Theory & harmony
Ear training
Ear training is the practice of learning to identify pitches, intervals, chords, and rhythms by hearing alone.
The core skills are interval recognition, chord quality recognition, rhythmic dictation, and melodic dictation. They compound: a player who hears intervals reliably can tune double stops, spot their own wrong notes instantly, and learn music away from the instrument.
For string players it is close to a technical necessity rather than an academic subject, because intonation on a fretless instrument is an act of listening. The most efficient practice is short and daily, ten minutes of interval identification beats an hour once a week, because the skill is recall speed rather than knowledge.
Related terms
Every term in this glossary is taught in context somewhere in Arco's curricula, on the staff, on the keyboard, and on your own fingerboard at the same time.