Aural Training

A two-sheet guide to aural tests — telling major from minor, chords and cadences by ear, finding the metre, writing down a rhythm you've heard, and how to answer decisively in the exam room.

What's inside

• Deciding major or minor by singing the third, and recognising modes
• Chords by ear — major, minor, dominant seventh, diminished and major seventh — and how to be sure
• The four cadences — perfect, imperfect, plagal and interrupted — with their chords and how to name them fast
• Finding the metre in four bars, and beware-the-upbeat guidance
• Writing down a heard rhythm step by step, four rhythms to know instantly, and a ten-minutes-a-day practice plan