Ear training may also require differentiation of timbres. Some instruments allow for the same pitch to be generated with multiple timbres. Music which employs function through timbre as well as pitch requires ear training that addresses both aspects.
Functional pitch recognition involves identifying the function or role of a single pitch in the context of an established tonic. Once a tonic has been established, each subsequent pitch may be classified without direct reference to accompanying pitches. For example, once the tonic G has been established, listeners may recognize that the pitch D plays the role of the dominant in the key of G. No reference to any other pitch is required to establish this fact.
Many musicians use functional pitch recognition in order to identify, understand, and appreciate the roles and meanings of pitches within a key. To this end, scale-degree numbers or movable-do solmization (do, re, mi, etc.) can be quite helpful. Using such systems, pitches with identical functions (the key note or tonic, for example) are associated with identical labels (1 or do, for example).
Functional pitch recognition is not the same as fixed-do solfege, e.g. do, re, mi, etc. Functional pitch recognition emphasizes the role of a pitch with respect to the tonic, while fixed-do solfege symbols are labels for absolute pitch values (do=C, re=D, etc., in any key). In the fixed-do system, solfege symbols do not describe the role of pitches relative to a tonic. In the movable-do system, there happens to be a correspondence between the solfege symbol and a pitch's role. However there is no requirement that musicians associate the solfege symbols with the scale degrees. In fact, musicians may utilize the movable-do system to label pitches while mentally tracking intervals to determine the sequence of solfege symbols.
Functional pitch recognition has several strengths. Since a large body of music is tonal the listener will commonly be assured that a tonic will be established therefore the technique is widely applicable. Since reference pitches are not required, music may be broken up by complex and difficult to analyze pitch clusters (example: percussion sequence) and pitch analysis may resume immediately once an easier to identify pitch is played (example: trumpet solo) - no need to keep of the last note of the previous line or solo nor any need to keep track of a series of intervals going back all the way to the start of a piece. Since the function of pitch classes is a key element the problem of compound intervals with interval recognition is not an issue - whether the notes in a melody are played within a single octave or range over eight octaves is irrelevant.
Functional pitch recognition has some weaknesses. Music with no tonic or ambiguous tonality does not lend itself well to this type of analysis. Example: what are the function of first four pitches of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony when considered in isolation? Mediant, tonic, supertonic, subtonic? When dealing with key changes, a student must know how to account for pitch recognition after the key changes: retain the original tonic or change the frame of reference to the new tonic.
Interval recognition is also a useful skill for musicians: in order to determine the notes in a melody, a musician must have some ability to recognize intervals. Some music teachers teach their students relative pitch by having them associate each possible interval with the first two notes of a popular song. Trainear is a online ear trainer that's specifically for associating intervals to songs. Here are some examples for each interval:
|unison|| Happy Birthday to You |
|minor second|| Theme from Jaws |
Nice Work If You Can Get It
| Joy to the World |
|major second|| Frère Jacques |
| Mary Had a Little Lamb |
The First Noel
|minor third|| Greensleeves |
Smoke on the Water
The Impossible Dream
So Long, Farewell
| Hey Jude |
The Star-Spangled Banner
Frosty the Snowman
|major third|| When the Saints Go Marching In |
Do-Re-Mi (first and third notes)
| Summertime |
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
|perfect fourth|| Taps |
Auld Lang Syne
Here Comes the Bride
Theme from Harry Potter
| Eine kleine Nachtmusik |
Downtown (On the lyric 'Downtown')
Theme From Star Trek: The Next Generation
|tritone|| Maria (West Side Story) |
The Simpsons opening sequence''
| YYZ |
|perfect fifth|| Twinkle Twinkle Little Star |
My Favorite Things
Also sprach Zarathustra
Theme from Star Wars
Diary of Jane - Breaking Benjamin
| Seven Steps to Heaven |
What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor?
Theme from The Flintstones
|minor sixth|| Across the Stars (from Star Wars) |
saxophone hook from Baker Street
The Entertainer (big interval after pick-up)
| You're Everything |
Theme from Love Story
|major sixth|| My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean |
NBC Theme Song
Leia's Theme (from Star Wars)
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Take the A-Train
| A Weaver of Dreams |
Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen
The Music of the Night
|minor seventh|| Theme from Star Trek |
Somewhere (West Side Story)
| Watermelon Man|
An American in Paris
|major seventh|| Take on Me |
Theme from Fantasy Island
Over the Rainbow (first and third notes)
Immigrant Song (First and third notes of opening 'wail')
Bali Hai (first and third notes)
| I love you |
|octave|| Over the Rainbow |
Let It Snow
Hey there Delilah intro
| Willow Weep For Me |
Doogie Howser, M.D. Theme
To Zanarkand, Final Fantasy 10
The essential goal for the advanced student of music is to gain a sense of each tone's place in the scale and its function in the key, learning to hear its position, tendency, and relationship to the other pitches with the "mind's ear." Solfege systems and mnemonic melodies are tools used to help realize this goal.
Complementary to recognizing the melody of a song is hearing the harmonic structures that support it. Musicians often practice hearing different types of chords and their inversions out of context, just to hear the characteristic sound of the chord. They also learn chord progressions to hear how chords relate to each other in the context of a piece of music.
One way musicians practice rhythms is by breaking them up into smaller, more easily identifiable sub-patterns. For example, one might start by learning the sound of all the combinations of four eighth notes and eighth rests, and then proceed to string different four-note patterns together.
Another way to practice rhythms is by muscle memory, or teaching rhythm to different muscles in the body. One may start by tapping a rhythm with the hands and feet individually, or singing a rhythm on a syllable (e.g "ta"). Later stages may combine keeping time with the hand, foot, or voice and simultaneously tapping out the rhythm, and beating out multiple overlapping rhythms.
A metronome may be used to assist in maintaining accurate tempo.
Each type of musical instrument has a characteristic sound quality that is largely independent of pitch or loudness. Some instruments have more than one timbre, e.g. the sound of a plucked violin is different from the sound of a bowed violin. Some instruments employ multiple manual or embouchure techniques to achieve the same pitch through a variety of timbres. If these timbres are essential to the melody or function, as in shakuhachi music, then pitch training alone will not be enough to fully recognize the music. Learning to identify and differentiate various timbres is an important musical skill that can be acquired and improved by training.
Music teachers often recommend transcribing recorded music as a way to practice all of the above, including recognizing rhythm, melody and harmony.