Importance of Ear Training in Music Lessons
Music making is extremely connected to what we hear and how we use our ears. Some say that your ears are their own musical instrument. They direct us in expressing our musical thoughts and play a huge role in how we perform music.
This is why it is vital to learn how to development their use and incorporate them into music lessons. A few great ways to begin ear training is quite basic. Its important to begin to recognize different instrument sounds and ranges of notes. With my younger students, I get them to listen to a variety of orchestral music that involves distinct imagery that they can relate to to help them follow the music. Some pieces are structured in a way where each instrument has their own recognizable theme related to a particular character or image. When an instrument theme arises, I get them to name the instrument that they hear and how its sound is expressing the image. Then I ask more about the quality of sound: does it sound low or high? soft or loud? fast or slow? This helps students to recognize patterns in sounds they hear and how the timbres of instruments differ. They begin to listen to music with a critical ear, becoming more curious about how sounds are put together, why they sound like the way they do.