Practise
Exercises
Train your ear, note reading and theory – right in your browser, free and without signing up. Choose a module and get going; your progress is saved locally in your browser.
The exercises are a free offering from Maikstrings Cuxhaven: ear training, note reading and music theory can be practised here in short sessions – for revising, deepening or simply trying out. They are no substitute for instrumental lessons. Background on the instruments can be found in the Musikpedia and on the instruments page.
Aural training
Hear notes, intervals and sonorities and recognise them with confidence.
Interval ear training
Hear two notes and identify the interval – ascending, descending or together.
Practise →Recognise chords
Hear a triad or seventh chord and name its quality.
Practise →Hear scales
Hear a scale ascending and identify its type – major, minor or modal.
Practise →Melodic dictation
Hear a short melody and play it back on the keyboard.
Practise →Tuning & cents
Tune an out-of-tune note with the cent slider – with a real audio example.
Practise →Note reading
Read and place notes in the treble clef with confidence.
Read notes
A note appears in the treble clef – name it from the options given.
Practise →Key signatures & keys
Read the accidentals in the key signature and name the major key.
Practise →Notes on the fretboard
Find the note you are asked for on the guitar fretboard (standard tuning).
Practise →Build chords
Put together the chord you are asked for on the keyboard.
Practise →Theory
Consolidate note names, enharmonic equivalents and the circle of fifths.
Name notes
A note appears – type in its name (C, C♯, D … H or Do, Re …). Note names follow German usage, where H is the note called B in English.
Practise →Match enharmonics
Match each ♯ spelling to the ♭ spelling that sounds the same.
Practise →Circle of fifths
Find the key you are asked for in the circle of fifths and click its segment.
Practise →Rhythm
Hear rhythms and tap them back.
Note values
The seven note values at a glance – tap one to open a matching public-domain sheet to read along with. From the semibreve to the virtuoso hemidemisemiquaver run.
Tools
Practical aids for practising – right in your browser, nothing to install.
Metronome
Hold the tempo with a pendulum, a click and an accented downbeat – from Largo to Prestissimo.
Open →Tuner
A chromatic tuner at concert pitch 440 Hz – pluck a string and read off the deviation in cents.
Open →Notation symbols
251 signs of music notation to look up – what they mean, how to play them and how many of them sound.
Look up →Why practise?
Music theory is not understood by reading alone, but through short, regular practice. Just a few minutes a day sharpen the ear and consolidate what was covered in the lesson. Every module is deliberately kept small: listen or look, answer, get immediate feedback – and move on.