Most people think that children have to be born with the ability to play an instrument by ear in order to so, while others think that memorization is the only way to be able to look like one is playing an instrument by ear. 

And I’m here to say that, neither is correct. 

In this blog post I want to show you, how you can train your child’s musical ear even if you yourself have never learned music in the past. 

Now before we get started, I have to tell you, that this will require some learning on your part but it is not something that is going to take years to do. Rather it can be done in as little as a month, but the entire process of training your child, will of course take a lot longer. 

So, now that that is out of the way let’s get started. 

Learning Relative Pitch With Music Theory

Yes, this will require some knowledge of music theory but don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. 

Just join my Read Music Notes in 5 Days and Play the Piano course (which is currently being offered free) and you and your child can learn the basic music theory needed to get this step done. 

With this step all you have to do is to familiarize your child with being able to name the sound that they hear. 

Skip Ups, Skip Down, Step Ups and Step Down

Have your child’s back face the piano or keyboard and you play two adjoining keys. 

If you play C and then C#, that is a step up, C# to C is step down. 

Likewise C and then D is a skip up and D and then C is a skip down. 

So, here’s how you do it. You first play the skip up pattern and say that this is called a skip up. 

Then play the skip down pattern and say that it is skip down. 

Next play either one of the patterns and ask your child whether it is a skip up or a skip down.

That’s it. 

Rinse and repeat throughout the keyboard. 

Remember, not to over do it. About 10 minutes or less of ear training per day done every day will have greater results in six months than hours of ear training done sporadically. 

Practice Singing Easy Songs

This is another way to train your child’s ear even if you’ve never learned to play an instrument. 

Listen to a really easy nursery rhyme to begin with and then sing it. 

That’s it. 

Sing it until your child is able to sing it in tune perfectly. 

Once you’ve gone through the easy nursery rhymes, you can up your game and try a harder song. 

Want to learn more about how to train your child’s voice effectively? 

Then I think you will find my blog 6 ‘Super Easy’ Exercises To Train Your Child’s Voice, very helpful. 

Singing At The Correct Pitch

Make sure that your child is able to sing at the correct pitch and is able to raise and lower his voice according to the tune. 

This can be done by starting with easy songs and then progressing on to much more difficult ones. 

One of the biggest mistakes parents make is that they get the child started on a very difficult song, and think that their child has no ear for music. 

Clapping In Tune

Again start with very easy tunes and have your child clap in tune to a specific song. Playing an instrument by ear is not only about hitting the right notes, it is also about playing the right note at the right time. 

So rhythm and beat are very important. Often times, we find it annoying when the beat is missed, but don’t always recognize when a wrong note is played. 

So you can see how important it is to play in beat and clapping is one way of getting your child to learn rhythm and beat. 

Want to learn more about to teach your child rhythm and beat in the homeschool? Read my blog post on 4 ‘Super Easy’ Ways To Teach Rhythm & Beat In The Homeschool. 

So tell me, which one of the above tips are you going to get started with today?