The Importance of Ear Training Skills

Aural skills are one of the lesser known skills that are vital in every musician’s progress as a player. So what exactly are aural skills? Why are they so important and yet many musician’s simply do not bother to practice and sharpen them? In this article, I will address some of the most common issues that I have seen in musicians ranging from violinists, pianists, guitarists and even drummers.

Aural skills is also known as ear training skills. There are several aspects to this skill and is also commonly known as relative pitch. Relative pitch allows the musician to identify music intervals after hearing it accurately. On the other hand, there is also an aspect known as perfect pitch. Perfect pitch allows the musician to visualize how a note should sound like in his or her mind even before hearing the note. For many people who have perfect pitch, they can identify music so accurately down to the tiniest detail.

For most musicians who just started to pick up learning their instrument, it is very common that they dive straight to learning music theory or even technical aspects of playing the instrument. Very often, the ear training of the musician is neglected.

Many musicians do not understand that when they are playing music, the most important aspect is to be able to hear and understand what they are playing. None of this can be achieved without good ear training skills. Consider this, a musician who cannot identify what is being played is as good as being “blind” to music. A better analogy would be a blind painter ( no aural skills ) trying to paint a good portrait of someone. Would a blind painter be able to paint well? Of course not!

The importance of ear training is obvious. You play what you can hear! Both aspects of this ear training skills can be honed using separate techniques and music courses available online.