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Ear Exercise
We will begin the study of melodic motion with an ear exercise. This exercise is designed to warm up your
ears and start you thinking about melodic tendencies. There are 16 short melodic examples for you to listen
to. Each one begins with a few notes chosen to provide some sense of the tonic, and each one ends on a
non-tonic note.
For each example, play the start of the phrase, then take a moment to consider where you feel the line
should go next. You are offered two possible endings for each phrase and asked to choose which you
prefer. Listen to them and choose one. In some cases you will prefer one, in some cases the other, and in
some cases you may have no strong preference.
In many cases one example is a minor variation of another. Consider the different effects produced by
these variations. Think about the degree of tension at the end of each phrase, that is, the level of urgency in
the tendency to resolve.
There is no particular right answer for any of these questions, and in many cases there will appear to be
more than one satisfactory answer. This is not a test. It is just an exercise designed to get you thinking
about the issues that will be discussed in the following pages.
The exercise runs in a separate window. To begin click here.
© 2005 Andrew Hodgson
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- Click on this icon to hear the musical examples!