Intermediate Piano Music

“Lucky Charms” is designed to help make ear training an enjoyable and artistic experience. Unfortunately, the term “ear-training” itself tends to strike terror in the hearts of students and teachers alike. It conjures up a dreary image of countless attempts to identify elusive intervals, fruitless wrestling with melodic dictation, and sight singing with a clumsy, uncooperative voice. In fact, we referred to it in university as “ear-straining and sight-screaming” (ear training and sight singing). This is ironic, because music is sound which should give us pleasure, and it is with our ears that we listen to music. Perhaps instead of “ear training”, we should call it “ear charming”. And piano lessons, above all else, are lessons in ear charming. We do all sorts of other things in music, but if our ears aren’t properly trained and charmed, we don’t get anywhere. First, we teach our ears what to listen for, and then we teach our bodies to make those sounds on the piano.