The Ultimate Piano Workout to Speed Up Theory and Train Your Ear
This piano workout has you transcribe a short melody by ear, decide its key, scale and mode, harmonise it with chords and cadences, then transpose it to new keys, scales and time signatures.
Key points
- Transcribe in small chunks, comparing piano notes against a group of melody notes instead of chasing the first note.
- Feel the rhythm through your body's pulse or an imagined drum groove, not by clapping note by note.
- Test the key by playing tonic chords under the melody; here the fact is one flat, with F major and D minor both working.
- Harmonise the long notes first, then try cadences and ii–V–I progressions.
- Transpose by scale degree into new keys and scales, then change the metre or swing it.
In this lesson, Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music builds a complete practice session around one short melody. Instead of spending an hour on only ear training or only theory, you use a single tune to train your ears, theory and technique together. It suits pianists who know basic scales and chords and want a structured routine of anywhere from half an hour to an hour.
Step 1: Transcribe the pitches
The melody has two similar phrases. Only the last two notes differ. Do not try to work out the whole tune at once, and do not stress over naming the very first note. That turns the task into a perfect pitch test.
- Work in chunks. Take the first four notes as one group.
- Use A/B comparison. Play each piano note against that group. Notes that blend are probably in the melody. Notes that clash, such as C# or Eb here, are probably not.
- Listen for the note that feels like a bed. One note will sound like a cushion the others rest on. Others will sound unstable, like a car waiting on a bridge.
- Draw a melodic curve. Sketch the tune as rough dots going up and down. The first phrase rises and falls: A C D E D C A.
Work out the second cluster of notes the same way, by trial and error and by its shape.
Step 2: Transcribe the rhythm
Do not clap note by note. Move your body to the pulse, or imagine a drum groove playing along.
- The first four notes fill two beats, so they are quavers.
- D C A follow as a dotted quaver, a semiquaver, a quaver rest and a quaver. This is the tresillo figure heard in salsa.
- The phrase ends on longer notes, and the last one is a minim.
The feel is straight, not swung. For this lesson the melody is treated as 4/4, starting on beat one. It could also be heard with a pickup. Write the notation out by hand before using software.
Step 3: Decide the key, scale and mode
The melody uses A, C, D, E, F and G, with no B or Bb. So F major and C major are both possible. G major is ruled out because the melody has F, not F#.
To settle it, hold the tonic chord in your left hand under the whole melody. F major sounds like home. C major sounds like a connecting chord. D minor, the relative minor, also works.
The fact you can rely on is a key signature of one flat. Within it, you can try all seven modes:
- F Ionian (major)
- G Dorian: try Gm6, or Gm to C
- A Phrygian: flat 2, Bb
- Bb Lydian: sharp 4
- C Mixolydian: try C7
- D Aeolian (natural minor)
- E Locrian: try Em7b5
Use this flowchart:
- Decide whether the tune sounds major or minor.
- If major, ask whether it is plain major, Lydian or Mixolydian.
- If minor and close to the major scale, it is natural minor.
- Otherwise, test harmonic minor, melodic minor and Dorian.
Step 4: Harmonise
Harmonise the long notes first.
- In F major: F under the opening, Bb under the D, then C, the dominant, near the long A. That gives a simple I–IV–V.
- In D minor: lean on minor chords such as Dm, Am and Gm. Gm adds a ninth colour. One minor chord followed by major chords, as in Dm–Bb–F, sounds brave.
- With cadences: try V–I, the plagal IV–I and the deceptive cadence.
- With ii–V–I: in F major play Gm, C7, F. In D minor play Em7b5, A7 (optionally with a flat 9), Dm.
Step 5: Transpose and reshape
In F major the first phrase is scale degrees 3 5 6 7 6 5 3. Keep those degrees and play them in another key. Start with C major, then Eb. You can also change the scale, for example Eb Dorian or Eb minor. Rework your chords and fingering each time, because every key feels like a different pitch to play on.
Finally, change the time feel. Fit the melody into 7/8, then 6/8, then try it swung. Songwriters can use this to test whether a first idea can be improved.
Questions about this lesson
Do I need perfect pitch to transcribe a melody?
No. Compare piano notes against a small group of melody notes and keep the ones that sound good. Note names become familiar over time as you practise and talk about pitches.
How do I tell whether a melody is in F major or C major?
Hold each tonic chord in your left hand under the whole melody and listen for which one sounds like home. The B or Bb is the note that separates the two scales.
How should I work out the rhythm of a melody I hear?
Move to the pulse or imagine a drum groove under it, then notice which notes are short or long. Check whether the beats divide evenly, into triplets or into semiquavers.
What is a quick way to start harmonising a melody?
Look for the long notes and give each one a chord, such as I, IV and V in F major. Then experiment with cadences like V–I, IV–I and ii–V–I.
Practise it
- Melodic CurvesSketch a melodic contour, choose a scale and hear the line take shape.
- Cadence LibraryCompare piano cadences across keys and listen to how different chord movements create closure, suspense or a turn in a new direction.
- Piano classes at Nathaniel School of MusicLive online or in Bangalore, with a teacher.
- All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.
Related lessons
- Explore the Y-Axis of Music With All Intervals and Scales Using a Simple Chord ProgressionThe pendulum scale drill trains you to move both above and below the root (one, two, three and four steps each way from F), then harmonise the right-hand pattern with a left-hand tonic, predominant and dominant chord in major, minor and modal scales.
- How Music Theory and Ear Training Are Really the Same ThingMusic theory and ear training are best learned together: ear training is your instinct for recognising what you hear, music theory is the prepared knowledge that explains it, and transcription is the practice that joins the two.
- What Should You Listen For in a Piece of Music? (Ear Training)To train your ear, work through rhythm, melody and harmony from the big picture down to the detail: tempo, metre and time feel first; then scale, key and melodic curve; then chord degree, type and function. Write it down before you play, using theory to confirm what you hear.
- 10 Types of Cadences Explained: Theory, Ear Training and PianoA cadence is a short chord progression of two to four chords, such as V–I (authentic), IV–I (plagal), V–vi (deceptive) or i–bVII–bVI–V (Andalusian), used to end, extend or redirect a musical phrase.