Advances in perfect pitch ear training and other ear training has meant that people who consider themselves tone deaf can now work on developing a truly great ear.

Only a few years ago I thought that only those born lucky could have really great relative pitch and even fewer could have absolute (or perfect) pitch. Ear training, I discovered since, was to put way to that myth. Even the chronically tone deaf can develop a good sense of relative pitch and, quite probably, perfect pitch as well.

Just over two years ago, I decided that I wanted to improve my guitar playing by improving my listening skills. I did some research on the Internet for good training methods for developing my listening ability. I found some half decent programs for teaching relative pitch, but I was particularly excited by the claims made by David Burge and his perfect pitch ear training course.

But I was sceptical. Burge’s website was full of in-your-face marketing spiel. I don’t let that kind of thing put me off because bad marketing doesn’t necessarily make a bad product; but it doesn’t convince me either. When I then checked out the price of the course I knew I had to get some independent opinions first.

In searching those reviews I came to Chris Aruffo’s site. Chris had also come across Burge’s program and had invested in it. But he was unsatisfied with the results and so started researching the subject of perfect pitch ear training himself. I discovered his musings long after he had begun, but over the following two years I have been following his discussion closely.

One of the most pleasing things I have noticed over those two years is his wiliness to change his mind and abandon theories that aren’t working. His focus has, therefore, been on what does work. And he seems to have stumbled upon a few things that may well provide a step by step method for both relative and perfect pitch ear training.

In order to put his theories into practice and teach perfect pitch, Ear Training Companion was written. Now in version 4, this software is finally showing real promise. And because it works by getting you to play simple games, this absolute and perfect pitch ear training is actually fun.

But there’s something beyond the enjoyment factor that makes game playing a great method for perfect pitch ear training. I am particularly fond of games in the process of learning because, by their very nature, they are designed to teach effectively. A game that is not fun to play doesn’t teach you anything, but one that is designed well and keeps you playing for hours will teach you a lot.

A badly designed game is either too easy, or too difficult. If it is too easy you’re not being challenged so you’re breeze through the game and become bored. If it is too difficult you will fail too often and become frustrated. Either of these two scenarios and you’re probably going to stop playing. But in a well designed game there is a balance between boredom and frustration and at that point you’re learning.

The more you play a well designed game, the better you get. And if you’ve got better at something it means you’ve been learning. If you think about it, all good games have to teach you something. Whether what they teach you is useful outside the game is more debateable. But Aruffo’s relative and perfect pitch ear training software sets out specifically to teach you a useful skill.

The most obvious benefit of developing our listening perception is for music, but it may also have a wider benefit. It is my belief that developing our perception of sound will help us improve a wider aspect of our intelligence. Research has shown that music training improves such things as spatial reasoning, abstract thinking and verbal skills. While excitement over the Mozart Effect is debatably overrated, training of our listening skills runs deeper and without doubt changes the very structure of our brains.

Aruffo’s Ear Training Companion contains 3 games (Chordfall, Interval Loader and Absolute Pitch Blaster):

Chordfall trains our ability to understand the construction and relationships between chords.

Interval Loader is the relative pitch section of the game. It trains you to recognise musical tones accurately and the relationships between them; a skill that is essential for transcribing or improvising songs.

Absolute Pitch Blaster, as its title suggests, is the perfect pitch ear training section. The game works by getting you to draw connections between different tones and getting you to draw out the pitch ‘chroma’ (the C-ness or the E-ness, etc).

Most courses make you memorise the whole tone, but Aruffo’s software teaches you to isolate the pitch from the rest of the sound and listen to what is most relevant. Only once you’ve learnt to perceive the pitch do you memorise it.

The importance of this is that you learn to do more than name individual notes. Instead you learn a useful skill that means you can understand music, and take it apart.

That’s the theory anyhow. But does it work in practice?

Chordfall and Interval Loader have definitely benefited me – although I need to spend a lot more time playing them to really embrace their benefits. My improvisation and transcribing on the guitar has much improved since playing these games. That could be a coincidence of course, but it is logical to believe that the games have had some effect. Logic would dictate that in order to progress through the game, I have to be improving, and I’ve progressed through the game even at times when I have not been playing guitar.

Absolute Pitch Blaster is much newer and so the jury is still out on whether it will actually develop absolute pitch for everyone. The signs are good so far, but it’s really too early to tell. The only effect I’ve experienced so far, outside of the game, is that I seem to be able to memorise what I hear with more detail. This could be my imagination though, so take that comment with a pinch of salt.

I’m still waiting to hear that someone has completed the game, and what results they have achieved from doing so. But some people are getting close. I’m a lot further away, however, so I would not expect to see great results yet.

Time will tell whether the current manifestation will create remarkable perfect pitch, but the benefits of this program are definitely there for all to see. If you go to www.wehearandplay.com/forum you can read some of the comments of present users and judge for yourself with the knowledge that these are unbiased comments. I’m registered in the forums under the username ‘Reeze’ if you want to read my comments.

You can also try out the software by downloading the demo.

There are some notable absences from the game (such as the training of rhythm) but don’t let that deter you. Firstly, the software is already very good (probably the best) and secondly it is still be improved upon so it is far from complete. Furthermore, those future updates are being provided for free, so you’ve got nothing to gain by waiting.

The software isn’t perfect, but it is good. In fact it is very good, and as far as I am aware the best product on the market for ear training – especially perfect pitch ear training. If something better comes along I’ll let you know. In the meantime this is going to benefit you more than any other ear training software I have yet found.

Why not go and try out the demo for yourself?