Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course: Ear Training Book 1: Piano Book

Adult students often develop their ears separately from their fingers, and this book treats ear training as an equal partner to technical work. The page-by-page correlation with Lesson Book Level 1 means every concept your student encounters at the keyboard gets immediate reinforcement through listening, singing, and interval recognition. You'll notice students gain confidence faster when they can actually hear what they're learning to play.

Systematic and manageable. The book breaks aural skills into digestible units, so students don't feel overwhelmed by the task of training their ears. There's a satisfying progression from simple rhythmic recognition through melodic patterns to interval identification.

Adult piano students working through Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course at Level 1, whether in group settings or private study. Teachers who recognize that their adult learners need structured ear training alongside note-reading and technique.

• Sing the melodic exercises aloud before writing answers. This bridges the gap between what students hear internally and what they can transcribe on paper.
• Return to rhythmic drills frequently throughout the week rather than completing them all at once. Spaced repetition strengthens aural pattern recognition.
• Play the recorded materials multiple times before asking students to respond. Familiarity with the sound world removes barriers to focused listening.
• Have students explain what they hear in their own words before selecting a written answer. Verbalizing perception deepens retention.

Assign pages weekly to correlate exactly with Lesson Book progress; this keeps ear training from becoming an afterthought. For group classes, use the exercises as warm-up activities that reinforce listening habits across the ensemble. Adult students returning to music often benefit most when all learning modalities work in concert, making this an essential companion rather than optional supplementary material.

• Recognizing and reproducing rhythmic patterns (quarter notes, eighth notes, rests, simple meters)
• Identifying melodic contour and pitch relationships by ear
• Discriminating intervals (unison, seconds, thirds, fourths, fifths, octaves)
• Transcribing simple melodies and rhythms from listening
• Connecting aural perception directly to keyboard performance