With 41 topics, plus advanced customisation, record keeping, lessons and courses features, Auralia is by far the most comprehensive ear training software package! Auralia's drill based teaching is a fun and easy way to use your computer for ear training on both Windows and Mac platforms.
What is Ear Training?
Have you ever wanted to be able to :
•Identify chords in your favourite songs
•Play by 'ear'
•Play more in tune
•Transcribe solos and improve your improvising
•Improve your solo and ensemble performances
•Sight sing with ease
Developing your ear training skills wil help you to do all of the above and much, much more. A well developed 'ear' is essential for musicians of all levels. In developing the skills to imitate, compare, sing, identify and transcribe various musical elements, we are then able to :
•be more aware of tone colour, pitch and sound quality
•have a more in-depth understanding of the inner workings of the compositons and improvisations of others
•play better within a group context in regard to blend, balance, tuning, dynamics, articulation, and phrasing
Who can benefit from Auralia Music Ear Training Software?
Aural training exercises are perfect for all developing musicians, from beginners to advanced students. It's easy-to-use interface makes it the perfect way to introduce music ear training to people of all ages. Auralia is suitable for both classical, jazz and contemporary musicians of any age and ability!
How to Practise
The main screen of Auralia opens up with five large icons, each signifying a group of topics or modules. Any of the 41 individual topics are accessed using the buttons underneath.
Choosing a Topic and Level
To begin practise, you simply click on a topic, choose your level of practise and click the 'Start' button. It's that easy!
Each topic has a system of graded levels, getting progressively more difficult. You and your students can move through the levels as required - advanced students can move ahead, and less advanced students can consolidate their learning at their own pace.
The way you answer the question varies from topic to topic. Some may ask you to tap back a rhythm using your spacebar or MIDI keyboard whilst others may simply require you to select a multiple choice answer. Onscreen Solfege, Piano and Guitar controllers are also used.
Choosing a Syllabus
On the main screen you will notice that there is a 'Syllabus' selection box at the top left, on the toolbar. As you move through the various syllabi, you will notice that topics that are not relevant for that syllabus are disabled.
There is also a Syllabus selection on each level selection screen, which may be more convenient.
Lessons
Each of Auralia's 41 topics has an accompanying Lessons module, where you can learn about the concepts that you will be practising. Lessons screens contain a combination of text, audio and notation and function as an invaluable electronic textbook both at home and in the classroom.
Playback
Musical examples can be easily played back, simply by moving your mouse over the top of the relevant musical example and clicking. If an example has multiple parts, it is also generally possible to playback any of the individual parts.
References
Topics such as Chord Recognition and Scales also feature a 'Reference' page as part of their lessons, where all chords and scales that are available within Auralia can be viewed and played back. The type of playback available depends on the content, but in a topic such as Chord Recognition, the chords can be played back arpeggiated or as a block. These references screens will also automatically show any customised Chords or Scales that you may have entered into Auralia.
Courses
Auralia has 24 courses that can automatically guide you through all aspects of the program, integrating Drills, Lessons and Tests, across all topics. If you are new to Ear Training, are studying a partiuclar curriculum, or would simply like a way for Auralia to guide you through the 41 topics, then the Courses feature is just the thing for you!
Ear Training Course
The most popular courses are Ear Training Courses 1 - 6. These will guide you through every aspect of Ear Training that Auralia offers, using a carefully graded structure of Lessons, Drills and Tests.
Monitoring your progress is easy - use the 'Check my Results' button on the main screen, or view and of the Course Reports.
Band, AP* Music and Trinity Guildhall Courses
Auralia also includes courses that have been customised for students taking Band, AP* Music classes and Trinity Guildhall exams!
Syllabus Support
Auralia has been specially designed to allow it to easily support multiple syllabuses, so that students and teachers can experience content that is absolutely relevant to the curriculum that they are using.
If you are not using any particular curriculum - don't worry - Auralia has a syllabus covering all topics that is suitable for any Ear Training student.
Included Syllabuses
Auralia 4 comes with 12 built in syllabuses, including support for AP* Music Theory, a Band syllabus for students participating in a band based music program and a Trinity Guildhall syllabus for students taking Trinity Guildhall practical examinations.
•Auralia 4 / Musition 4
•AP* Music
•Band
•Queensland
•Solfege - Fixed Do
•Solfege - Moveable Do
•Solfege - Moveable Do La
•Trinity Guildhall
•VCE Music
•Western Australia
Create you own syllabuses
The Syllabus editor allows you create as many new syllabi as required! There is no limit to the number of levels that you can create, and you need only create levels for topics that are relevent. Any topics without levels are simply greyed out.
You can also use the syllabus editor to modify a copy of the included syllabi. Many teachers use one of the included syllabi as an 'template' for their own changes.
Singing with Auralia
Auralia features pitch recognition technology, allowing you to Sing your answers into Auralia in topics such as Interval Singing and Chord Singing.
How does it work?
Auralia's microphone input operates without any special hardware; you simply need to plug a microphone into your soundcard. Auralia will also work quite well with microphones that are built in to your laptop or webcam. In a classroom envirnoment, we do recommend that you use headset microphones.
As well as having countless educational benefits, these 'microphone topics' make using Auralia even more fun!
Topics
The following topics all support microphone input
•Interval Imitation
•Interval Singing
•Scale Singing
•Jazz Scale Singing
•Chord Imitation
•Chord Singing
•Jazz Chord Imitation
•Jazz Chord Singing
•Pitch Imitation
•Pitch Dictation
•Absolute Pitch
•Note Recognition
•Counterpoint Singing
•Sight Singing
Solfege, Piano and Guitar Input
Many topics in Auralia allow you to enter your answer using our onscreen controllers. These are turned on by default in most syllabi, but can be easily disabled via the Syllabus levels, or at a Class level if need be.
Solfege
Auralia now features an onscreen Solfege controller. This exciting new feature allows students to enter their answers using Solfege note names (Do, Re, Mi, Fa etc) as well as allowing for questions to be displayed on the Solfege controller.
Fixed Do and two variants of Movable Do are supported, with a customised syllabus being supplied for each of the three variations. To further integrate the Solfege controller, many topics have been extensively modified and customised and musical notation now also supports the placing of Solfege note names underneath notes.
This allows students to see their correct and incorrect answers in two ways, using both traditional notation and Solfege note names. Students can of course still easily playback the question and their answer to complete the theory and aural link.
If required, the names of the Solfege syllables can be changed via the syllabus options screen.
Piano
The on screen Piano allows students to enter their answers by clicking on keys on a keyboard. Available in numerous topics, middle C is indicated with black dot, and selected notes are highlighted in blue.
Guitar
For guitar players, we also included an on-screen guitar fretboard! Note names are shown as you mouse over each string and fret position.
Topics to Practise
Auralia has 41 topics, divided into five topic groups. Each topic has a system of graded levels, associated Lessons and the facility to create a custom level to practise.
Custom Levels
It is possible to practise a Custom Level in any topic. This flexibility allows students to focus on and solve problems very easily.
For example, if a student has problems differentiating between the intervals of a Minor 2nd and Major 6th, the existing level structures aren't very accomodating. While those intervals will definitely both appear together at some stage, they will be mixed in with numerous others.
Practising a Custom Level allows the student to select only Minor 2nd and Major 6th - problem solved!
Intervals & Scales
The Intervals and Scales topic area has 8 topics. They range from simple interval comparison through to jazz scale singing.
Interval Comparison
In Interval Comparison, two intervals intervals are played, and you are asked to identify which interval is larger or smaller.
Interval Imitation
In Interval Imitation, an interval is played, and you are asked to sing the interval back. The required interval may be shown on screen.
Interval Recognition
In Interval Recognition, an interval is played, and you are asked to identify it. A piano keyboard or guitar fretboard may be visible on screen (this can be disabled by an Administrator), allowing you to enter your answer by clicking on the keys. The first note of the interval will be shown, and you simply have to click on the second note of the interval.
If you have an external MIDI device such as a keyboard or wind controller, you may also play the second note of the interval in.
Interval Singing
In Interval Singing, a note is played, and you are asked to sing the note a certain interval above or below it. The required interval and direction are shown on screen.
Jazz Scales
In Jazz Scales, a scale is played, and you are asked to identify it. A piano keyboard or guitar fretboard may be visible on screen (this can be disabled by an Administrator), allowing you to enter your answer by clicking on the keys. The first note of the scale will be shown, and you simply have to click in the other notes of the scale.
If you have an external MIDI device such as a keyboard or wind controller, you may also play the other notes of the scale in.
Jazz Scale Singing
In Jazz Scale Singing, a note is played, and you are asked to sing the notes of a certain scale above or below it. The required scale and direction are shown on screen.
Scales
In Scales, a scale is played, and you are asked to identify it. A piano keyboard or guitar fretboard may be visible on screen (this can be disabled by an Administrator), allowing you to enter your answer by clicking on the keys. The first note of the scale will be shown, and you simply have to click in the notes of the scale.
If you have an external MIDI device such as a keyboard or wind controller, you may also play the notes of the scale in.
Scale Singing
In Scale Singing, a note is played, and you are asked to sing the notes of a certain scale above or below it. The required scale and direction are shown on screen
Chords
The Chords topic area has 8 topics, covering individual chord recognition, chord singing, cluster chords and jazz chords. Using this topic area, your chord recognition skills will accelerate extremely quickly!
Chord Comparison
In Chord Comparison, two chords are played. You may have to indicate whether the chords are different, or click in the second chord on a staff.
Chord Imitation
In Chord Imitation, a chord is played, and you are asked to sing it back. The chord name may be shown on screen.
Chord Recognition
In Chord Recognition, a chord is played, and you are asked to identify it. A piano keyboard or guitar fretboard may be visible on screen (this can be disabled by an Administrator), allowing you to enter your answer by clicking on the notes. The first note of the chord will be shown, and you simply have to click in the notes of the chord.
If you have an external MIDI device such as a keyboard or wind controller, you may also play the notes of the chord in.
Chord Singing
In Chord Singing, a note is played, and you are asked to sing the notes of a certain chord above or below it. The required chord and direction are shown on screen.
Cluster Chords
In Cluster Chords, a sequence of chords is played, and you have to click in the notes of each chord. The chords are built on the interval of the second and fourth. Each successive chord has one extra note from the previous. So, if you choose to practise 3 chords, the third chord will have four notes, including the starting note.
Jazz Chord Imitation
In Jazz Chord Imitation, a chord is played, and you are asked to sing it back. The chord name may be shown on screen. The required chord and direction are shown on screen. Voiced chords are not used.
Jazz Chords
In Jazz Chords, a chord is played, and you are asked to identify it. A piano keyboard or guitar fretboard may be visible on screen (this can be disabled by an Administrator), allowing you to enter your answer by clicking on the keys. The first note of the chord will be shown, and you simply have to click in the notes of the chord.
If you have an external MIDI device such as a keyboard or wind controller, you may also play the notes of the chord in.
Jazz Chord Singing
In Jazz Chord Singing, a note is played, and you are asked to sing the notes of a certain chord above or below it. The required chord and direction are shown on screen. Note that unlike the Jazz Chords topic, voiced chords are cannot be used.
Rhythm
The Rhythm topic area contains 8 topics, each of which is concerned with reading notes from a score or recognising the meter and pulse of a rhythmic example.
Meter Recognition
In Meter Recognition, you will be played a rhythm or a melody, and asked to identify the meter (time signature) of the example.
Pulse Tapping
In Pulse Tapping, a rhythm is played, and you have to tap back the pulse of the rhythm in correct time. For example, in 4/4, you would need to tap on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th crotchet beats. In 6/8, you would tap on the 1st and 2nd beats (the first and fourth quavers / eighth notes).
Rhythm Comparison
In Rhythm Comparison, two rhythms are played. The second rhythm may have been altered in some way from the first, and you will have to identify those alterations, or identify whether the rhythm has changed.
Rhythm Dictation
In Rhythm Dication, a rhythmic or melodic excerpt will be played, and you will have to enter the rhythm on a score.
Rhythm Elements
In Rhythm Elements, a one beat rhythm pattern is played, preceded by a two beat count in. You have to identify the rhythm from a given selection.
Rhythm Element Dictation
In Rhythm Element Dictation, a rhythmic pattern is played. You are asked to identify the rhythm of the example using rhythmic blocks; these have the duration of one beat. The basis for this topic is Rhythm Elements.
Rhythm Imitation
In Rhythm Imitation, an rhythm is played, and you are asked to tap it back using your keyboard. You may also tap the rhythm in using an external MIDI device such as a keyboard or wind controller, if connected.
Rhythm Styles
In Rhythm Styles, a short musical excerpt is played, and you are asked to identify its style.
Harmony and Form
The Harmony and Form topic area tests a students ability to recognise harmonic progressions and musical forms.
Advanced Progressions
In Advanced Progressions, 4 part harmonic progressions are played, and you are asked to identify the chords. You will need to identify the chord quality, as well as the position. Chromatic and mixture chords are included.
Cadences
In Cadences, one or two cadences are played, and you are asked to identify them. Cadences may be played with or without a preceeding melody.
Chord Progressions
In Chord Progressions, 4 part harmonic progressions are played, and you are asked to identify the chords. You will need to identify the chord quality, as well as the position.
Forms
In forms, a melody is played that has a certain form, or structure. You are asked to identify the form of the melody.
Jazz Forms
In Jazz Forms, a short piece is played that has a certain form, or structure. You are asked to identify the form of the piece.
Jazz Progressions
In Jazz Progressions a progression is played, using a variety of instruments. You are asked to identify the progression by entering the individual chords, or from a selection of answers.
Modulation
In Modulation, a two part example is played that will modulate from one key to the other. You will be asked to identify the type of modulation (eg. Major Tonic - Relative Minor) or identify the final key of the example.
Pitch and Melody
The Pitch and Melody topic area tests a students ability to recognise and recall individual notes and melodic lines. Tuning is also covered.
Absolute Pitch
In Absolute pitch, pitches are played, and you are asked to identify the exact notes that have been played, or the frequency (sine waves may also be used). You may also be asked to sing back a given note, in a certain octave.
Counterpoint Singing
In Counterpoint Singing, a short two part phrase is played. You will have to sing either the upper or lower notes of the phrase.
Melodic Comparison
In Melodic Comparison, two melodies are played. The second melody may have been altered in some way from the first, and you will have to identify those alterations, or identify whether the melody has changed.
Melodic Dictation
In Melodic Dictation, a melody will be played, and you will have to enter the melody on a score.
Note Recognition
In Note Recognition, a two or three note chord is played. You are asked to sing either the top or bottom note (for a two note chord), or the top, middle, bottom or tonic note (for a three note chord).
Pitch Comparison
In Pitch Comparison, you are asked to compare the pitch of two notes. You will be asked if the second note is higher, lower or the same as the first. A melody may be played, in which case the first note is the first note of the melody and the second note is the last note of the melody.
In Pitch Dictation, a melody is played, and you are asked to identify the pitch of each note. You do this by either clicking the notes in on the staff, or by selecting the scale degree for each note.
Pitch Imitation
In Pitch Imitation, a note will played, and you will have to sing back the same note. The required note may be shown on screen.
Sight Singing
Sight Singing requires you to sing back a given melody using your microphone.
Tuning
In Tuning, two notes are played. The second note will be out of tune, by varying amounts. You will have to detect whether the second note is sharp or flat, or tune the second note.
Record Keeping and Assessment
Auralia has the ability to track an unlimited* number of students results, on a single computer or across a network.
Users and Classes
Everybody who uses Auralia needs to have a user name and password, under which scores will be recorded. Each user also belongs to a Class, allowing you to easily group students for reporting and testing.
Classes also allow you to restrict the content that students can choose to practise, using settings such as minimum levels. These type of settings are invaluable when using Auralia with students of varying age and ability levels.
Customisation and Tests
Auralia has the ability to be completely customised; both the level of content as well as the type of content that is presented to your students. The Syllabus feature allows you to create and modify your own levels, while the Tests feature allows you to create electronic Worksheets and Exams. These are all instantly marked and graded for you!
Students and Users
Each person that uses Auralia 4 requires a user name and password, enabling Auralia to record each student's results individually. This system also allows you to prevent students using any of the Administration functions.
Adding Students
There are three ways to enter your students into Auralia. You can add them by hand using the User Admnistration screen, they can automatically enrol using our Auto Enrolment feature, or, the easiest way - you can import them from a CSV file.
Access Levels
Each User in Auralia has an Access level - either Student, Teacher or Administrator. Users with Student level access cannot access any of the administration functions - we do not recommend giving any of your students Teacher or Administrator access.
Most schools choose to give all teachers Administrator access, which we highly recommend The Teacher level of access is rarely used and quite restricted. See the Manual for further details.
Sharing with Musition
Your User Names and Passwords are also shared with Musition!
Classes & Classroom Management
Classes are an easy way to organise your students into managable groups - in exactly the same way that you would in a bricks and mortar classroom!
Using Classes
You generally setup your class list at the start of each year, typically mirroring the class arrangement that you would have in your school or music studio. It generally takes about 5 -10 minutes!
Once you have a list of classes in the program you can assign your students to the various classes, making reporting and testing a much simpler process.
Note that you don't have to add your own Classes. Auralia has a Default Class that all your students will be members of if there are no other classes.
Classroom Control with Classes
Each Class has various settings that you can use to direct your students to the most appropriate parts of the program. Minimum levels can be set for each topics, to ensure that students are not practising levels that are too easy. You can also disable topics altogether, which can be very useful for youngers students, who may not need to be practising Jazz Progressions!
Possibly the most important Class option is the Syllabus setting. This setting allows you to change the Syllabus that is selected when students login. You may also choose to prevent students from moving from that syllabus, thereby ensuring that they are practising areas that you need them to work on.
Sharing with Musition
Your Class list and associated settings are also shared with Musition!
Tests & Electronic Worksheets
Auralia 4 is an awesome self directed practise tool for students, but often teachers need to have their students take a specific sequence of questions. The Tests feature in Auralia makes this very easy!
How Tests Work
A Test is simply a list of questions that you, as teacher, parent or student, can define. The questions may come from any Syllabus, Topic or Level (including Syllabi and Levels that you create yourself). Scores from Tests are stored separately from regular practise results, and Tests can be taken multiple times if required.
Tests can be used for many tasks, but here are some common examples;
•Grading Tests
•End of Semester Exams
•Classroom Electronic Worksheets (no marking!)
•Exam Preparation
•Take home Digital Worksheets (still no marking!)
There is no limit to the number of Tests that you may create.
Importing and Exporting
Tests can be imported and exported, making it easy to share tests with colleagues and students.
For example: you can create a test at school, export it to a file and then email that file to your students that use Auralia 4 Student at home. Your students can then complete the test and email you a pdf file of the results! Easy!
Supplied Tests
To make life easier we have have supplied tests that support the following syllabi:
•AP* Music
•Band
•Trinity Guildhall
•VCE Music
•Western Australia
Syllabus & Customisation
The Syllabus feature in Auralia 4 allows you to easily customise Auralia's content to suit your way of learning or teaching. A Syllabus is simply a sequence of levels across any number of topics: the content in any level is completely definable, in exactly the same way you would use a Custom Level for practise.
How Syllabi work
Although Auralia ships with numerous Syllabi, which are suitable for most classrooms, we understand that many teachers have particular ways of teaching and inroducing new concepts.
These varying pedagogical requirements are easily handled in Auralia 4. You can create a new syllabus and create levels that map to your curriculum, or you can copy a supplied Syllabus and modify it's levels.
For example, you can easily change the way Chords are played in the Chord Recognition topic or the type of Intervals that appear in the Interval Singing topic. Any level in any topic can be customised.
Included Syllabi
Auralia comes with numerous pre-built syllabi. You can easily copy these and make modifications.
•Auralia 4 / Musition 4
•AP* Music
•Band
•Queensland
•Solfege - Fixed Do
•Solfege - Moveable Do
•Solfege - Moveable Do La
•Trinity Guildhall
•VCE Music
•Western Australia
Legacy syllabi - these have been included to continue support for various textbooks and teaching methods.
•Auralia 2.1 / Musition 2.0
•Auralia 3.5 / Musition 3.5
Results, Assessment and Reports
As you or your students' work through the Drills, Tests and Courses in Auralia 4, all results are safely recorded - on the computer you're working on or in a shared network database.
Viewing Results
Students can easily view their own results, allowing them monitor their own progress and decide which areas of Ear Training need further attention. Of course it is possible to control exactly what a student can do using the Class, Syllabus and Testing features. Students can also export their results as a PDF file, allowing them to easily email their scores to their teacher.
Reporting and Assessment
The Reports screen allows teachers to easily view, print and export their student's results. Reports are initially previewed on screen, and can then be printed or exported to a PDF file.
Results are kept on a daily basis; this allows you to easily monitor your student's progress from day to day, week to week or month to month! When viewing reports and results, it is very easy to filter results into managable lists - you need not view every student's results all at once!
Test and Courses results are stored separately, allowing you to use those scores for school reporting and assessment.
Networking
Auralia 4 fully supports networked record keeping and data sharing! If you purchase a Multi User License or Lab Pack then we highly recommend that you utilise this important feature.
How it works
Using Auralia on your network means that you won't have to gather and collate student results from multiple computers. Students can use any computer that is connected to your network, which can be located anywhere in your school - even using a wireless network!
All of the features in Auralia 4 can be utilised over your network. This affords you great flexibility. Imagine that you have 15 computers installed in your computer lab, and one computer in the music office. With a network installation of Auralia, you can create your classes, tests and syllabus settings in the music office, and all your students will be able to access this information in the computer lab!
Easier Setup
We have greatly simplified the network installation with the release of Auralia 4. There are now only two options that need be set on each workstation and the server setup utility has also been made easier to use.
Using Windows and Mac Computers Together
Schools with a mix of Windows and Mac computers need not worry about having two sets of data. Regardless of the server platform that you have chosen, both Windows and Mac computers running Auralia 4 will use the same networked database. The networked database can be installed on a Windows or Mac server, with both types of clients being able to connect.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Academic/Theological Pricing
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Notes on academic/theological versions:
If you purchase a Multi User License or Lab Pack of Auralia, please be aware that the record keeping facilities are completely networkable, elminating the need for gathering of results from individual computers. All results can be easily stored in one central database.
If you have use both Windows and Mac computers, they will happily use a single networked database, which can be hosted on either a Windows or Mac computer (preferably a server, but it need not be dedicated). |
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PC
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Mac
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Windoxs XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
512MB+ RAM
200MB Hard Disk space
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive
1024 x 768 screen resolution minimum
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Intel Processor
OSX 10.4.11, 10.5.8, 10.6. or later
400MB Hard Disk space
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive
1280 x 800 screen resolution minimum
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Theory/Ear Training
