TRAVEL PRACTICE

For Ireland & Scotland — and any time you don't have a piano. Ear training games and reading drills you can do on a phone, tablet, or laptop. Headphones recommended.

Module 05 · No keyboard required · 10–15 min/day

How to use this on the trip

Audio works anywhere. Tap PLAY in any audio game and your device will make the sound. Headphones make it easier to hear small differences.
10–15 minutes a day. Pick 2–3 games and rotate. Don't try to do all of them every day.
Score doesn't matter. The scores are just to keep you honest. The real win is your ear getting better at hearing differences.
No internet? Once this page is loaded, it works offline. Open it on the plane.
Take your eyes off the page sometimes. Look out the window. Listen for music in the world. Bagpipes count.

INTERVALS

EAR · AUDIO

You'll hear two notes. How far apart are they? Step (2nd) = right next door. Skip (3rd) = one note in between. 5th = bigger jump. Octave = same note, way higher.

SCORE: 0 / 0

MAJOR OR MINOR

EAR · AUDIO

You'll hear a chord. Major sounds happy / bright. Minor sounds sad / dark. The chord plays as 3 separate notes (root, middle, top) so you can hear the middle one — that's the one that decides.

SCORE: 0 / 0

UP, DOWN, UP?

EAR · AUDIO

Three notes will play. Did each note go up or down compared to the one before it? Pick the matching pattern.

SCORE: 0 / 0

BOTH CLEFS, MIXED

EYES · NO AUDIO

Note ID, but the clef changes randomly. Look at the clef symbol first — is it treble (𝄞) or bass (𝄢)? Then use the right mnemonic.

SCORE: 0 / 0

READ THE INTERVAL

EYES · NO AUDIO

Two notes shown together. Count the lines and spaces between them, including both notes. That's the interval. Same line = unison, neighbor line/space = 2nd, line-to-line = 3rd, and so on.

SCORE: 0 / 0

CLAP THESE

HANDS · NO AUDIO

Six rhythm patterns. Clap each one out loud. Count "1, 2, 3, 4" steady underneath. When you can clap a pattern three times in a row without stopping, move to the next one.

A · WHOLE NOTE

𝅝

1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Clap once on beat 1. Hold for 4 counts.

B · TWO HALF NOTES

𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥

1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Clap on 1 and on 3. Hold each for 2 counts.

C · FOUR QUARTER NOTES

𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥

1 2 3 4

Clap on every count. Steady.

D · QUARTER, QUARTER, HALF

𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅗𝅥

1 2 3 - 4

Clap-clap-CLAP, hold the last one for 2 counts.

E · EIGHTH NOTES

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥

1+ 2+ 3 4

Two fast claps, two fast claps, then two normal claps. Say "1-and-2-and-3-4" out loud.

F · MIXED CHALLENGE

𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥 𝅗𝅥

1 2+ 3 4 -

Clap, clap-clap (fast), clap, hold. The hardest one — slow it way down first.

Practice schedule for the trip

Two weeks away from the keyboard. The goal isn't to keep up — it's to keep your ear sharp so you don't lose ground.

Daily (10 min): pick 2 games from above. Rotate which 2 you pick.
Once mid-trip: do all 5 games + the rhythm patterns. Send Ted a quick message with your scores when you do.
Last day (June 3): all 5 games one more time, then rest. Lesson resumes Sunday June 7.

One trick for keeping your ear awake on vacation

Whenever you hear music in a shop, restaurant, or bagpipe band — try to figure out the first three notes of the melody in your head. Sing or hum it. You don't have to write anything down. Just notice. That's ear training that doesn't feel like training.