The Perfect Ear Training Routine

Introduction
Key principles
The routine
Next steps

Introduction

Ear training is the process of learning to hear music clearly—recognizing notes, chords, and rhythms by ear and translating them into simple concepts like numbers and functions. With this skill, you can figure out chords instantly, sing melodies you imagine, and deconstruct songs without guesswork.

But starting can feel overwhelming. Where do you begin? How do you best use your time? What skills actually matter? This routine gives you a template. It isn’t one-size-fits-all—you’ll adapt it to your own goals—but it covers the four core skills needed to decode music:

Melodic scale degrees
Bass notes
Chord qualities (major, minor, seventh, etc.)
Chord numbers (function and position in the key)

These are your building blocks. With steady practice, you’ll become able to identify them in real music without the need for an instrument.

Key principles

Music is made of feeling

Every degree, chord, or bass note carries a unique quality you already perceive when listening. Ear training is about labeling those qualities consistently, so you can recognize them on contact.

Curiosity comes first

Progress comes from asking simple questions as you play and listen: What am I hearing? What am I playing? Which scale degree is this? Which chord quality? That curiosity builds the link between sound, feeling, and label.

Consistency beats intensity

It isn’t about grinding through hours of drills. Short, honest daily sessions are far more powerful. Over time, your perception sharpens naturally through a subconscious process which can’t be forced.

Music theory is a framework

You don’t need to be a theory nerd, but knowing the basics—keys, scales, chords, numbers—gives you the map for what you’re hearing. It’s the bridge between raw sound and clear understanding.

The routine

This routine ensures you spend time focusing on the four main pillars of ear training: melody, bass, chord quality, and chord degree. If you can, make time for some form of it everyday. Adjust it to match your ability level and goals.

If you want more information, you can find a video version of this routine on my YouTube channel. Check it out using the link at the bottom of this post!

1. Drone practice

Spend time singing or playing long tones against a steady drone. Each scale degree has its own resonance and feeling-state within a key—bathe in it until it feels familiar, like recognizing a friend’s voice.

Start with the tonic (same note as the drone).
Move through other degrees one by one.
Compare and contrast their qualities.
Once you have some familiarity, sing simple melodies using the degrees you know.

This is the foundation. Sonofield Ear Trainer is built for exactly this kind of degree-over-drone practice. There is no practice more important to internalizing the unique quality of each degree than this.

2. Melody transcription

Pick a simple song you enjoy. Sing along until the melody feels comfortable. Then pause the recording and try to sing it back slowly, paying attention to the degrees.

Find the tonic.
Work out the rest of the degrees.
Check them on your instrument.
Alternate between listening, singing, and labeling until the degrees feel obvious.

In the end, you want to listen back to the recorded song and track the scale degrees of the melody in real-time. You’ll know you’ve got it when the mental labels click with the music; it’s a palpable experience.

3. Conscious improvisation

Choose a drone or backing track and begin to improvise slowly and consciously. The trick is to stay aware of which scale degree you’re playing (or singing!) at all times. This builds a subconscious link between your instrument, your body, and the labels.

Tips:

Don’t let your fingers or habits run the show. Let your ear and imagination guide you.
Remember, this is about ear training. Focus on the connection between mind and sound. Play simply and slowly.
If you get off track and forget where you are in the key, take a moment and recalibrate. Playing 1 and 5 to anchor your ear is always a good idea!

4. Harmony practice

Take a simple chord progression and listen from multiple perspectives:

Play the bass line in isolation and learn to sing it.
- Take note of the scale degrees and feel into each one until everything is clear.
Add the chords back in and notice their qualities (major, minor, seventh, etc.).
- Focus on the feeling of each quality and how it relates to the bass note.
Swap qualities: change a chord from major to minor (and vice-versa) while keeping the same root.
- Example: if the progression is C-Am-Dm-F, take one of the chords and reverse its polarity.
  - Possibility: C-Am-D-F
  - Possibility: C-A-Dm-F
- Compare the feeling of the chord changing quality while the bass note remains the same.
Swap numbers: keep the quality but change the degree.
- Example: Instead of I-vi-ii-IV, try I-vi-ii-V.
- Both IV and V are major, but they occupy different positions with the key and have their own unique feeling-states.
Transpose the whole progression to a new key and repeat the process.
- This will show you how the feeling of a chord or progression is relational, not absolute.
- Even though all the chords and notes are different, the overall quality of the progression is the same.

These experiments help your mind isolate the important aspects of harmony in relation to ear training. Comparing and contrasting chords in this way will reveal what is common and what is different.

Next steps

This routine is a starting point. Customize it to your own needs, stay curious, and keep it consistent. Over time, you’ll notice melodies, chords, and bass lines jump out at you without effort.

If you want a deeper dive into melodic training, try the free version of Sonofield Ear Trainer—it guides you through degrees with drones, singing, and practice paths.

Here is my video: “The Perfect Ear Training Routine”