Pick a drill. Hear it. Name it.
Short interactive sessions that build the skill the lessons describe. 10 questions per round, instant feedback, track your best.
Does It Belong?
Hear a chord, then a note. Decide if the note belongs in the key.
Which Scale Degree?
A chord sets the key, then a note plays. Identify it as degree 1–7.
Which Feels Settled?
A chord plays, then two notes. Pick the one that feels more at rest.
Name the Interval
Two notes play one after the other. Identify the interval between them.
Chord Quality
Hear a chord. Identify it as major, minor, diminished, or dominant 7.
After the Cadence
A V–I cadence sets the key, then a final note plays. Name its degree.
Secondary Dominants by Ear
Hear a progression — was a chord borrowed from another key, and where did it pull?
Applied Leading-Tone Chords by Ear
Hear a two-chord resolution to V — was the pull a dominant, or a leading-tone chord? Half- or fully diminished?
Borrowed Chords by Ear
Hear a progression — was that chord diatonic, or borrowed from the parallel minor?
Color Chords by Ear
Same root, different color — name the chord quality by ear alone.
Neapolitan Chord by Ear
Hear a pre-dominant chord in A minor — was it the diatonic ii°, or the darker Neapolitan bII?
Augmented Sixth Chords by Ear
Hear a chord and its resolution — German sixth or dominant seventh? Italian, French, or German?
Deceptive Cadence by Ear
Hear I–IV–V7 — did the cadence land home, or somewhere else?
Mode Color by Ear
Hear a short melody — major or mixolydian? Natural minor or dorian?
Chord Inversions by Ear
Same triad, different bass note — root, first, or second inversion?
Seventh Chords by Ear
Same root, four (or five) sevenths — name the chord by ear alone.
Modulation by Ear
Hear a progression — did it stay home, or pivot to a new key?
Final Cadences by Ear
How does it end? Authentic vs. plagal, then a genuine Picardy third.
Pedal Points by Ear
Is the bass holding? Then: is it holding on the tonic, or the dominant?
Non-Chord Tones by Ear
Clean or decorated? Then: was the decoration passing, or a neighbor?
Cadential 6-4 by Ear
A tonic chord that sounds like a dominant. Plain or prepared? Then: where does it land?
Predominants by Ear
What actually precedes V? ii6 or IV, then a fuller family of four.
Harmonic Rhythm by Ear
One bar, four steady beats. How many chords? Then: where did it change?
Musical Texture by Ear
Block chords, melody + figuration, or polyphony? Then: where does the melody live?
Hearing in Context
Go from single notes to multi-note phrases — each rung adds one more note to the challenge.
Up or Down?
Two notes play. Was the second note higher or lower?
Step or Leap?
Two notes play. Did the melody step (next-door) or leap (skip)?
Name the Two Notes
Two notes play in the key. Identify both as scale degrees.
Find the Way Home
A 3-note phrase ends on 1. Identify the path back to home.
Three-Note Motif
Three notes play in the key. Identify the sequence.
Tap the Phrase
A 4-note phrase plays. Tap the scale degrees you heard, in order.
Tap the Phrase (8 notes)
An 8-note phrase plays. Tap the scale degrees you heard, in order.
Name That Tune
A familiar melody plays. Tap the scale degrees of the melody.
More drills coming soon