ear training games .comEar training games
Ear training is a foundational part of any music education. Musicians operate in an acoustical environment and need to identify musical elements they hear the same way painters can name details they see on a canvas. Learning these aural skills often requires dedicated practice, which can be difficult to do, especially when working alone.
This website offers a collection of games designed to help musicians develop stronger aural skills in a fun, competitive environment. Students are encouraged to set goals for themselves or challenge their friends. Some of the games work well in a group environment, with players passing a tablet between prompts.
Teacher tools
Sometimes it is difficult to objectively assess students' study habits in aural training. With written work, it's relatively easy to distribute homework, grade the results, and offer feedback based on that work. With aural training, however, the homework solutions are often cumbersome, expensive, or both. Eartraininggames.com offers an economical way for teachers to assign homework that does not require students to download or install anything. The prompts are generated on demand, which means students can practice as much as they want without running out of material.
Teachers using Blackboard, Canvas, or another LMS can configure an LTI 1.3 connection so that student results are automatically posted to the LMS's gradebook. This saves the teacher's time transferring grades between systems. Students can play each assigned game as many times as they like, and only their highest grade will be recorded. This encourages them to spend more time practicing their skills.
Teachers who are not using an LMS can still create assignments on this website and share unique URLs with their students. Results for each assignment are compiled into one simple table, making it easy for teachers to transfer scores into any gradebook.
Developer
Dr. Benjamin Coy serves as the brass professor at South Texas College, where he also directs the symphonic band and teaches music theory. He is a regular clinician and has presented lectures on pedagogical topics at conferences throughout the country, including multiple presentations at the International Trombone Festival.
As a trombonist, Dr. Coy plays with the Valley Symphony Orchestra and has previously held positions in the Springfield Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, and the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony. He has also performed with numerous other orchestras throughout the country. He has also played for a wide variety of critically-acclaimed opera and theater productions, including the national tour of Hairspray. Dr. Coy maintains a diverse performance calendar including rock, jazz, and chamber music.
Dr. Coy is committed to the growth of brass repertoire, and his publications are available through Warwick Music, Kagarice Brass Editions and Cherry Classics Music. His current project is to expand the spectrum of pieces appropriate for collegiate concerto competitions through the orchestration of music previously only available with piano accompaniment.
Dr. Coy earned his doctorate in trombone performance and pedagogy at The Ohio State University. He previously studied in Chicago, earning his master's degree at Northwestern University and his bachelor's at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. His primary teachers were Chicago Symphony musicians Jay Friedman and Michael Mulcahy.