Ear training classes often focus on solfège and both melodic and multi-part dictations. Such an approach can lead to a sense of monotony as students repeatedly practice the same core listening skills. On the other hand, melodic and multi-part dictations require a fairly high level of proficiency, and these skills are most often developed simply by working through successive dictations of the same type, without sufficient preparatory stages.

The aim of my lecture is to introduce a selection of simple yet unconventional exercises that develop a wider range of auditory and peri-auditory abilities (e.g. musical memory, expanding the field of auditory perception, selective hearing, timbral hearing, auditory reflex), focusing on smaller, individual skills practiced in isolation — the abilities acquired through them are intended to support the performance of more complex listening tasks and to foster a broader readiness for active listening. The proposed exercises can be adapted for different levels and used to complement and extend traditional teaching approaches, while also making classes more dynamic and suited to contemporary learners, particularly in addressing challenges such as distraction, difficulties with concentration, and memory retention.

The lecture will consist of two parts: (1) a practical component, where participants will have the opportunity to actively engage in the exercises, and (2) an explanation of the assumptions of the presented methods.