MUSIC EXAM TALK #6: Ear Training and Sight Reading
- Apr 1, 2018
- 3 min read
In a RCM certificate exam, students will be asked to do ear tests and sight reading. The total point for ear tests is 10, so is sight reading. Together they occupy 20% of the total score; therefore, it is important that students practice their ear training and sight reading skill.
Without a doubt, listening and sight reading skills are essential in music study. A student needs to be able to hear and detect a mistake during the practice, to hear the intensity of harmonies so he can phrase the music properly. Furthermore, the better your sight reading is, the quicker you can learn a piece.
The difficulty of ear tests and sight reading increases according to a student’s level. In general, ear tests include rhythm clapback, melody playback (and harmonization in level 10), and identification of intervals, chords, and chord progressions. Sight-reading tests consist of tapping the rhythm of short excerpts and sight playing of short passages.
The following videos demonstrate how ear tests and sight reading will be conducted in a real exam:
How to practice sight reading? The key is that you do it EVERYDAY! There are ample resources online, books in the markets. It doesn’t matter what sight reading textbook you pick, you just have to spend 5~10 minutes a day to try out a new piece, or sit down and recognize every note and rhythm on the paper. You don’t need to do a lengthy piece. An eight-measure excerpt will be a good exercise for the day.
I always remind students to do the following steps in a real exam:
Check key signature.
Check time signature.
Look at the phrase marks. They will tell you the shape of a phrase and its corresponding fingering and hand position.
Look at all the accidentals, so you are prepared to play when they come.
Look at the cadential points. Those places will help you to re-align your hands (for pianists) and re-set stability.
To set up a realistic playing speed, look at the most complicated rhythmic passages of the excerpt. The speed you can execute that passage is the speed you should play for the entire excerpt.
If you are pretty advanced, then pay attention to dynamic signs and articulations too.
DO NOT STOP AND RESTART when you make a mistake. KEEP ON PLAYING!
How to practice ear training? Again, the trick is you need to do a little bit everyday, or make it about 30~60 minutes per week. A long practice session won't help, it probably will make your head more confused.
Students may play the intervals and chords on piano/keyboard. Try to listen to the sound and color rather than feel the finger position on the keyboard. But, eventually the students will need somebody to play the intervals, chords, and melodies for them. This can be technical because most of the parents are not musical.
There are many ear training softwares available, such as MacGAMUT which contains intervals, chords, chord progressions, rhythmic and melodic dictations programmed in systematic levels. On the other hand, there are free online ear training exercises that provide rudiment training, like Teoria and Toned Ear, in which you can set the types of intervals and chords, ascending or descending, played melodically or harmonically. When you practice, set the timer to 5~10 minutes, or set a goal such as "hear 10 intervals correctly out of 12."
If you have purchased RCM's Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests, you can go to the official website and enter the code on the back of your textbook to access melody playback exercises.
I hope this article helps you to understand what are in the ear tests and sight-reading tests, and the principles of how to prepare for them. I hope your child has a good result in the next test.
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