source file: m1363.txt
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 08:55:11 -0600 (CST)

Subject: 88CET Ear-Training CDs, Part 3

From: mr88cet@texas.net (Gary Morrison)

But anyway, jumping back to the question at hand, if these "ear-training
CDs" aren't CD-ROMs, then what are they?  Well, for one thing, they're
strictly audio CDs, mostly containing spoken quizzes.  They contain groups
of exercises, each group typically taking about 3-8 minutes, and each quiz
question taking about a 4-5 seconds total.  The answer is usually a pitch
that I must sing correctly, or a note name or chord type I must identify -
that sort of thing.  After a pause for me to answer the question, the CD
states the correct answer so that I can check myself.  I short, it's a CD
of me quizzing myself about various 88CET ear-training concerns.  Each
group of exercises has a few sentences explaining the nature of the
exercise.

   As an example, here is a pretty-much verbatim transcript of my narration
on a short fragment of these CDs:

          "Now let's do that same thing with absolute pitches.
           I'll play a first tone and name its pitch, then
           play a second that is one of the nontraditional
           thirds above or below the first. Your task is to
           identify the absolute pitch of the second tone.
           Here is an A.  [an A plays for about a second, then
           switches to the next higher C]  What is this pitch?
           [pause for about two seconds]  That's a C.  This
           is a B.  [a B sounds then changes to a D]  What is
           this? [pause for about two seconds]  That's a D."

The pauses of course are for me to answer the question, which I can check
when I announce the correct answer.  Some answers require more time to
formulate or simply to speak than others.

   And it continues that quiz with a few dozen more note pairs for about a
minute and a half, and then moves on to exercises on various other
intervals.

   There are also quizzes also about circle-of-fifths nomenclature,
nontraditional interval singing, pseudokey (I'll explain that concept
shortly) signatures, singing scales with correct note names, distinguishing
nontraditional thirds, and many other topics.