96 Practice Examples of Aural Skills Concepts

Listen to the linked playlist, then practice the following examples on the piano.

Compound Intervals

• All compound melodic intervals, ascending and descending
• All compound harmonic intervals
• Review recommended contextual solfege from previous chapters

Annotated Intervals Piano Practice Examples

Scales

• All major and minor (natural, melodic, harmonic) scales

• All modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian)

• Practice on piano and sing all modes in ascending and descending motion.

• Practice notating all modes in all keys and all clefs

Annotated Scales Piano Practice Examples

Compound Triads

• All triads (major, minor, diminished, augmented); all inversions (root position, first inversion, second inversion)

• Practice compound triads and inversions on the piano, using the principles of part-writing you have studied in theory classes.

• Study all the intervals that are inherent to the four different types of triads – and their inversions.

Annotated Compound Triads Piano Practice Examples

Rhythmic Dictation

• All simple and compound time signatures

• All divisions and subdivisions of the beat

• Syncopations (within a beat, crossing the beat, crossing the barline)

• Practice all the rhythm examples we have previously studied. With a partner, practice having one person chant the rhythm and the other write it down as a dictation. Remember, success in rhythmic dictation comes from knowing what rhythm looks like on the page, as well as understanding what it sounds like.

• Questions to ask include number of beats in the measure, beat note, possible divisions and subdivisions of the beat.

• Conduct with your non-writing hand, and take notes on the salient features of the dictation as shown below.

Annotated Rhythm Practice Example

Melodic Dictation

• Examples may be in simple or compound time

• Examples may include syncopations and other forms of rhythmic complexity

• Examples will include tonicization and/or modulation to the commonest destinations

• Study previous examples. Where are the “pivots”? How do we know a modulation has taken place?

Annotated Melodic Dictation Practice Example

(This example comes from the fourth movement of J. S. Bach’s Sonata No. 1 for viola da gamba and harpsichord, BWV 102.)

Harmonic Dictation

• Will include secondary dominants

• May be in a major or minor key

• Will conform to the rules of chord progression that we studied previously

• Will conform to the rules of voice-leading in four-part writing that you study in music theory classes

Annotated Harmonic Dictation Practice Example