives you names for what you hear, ear training gives you the hearing itself. Most guitarists never train their ears past “I can tell major from minor”. A little bit of structured listening goes a long way.

The reference-song method

For each interval, pin it to a song’s opening two notes. When you hear an interval and can’t name it, hum the reference song in your head — if it matches the first two notes, you’ve got the interval.

The full list of references is in the previous lesson. Pick one interval per week. By 12 weeks you’ve internalised them all.

A 5-minute daily drill

1. Open the fretboard below. Click any note — call it the root.
2. Without looking, click a random second note within 12 frets.
3. Before moving your eyes back to the page, guess the interval (e.g. “minor 3rd”).
4. Look. Check. If wrong, sing both notes and hum the reference song.
5. Repeat with a new pair.

Singing > listening

You will improve twice as fast if you sing the second note before you play it. The act of generating the pitch from your throat forces your brain to internalise the interval. Listening alone is passive; singing is active.

Don’t worry about being in tune — you’re training your brain, not your voice.

The hardest intervals (and a trick)

• m6 vs M6 — these confuse everyone. Use NBC chimes for M6 and “The Entertainer” for m6. Or simpler: m6 sounds slightly sad, M6 sounds slightly hopeful.
• m7 vs M7 — m7 is mellow (“Star Trek”); M7 is reaching (“Take On Me”). They live one half-step apart but feel like different planets.
• Tritone — the famous “evil” interval. It always sounds unresolved, like it wants to move.

The next step: chord recognition

Once intervals are solid, you’ll start hearing simultaneous intervals as chords. Major chord = R + M3 + P5. Minor chord = R + m3 + P5. We’ll formalise this in Chord Construction, but you can already start hearing it.