An important part of the preparation of every musician (whether to be an interpreter or composer), is the one that focuses on the development of their perceptual capacities.
All the knowledge that cement the musical development must be complemented with the perceptive experience of the music throughout the process of learning musical theory, harmony, counterpoint and instrumental technique.
What is a perceptual experience?
The “perceptive experience” encourages analytical audition, which pursues the objective of progressively developing the student’s auditory memory.
Activities such as imitation (reproduction or interpretation), auditory discrimination, creation (or production), coding/decoding, and, finally, conceptualization are addressed from the stimulation caused by hearing.
This methodology allows the student to approach music, through the development of their perceptual and auditory abilities.
Singing
The elementary work in Ear Training begins with Singing. It is with this practice that begins to develop the tuning, through the hearing of one’s own voice.
Through singing, knowledge about all aspects of melody and harmony (intervals, scales, chords, etc.) will be reinforced.
Rhythm
Through the rhythm, it is possible to become aware of the space-time relations.
Starting from the understanding of the pulse, the sense of regularity is achieved, and from the regularity, the irregularity is understood.
After all, rhythm is nothing more than an interaction between regular and irregular events having always a continuum as the even reference upon which durational events happen on its surface.
It is impossible to conceive a musical formation, lacking auditory training, although unfortunately this process is left aside for the last part of an examination.
The analytic hearing fosters the imagination, and this, in turn, the ability to create new music. If the ear training is done properly, this process will flow naturally, hence the importance of audio-perceptive education that strengthens your ability to recognize the patterns and processes when listening to music.
The continuous work on listening exercises will help gradually to develop an absolute pitch (or “perfect pitch”), which is the ability to recognize the exact pitch of the sounds, which can bring many benefits, either for composers or performers.
The Ear Training comprises a complete and comprehensive methodology of grasping your musical skills and it is either directed towards performers and composers alike, regardless of the style of music you want to approach.
