# Ear training

Source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/ear-training
Also known as: aural skills

**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.

Canonical source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/ear-training