EAR-TRAINING EXERCISE 3
HEARING INTERVALS PART TWO
Each type of interval in music has it's own unique sound, and being able to identify the sound of the intervals is a really important skill to develop. On this page, we're going to look at several easy ways to do this. As usual, the rules are fairly simple, but it will take serious practice to really master.
TECHNIQUE ONE: USING FAMILIAR SONGS
If you can identify the intervals at the start of melodies that you already know, you can quickly associate the sound of a particular interval with a particular song. Watch the video below, then make a list of your own 'interval training' tunes. You only need to memorise one song per interval, but it's an excellent idea to listen to as many examples as possible, and see if you can identify where each interval occurs.
MINOR 2nd (1 SEMITONE)
ASCENDING
Jaws (Theme) - youtube
The Pink Panther (theme) - youtube
Isn't She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) - youtube
White Christmas (Irving Berlin) - youtube
A Hard Day's Night (Beatles) - youtube
Once Upon A December (Anastasia) - youtube
Chromatic scale - youtube
New World Symphony, 4th movement (Dvořák) - youtube
I Left My Heart In San Francisco - youtube
Stormy Weather (Arlen/Koehler) - youtube
How Insensitive (Jobim) - youtube
The Barber Of Seville (Gioachino Rossini) - youtube
Nice Work If You Can Get It (Gershwin) - youtube
I Remember You (Schertzinger/Mercer) - youtube
Lascia ch'io pianga (Handel) - youtube
DESCENDING
Für Elise (Beethoven) - youtube
Joy to the World (Christmas) - youtube
Jurassic Park (theme) - youtube
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica) - youtube
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem - youtube
Major scale (descending) - youtube
Shall We Dance (The King and I) - youtube
Carmina Burana - O Fortuna (Carl Orff) - youtube
Stella by Starlight - youtube
Bolero (Ravel) - youtube
The Lady is a Tramp (Rodgers/Hart) - youtube
Symphony No. 40, 1st movement (Mozart) - youtube
Solar (Miles Davis) - youtube
Sophisticated Lady (Duke Ellington) - youtube
Entre dos aguas (Paco de Lucia) - youtube
MAJOR 2nd (Two SEMITONES)
ASCENDING
Happy Birthday to You - youtube
Do-Re-Mi/Do, a deer (Sound of Music) - youtube
Silent Night - youtube
Frere Jacques - youtube
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - youtube
Major scale (ascending) - youtube
Strangers in the Night (Frank Sinatra) - youtube
Linus and Lucy - "Peanuts Theme" (Vince Guaraldi) - youtube
The Nutcracker - Marche (Tchaikovsky) - youtube
My Funny Valentine - youtube
Falling Slowly (Once) - youtube
EastEnders (theme) - youtube
Non, je ne regrette rien (Edith Piaf) - youtube
Body and Soul - youtube
There Will Never Be Another You (Nat King Cole) - youtube
DESCENDING
Mary Had a Little Lamb - youtube
Yesterday (The Beatles) - youtube
Mamma Mia! (ABBA) - youtube
Three Blind Mice - youtube
Enter Sandman (Metallica) - youtube
The First Noel - youtube
Canon in D (Pachelbel) - youtube
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (Bach) - youtube
Whistle While You Work (Disney/Snow White) - youtube
Away in a Manger - youtube
M.A.S.H. (theme) - youtube
The Two Towers -The Lord of the Rings (Theme) - youtube
Eight Days a Week (The Beatles) - youtube
Freddie Freeloader (Miles Davis) - youtube
NBC News (theme) - youtube
Minor 3RD (3 SEMITONES)
ASCENDING
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes) - youtube
Greensleeves - youtube
O Canada (Canadian national anthem) - youtube
So Long, Farewell (The Sound of Music) - youtube
Lullaby (Brahms) - youtube
Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple) - youtube
Bad (Michael Jackson) - youtube
Spiderman (cartoon theme) - youtube
Georgia on My Mind - youtube
Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin) - youtube
Black Sabbath (Iron Man) - youtube
Beverly Hills Cop (theme) - youtube
Oh Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Dog Gone - youtube
The Impossible Dream (Man of La Mancha) - youtube
Gymnopédie No.1 (Erik Satie) - youtube
Sally's Song (Nightmare Before Christmas) - youtube
Windmill Hut (Zelda: Ocarina of Time) - youtube
Happiness Is a Warm Gun (Beatles) - youtube
Final Fantasy 7, Aerith's theme (N. Uematsu) - youtube
A Time for Us (Romeo & Juliet) - youtube
Minor Swing (Django Reinhardt) - youtube
Come to me (Fantine's Death) - Les Miserables - youtube
Somewhere My Love (Dr. Zhivago) - youtube
Lingus (Snarky Puppy) - youtube
A Foggy Day (Gershwin) - youtube
Comptine d'un autre Été (Amélie Poulain Soundtrack) - youtube
Spoonful (Howlin' Wolf) - youtube
Braveheart (theme) - youtube
DESCENDING
Hey Jude (Beatles) - youtube
Frosty the snowman (Christmas) - youtube
The Star-Spangled Banner (US national anthem) - youtube
Jesus Loves Me - youtube
This Old Man - youtube
They don't care about us (Michael Jackson) - youtube
Ride Of The Valkyries (Wagner) - youtube
Can you feel the love tonight (Elton John) - youtube
Peer Gynt - Suite No. 1, Op. 46 - I. Morning Mood (Edvard Grieg) - youtube
Misty (Erroll Garner) - youtube
You're A Grand Old Flag - youtube
Hook (theme) - youtube
500 Miles High (Chick Corea) - youtube
What Is This Thing Called Love (Cole Porter) - youtube
Trois Jeunes Tambours - youtube
Major 3rd (4 Semitones)
ASCENDING
Oh, when the Saints - youtube
Kumbaya - youtube
Ob-la-di Ob-la-da (The Beatles) - youtube
Four Seasons: Spring (Vivaldi) - youtube
Sweet Child O' Mine - Bass riff intro (Guns N' Roses) - youtube
Can't Buy Me Love (The Beatles) - youtube
Morning has Broken - youtube
Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes) - youtube
Michael Row the Boat Ashore - youtube
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night - youtube
Sweet Hour Of Prayer - youtube
From the Halls of Montezuma (Marines' Hymn) - youtube
I Can't Get Started (Duke/Gershwin) - youtube
Dallas theme (French version) - youtube
Nous n'irons plus au bois - youtube
DESCENDING
Swing Low Sweet Chariot - youtube
Summertime (Gershwin) - youtube
Man in the Mirror; verse (Michael Jackson) - youtube
Summer Nights (Grease) - youtube
Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me - youtube
Fate - Symphoni No.5 (Beethoven) - youtube
Giant steps (John Coltrane) - youtube
Good Night Ladies - youtube
Bessies Blues (John Coltrane) - youtube
L'Eau vive (Guy Beart) - youtube
Perfect 4th (5 SEMITONES)
AsCENDING
Here comes the Bride - Wedding March (Wagner) - youtube
Amazing Grace - youtube
Harry Potter theme - youtube
We Wish You a Merry Christmas - youtube
The Force Theme - Star Wars (John Williams) - youtube
Super Mario - youtube
Love Me Tender (Elvis Presley) - youtube
Oh Christmas Tree/Oh Tannenbaum - youtube
Black or White (Michael Jackson) - youtube
Auld Lang Syne - youtube
Someday My Prince Will Come (Disney/Snow White) - youtube
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing - youtube
Overture/Work Song" - Les Miserables - youtube
Star Trek Theme (Next Generation) - youtube
La Marseillaise (French National Song) - youtube
All the Things You Are - youtube
The Godfather - Theme - youtube
El Condor Pasa - youtube
Simple Gifts (Shaker song) - youtube
Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk) - youtube
The British Grenadiers - youtube
Doxy (Sonny Rollins) - youtube
Dallas (theme) - youtube
We are free (Hans Zimmer) - youtube
Meunier tu dors - youtube
Sailing, Sailing - youtube
DESCENDING
Oh, come all ye faithful - youtube
Under Pressure (Queen) - youtube
I've Been Working on the Railroad - youtube
'Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's Messiah - youtube
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart) - youtube
George of the Jungle theme - youtube
Born Free (Movie theme by John Barry) - youtube
Shave and a Haircut - youtube
Today (The Smashing Pumpkins) - youtube
Adeste Fideles - youtube
Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise (Hammerstein) - youtube
Yardbird suite (Charlie Parker) - youtube
Lawrence of Arabia theme - youtube
L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2: Farandole (Bizet) - youtube
A Mighty Fortress is Our God - youtube
Your woman (White town) - youtube
Dynasty theme - youtube
I Didn't Know What Time It Was (Rodgers) - youtube
Tritone (6 Semitones)
ASCENDING
The Simpsons - youtube
Maria (West side story) - youtube
Juicebox (The Strokes) - youtube
Cool (West side story) - youtube
Don't drive drunk (S. Wonder) - youtube
Isotope (Joe Henderson) - youtube
DESCENDING
Even Flow (Pearl Jam) - youtube
Danse Macabre (Saint-Saëns) - youtube
Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath) - youtube
I hope I get it (A Chorus Line) - youtube
YYZ (Rush) - youtube
Blue Seven (Sonny Rollins) - youtube
Nonsequence (Michael Gibbs) - youtube
Perfect 5th (7 SEMITONES)
ASCENDING
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Mozart) - youtube
Star Wars (main theme) - youtube
Can't Help Falling in Love (Elvis Presley) - youtube
Blackbird (Beatles) - youtube
My Favourite Things (Sound of Music) - youtube
Scarborough Fair - youtube
Yeah (Usher) - youtube
One (Metallica) - youtube
The ABC Song - youtube
X-Files theme - youtube
Superman - youtube
Baa Baa Black Sheep - youtube
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Strauss) - youtube
Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 - Prelude - youtube
Lavenders Blue - youtube
Bags Groove (Milt Jackson) - youtube
Whisper not (Golson) - youtube
One Boy (Bye Birdie) - youtube
Asturias (Albeniz) - youtube
DESCENDING
Flintstones theme - youtube
Game of Thrones (Main theme) - youtube
What do you do with a Drunken Sailor - youtube
Minuet in G (Bach) - youtube
Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me) - youtube
It Don't Mean a Thing (Duke Ellington) - youtube
Back To The Future (Main theme) - youtube
The Way You Look Tonight - youtube
Swan Lake Suite (Op.20) - Scene (Tchaikovsky) - youtube
Schindler's List (John Williams) - youtube
Feelings (Richard Clayderman) - youtube
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella - youtube
Carmen (Bizet) - youtube
Donna, Donna - youtube
Have You Met Miss Jones (Rodgers) - youtube
Seven Steps to Heaven (Miles Davis) - youtube
Minor 6th (8 SEMITONES)
ASCENDING
The Entertainer (Scott Joplin) - youtube
We Are Young (Fun) - youtube
In My Life (Beatles) - youtube
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room (John Mayer) - youtube
Last Midnight (Into the Woods) - youtube
Nothing Compares 2 U (Sinéad O'Connor) - youtube
Lacrimosa (Mozart) - youtube
Go Down Moses - youtube
Waltz Op.64 No.2 (Chopin) - youtube
Black Orpheus (Theme) - youtube
She's a Woman (Beatles) - youtube
Lonely man (he incredible Hulk) - youtube
1492 (Vangelis) - youtube
Morning of the carnival (Black Orfeus) - youtube
Shalom Aleichem (Itzhak Perlman) - youtube
The Last of the Mohicans - Promontory (Trevor Jones) - youtube
Tristan und Isolde - Prelude (Wagner) - youtube
DESCENDING
Call me maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen) - youtube
Love Story (theme) - youtube
Five for Fighting - 100 Years - youtube
Chega De Saudade (Tom Jobim) - youtube
Sei du mein frost K.391 (Mozart) - youtube
You're Everything (Chick Corea) - youtube
Major 6th (9 Semitones)
ASCENDING
My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean - youtube
Dashing Through the Snow (Jingle Bells) - youtube
NBC Chimes - youtube
My way (Frank Sinatra) - youtube
Hush little baby (Lullaby) - youtube
Princess Leia's Theme - Star Wars (John Williams) - youtube
Nocturne Op.9 No. 2 (Chopin) - youtube
For he's a jolly good fellow - youtube
Take the A-Train - youtube
It came upon a midnight clear (Christmas) - youtube
You make me feel brand new (The Stylistics) - youtube
Days of Wine and Roses (Henri Mancini) - youtube
Little Lamp (Gypsy) - youtube
DESCENDING
Man In the Mirror; chorus (Michael Jackson) - youtube
Nobody knows the trouble I've seen - youtube
The Music of the Night (Phantom of the Opera) - youtube
Down By the Riverside - between "lay" and "down" - youtube
Over There (George Cohan) - youtube
Il Etait un Petit Navire - youtube
Weaver of dreams - youtube
Minor 7th (10 SEMITONES)
ASCENDING
The Winner Takes It All (ABBA) - youtube
Somewhere (West side story) - youtube
Pure imagination - Chocolate Factory (1st & 3rd tones) - youtube
Star Trek theme (Original) - youtube
Chamaleon (Herbie Hancock) - youtube
Steely Dan (Josie) - youtube
Star Trek theme (1rst and 3rd tones) - youtube
The Winne Takes It All (ABBA) - youtube
No sé tú (Luis Miguel) - youtube
Maman les Petits Bateaux - youtube
DESCENDING
Watermelon man - youtube
An American in Paris (Gershwin) - youtube
Lady Jane (Rolling Stones) - youtube
The Shadow of your Smile (Ella Fitzgerald) - youtube
None but the Lonely Heart (Tchaikovsky) - youtube
Major 7th (11 SEMITONES)
ASCENDING
Take on Me (A-Ha) - youtube
Somewhere over the Rainbow (Wizard of Oz) *1st and 3rd pitch - youtube
Superman theme - youtube
Don't Know Why (Norah Jones) - youtube
Superman theme - youtube
Bali Hai (South Pacific) *1st and 3rd pitch - youtube
Popular (Nada Surf) - youtube
Fantasy Island (main theme) - youtube
Danse n. VII (Mompou) - youtube
DESCENDING
I Love You (Cole Porter) - youtube
Von (Zankyou No Terror) - youtube
Fugl - (Zankyou No Terror) - youtube
Octave (12 SEMITONES)
ASCENDING
Somewhere over the Rainbow (Wizard of Oz) - youtube
Singin' in the Rain - youtube
Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns N' Roses) - youtube
Let it snow (Christmas) - youtube
Harry's Wondrous World - Harry Potter (John Williams) - youtube
Bring him home (Les Misérables) - youtube
Blue bossa - youtube
The Christmas Song - youtube
A Forest (The Cure) - youtube
The Lonely Goatherd (The Sound of Music) - youtube
There's no business like show business (Ethel Merman) - youtube
Bali Ha'I (South Pacific) - youtube
NOW MAKE YOUR OWN LIST OF SONGS
- - one for each ascending and descending interval -
AND MEMORISE THEM!
Once you've got them memorised, it's time to put your knowledge to practical use. Online ear-trainers can be a really good way to refine your skills. Here are a few that I like to use: