Ear Training Using Music Apps? – iPad Music: E-Learning Courses & Resources

Read this 3 easy steps lesson guide and learn our top tips and tricks on how to use our favourite music production apps for the purposes of ear training.

Developing aural skills is an essential part of being a great musician. We at Music Hands have decided to put together these 3 easy to follow lesson guides to help you incorporate ear training into your iPad music session.

Garageband

1. Immitate Liverpool Bass Autoplay patterns 1 to 4

Lesson Guide:

Open Garageband
Create New Song
Select Tracks module
Scroll through instruments: select Smart Bass
Select Liverpool bass
Switch on Autoplay pattern 1 and listen carefully
Switch off Autoplay pattern 1: immitate the rhythm and notes you heard using the bass strings (in Chords mode)
Repeat steps 6 & 7 on Autoplay patterns 2, 3 & 4

2. Sing the Major Scale (and learn it from memory)

This image shows how to select different scales in Garageband Smart Piano mode. The purpose of the image is to define the learning resourse for the purposes of ear training

Using Solfa
Using Letters (C to C)
Using numbers (1 to 8)

Lesson Guide:

Open Garageband
Create New Song
Select Tracks module
Scroll through instruments: select Smart Piano
Select a regular keyboard setting (in Grand Piano mode)
Select Scale: Major: play the major scale once slowly, ascending version only, while listening carefully
Play the ascending version of the major scale again: sing along to each long note played using solfa, letters and numbers
Repeat steps 6 & 7 on the descending version of the major scale
Repeat steps 6 & 7 combining the ascending and descending versions of the major scale
Try and sing the major scale without using the keyboard for help ( develop independency)

3. Determine which scale is being played from a list of 4

Major
Minor Pentatonic
Minor Blues
Harmonic Minor

Lesson Guide

Open Garageband
Create New Song
Select Tracks module
Scroll through instruments: select Smart Piano
Select a regular keyboard setting (in Grand Piano mode)
Select Scale: Major: play scale once while listening carefully
Select Scale: Minor Pentatonic: play scale once while listening carefully
Select Scale: Minor Blues: play scale once while listening carefully
Select Scale: Harmonic Minor : play scale once while listening carefully
Shuffle the scales and play back one-by-one: ask the student, which scale did the teacher play?

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