When you first encounter the idea of “ear training” it can be exciting—but hard to know what to expect!
There are so many different kinds of musician, and so many different aspects of music which ear training can help with, there is no single answer to this question.
However, there are some ways to set sensible ear training expectations:
Get clear on your why
What motivated you to train your ears in the first place?
What’s that deep burning desire that makes you think ear training could be the solution for you?
Decide on some clear, achievable goals
Without goals, you’ll never know what to expect in terms of progress!
Learn more about setting ear training goals.
Connect your ear training goals to your musical life
Musical listening skills are useless unless you use them in music. It sounds obvious when you put it like that, but many musicians start ear training without thinking about actually putting the skills to use day-to-day.
Give your ear training meaning by relating it to your general music learning and you’ll know what impact to expect from your training at each stage.
If you keep these three points in mind throughout your training you’ll always know what your expectations should be and how well you’re progressing towards achieving them.
Learn more about making an ear training lesson plan.
Similar questions answered on this page:
- What can I expect from ear training?
- How do I know if I’m making progress with ear training?
