Ear training games for kids to play at home

Ear training teaches a child to hear what the notes are doing: up or down, same or different, near or far, bright or dark. These fifteen games need a voice, two hands, and a piano or keyboard if you have one. Five minutes a day is enough. The ages on each step are a rough guide.

What ear training builds

Musicians call the skill relative pitch. It means hearing how far one note is from another, and it can be trained. A trained ear helps a child sing in tune and catch wrong notes.

Step 1: Same and different (ages 3 and up)

1. High or low? Play or sing two notes far apart. Your child reaches up for the high one and crouches for the low one. Bring the notes closer as it gets easy.

2. Same or different? Play two notes. Your child says “same” or “different.” Then do it with two short tunes of three notes.

3. Loud or soft, fast or slow? Play a few notes. Your child names what changed. This trains the habit of listening for one thing at a time.

4. Echo. Sing a short pattern on “la.” Your child sings it back. Start with two notes, and keep to the middle of the voice.

Step 2: Up, down, and matching (ages 5 and up)

5. Up, down, or the same? Play three notes. Your child draws the shape in the air with a finger.

6. Match my note. Sing one note and hold it. Your child slides their voice up or down until the two match. Swap, and match your child’s note.

7. Step or skip? Play two notes that are next-door neighbors, or two that skip a key. Your child says “step” or “skip.”

8. Find my note. Your child looks away. Play one white key near the middle of the piano. Your child turns back and hunts for it by ear. Say “higher” or “lower” to help.

9. Sing the ladder. Sing up and down the scale on do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do, with hand signs. Then leap: do to mi, do to sol. Print the solfège hand signs chart, and read solfège explained.

Step 3: Tunes and chords (ages 7 and up)

10. Play it by ear. Choose a tune with few notes, such as “Hot Cross Buns” or “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Give your child the first note. They work out the rest on the keys.

11. Spot the wrong note. Play a tune your child knows, with one wrong note. Your child claps when they hear it.

12. Bright or dark? Play a major chord and a minor chord. Your child points up for the bright one and down for the dark one. Read chords explained for kids.

13. How many notes? Play one note, two notes together, or three notes together. Your child holds up fingers for how many they hear.

14. Home note. Play a short tune and stop before the last note. Your child sings the note that would finish it.

Step 4: Intervals (ages 9 and up)

15. Name the leap. An interval is the distance between two notes. Each one matches the start of a song a child knows. Play two notes, and your child names the song.

Interval	Song that starts with it
Major second	“Happy Birthday,” from the first note to the next different note
Major third	“Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In”
Perfect fourth	“Here Comes the Bride”
Perfect fifth	“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” from the second note to the third
Octave	“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

Start with the fifth and the octave. Add one new interval a week. Read intervals explained for kids.

Rhythm is ear training too

Clap a short rhythm. Your child claps it back, and then writes it down. The rhythm match game plays four beats and asks your child to pick the written rhythm that matches. Read rhythm games for kids.

A five-minute plan

1. One game from a step your child finds easy (1 minute)
2. One game from the next step up (2 minutes)
3. Sing one song together (2 minutes)

Change the games each week. Stop while your child still wants more.

If you do not play an instrument

You can still lead these games.

• Use your voice. It does not need to be a good one.
• Use a free piano app on a phone for single notes.
• Take turns. Let your child test you.
• Use recorded music for games 1, 3, and 12.

Tips

• Sing every day. Singing is a direct way to train the ear.
• Keep it in a comfortable range. Do not ask a child to sing too low or too high.
• Praise the listening, not only the right answer.
• Go back a step when a game turns into guessing.

Ear tests in exams

Graded exams test the ear. A student may clap back a rhythm, name an interval, or play back a short tune. Read RCM ear tests explained.

Some teaching methods put the ear first. Read the Suzuki method explained, the Kodály method explained, and music learning theory and audiation.

Print and play

• Solfège hand signs chart
• Piano keyboard chart
• Rhythm match game
• Music games for kids with no equipment
• Perfect pitch and relative pitch explained for parents