Aural training game for semitones and tones by Piano Comics

There is a piece I like to teach to young piano beginners, even preschoolers, called ‘I want ice-cream’ . It uses 3 consecutive notes up and down and the lyrics help kids memorize the piano keys as well because…  who doesn’t want to eat all those sweets and sing ( so of course play it also on the piano ) till the end? In this video I play the game with a 7 year old student that has been learning piano for over a year ( he has played this game several times already ).

The keys used are c, d, e. So they all are an interval of a tone apart. This is a piece students learn fast – in one lesson – and like to repeat and sing quite often, sometimes adding their own lyrics for sweets they like personally.

In later lessons, 2-3 months after, I start teaching the concept of an interval. We start with the smallest, the semitone, and the best explanation so far I have used is that of the smallest distance between 2 keys, no other key can fit inside ex. c and c sharp ( these lessons are also a good opportunity to introduce the terms of sharps and flats, their symbols and meaning ). Then I raise the distance a bit to a tone where the interval between 2 keys is such, that only 1 key can fit in between ex. c and d where only c charp is in between, or e and f sharp where f key is only in between.

And now the game can start. Firstly, students have to guess on the piano keyboard and play/build semitones from different keys and octaves. Then same with whole tones. This way their eyes and brain are working. How these intervals look, how to play both white and black keys, how to place the fingers to play them. When they build 5-7 intervals we move to the second part of the game. Aural guessing of semitones and tones. Kids have to turn their back to the piano and only use their ears and brain to guess what I play. And here comes their favourite song ‘ I want ice-cream’. This song is made out of only tones. So they have a reference to guess 1 out of 2 and if one does not fit the ‘familiar sound’ ( a tone from that song ) then what I play is a semitone. I play the interval harmonically in the beginning. Then I divide it melodically playing the lower , then the higher key. If what I play reminds them of the song they guess it immediately as a tone. If not, then it’s a semitone.

Sometimes, I like to explain that both these intervals sound a bit…. ‘dirty’, like a smudge. Only the semitone is a very intense smudge, like very similar colours, red and deep red, while the tone ( reminding the ‘I want ice-cream’ ) is a thin hair apart key/colour. Some kids hear the tone as quite far, a real different step ahead. And of course it helps to play several semitones for a beginner’s ear to notice how close the keys are and when sounding together how ‘incorrect’ they sound just because they are so close.

Have a fun, musical and aurally effective piano lesson.

Here you can download the song/piece: