Relative Pitch Exercises

Relative pitch is the most important skill a musician can possess. It is the ability to understand music by hearing the distances and relationships between notes.

The Foundation: Intervals

All relative pitch starts with interval recognition. An interval is simply the distance between two notes. If you memorize the sound of the 12 basic intervals, you have the vocabulary to understand any melody.

The Next Level: Chords

Once you can measure distance (intervals), you need to recognize color (chords). A Major chord always sounds "happy" regardless of what key it is in. A Diminished chord always sounds "tense." Recognizing these qualities is pure relative pitch.

Interactive Exercises

BananaTone provides endless, randomized exercises for both intervals and chords. Because the root notes are completely randomized every time, you cannot cheat by memorizing absolute pitches — you are forced to use true relative pitch.

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