Hooktheory I vs Practical Ear Training

Embark on a musical journey! Follow the Hooktheory Book Series in a smart, fun, skill-building journey. Learn how to craft melodies and chord progressions like professional musicians, and discover an intuitive and deep understanding of how music works. Validated by over 30,000 hobby and pro musicians like you, the Hooktheory Book Series is the best-selling how-to series for musicians around the world for a reason. Hooktheory I isn’t like other music theory books. Hooktheory teaches with an easy-to-understand music format that emphasizes chord and melody function. Rich audiovisual animations play along as you learn. We dissect popular songs and show you how the pros do it. Immediately practice concepts and tactics with our companion musical sketchpad, Hookpad. There is nothing else like it! Fun to read. Easy to understand. Full of practical knowledge. Learn from 41 interactive exercises and 88 audiovisual examples from artists like The Beatles, Journey, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Adele, Coldplay, Billy Joel, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Maroon 5, and more! In Hooktheory I, you’ll learn the following skills: • Composing music based on a scale. • Understanding the six basic chords that underlie all great chord progressions. • Writing chord progressions based on function (understanding which chords go together and which ones don’t) • Making melodies “chord aware” - learn why certain melodies sound good with a chord progression and why others don't • Controlling the natural tension and release in melodies over a chord progression Benefits: • Simple piano roll notation (sheet music knowledge not required) • Every concept + technique demonstrated through an actual song • 88 audiovisual examples from artists like The Beatles, Journey, and Taylor Swift • Reinforce learning at every step with 41 exercises • Designed to be used with Hookpad Music Making Software. Hookpad lets you practice every concept and tactic you learn in the books immediately To sum it up, Hooktheory I will teach you the essential basic techniques for crafting effective and compelling chord progressions and melodies.   Reading Hooktheory I doesn’t require any previous music knowledge or the ability to read sheet music. On average, it takes about five hours to read so it isn't a huge time commitment. Dedicate only a few hours to reading this book and gain a lifetime of skills that will give your music that professional edge.

Practical Ear Training helps musicians recognize what they hear and connect it to the notes they play. Practice five essential listening skills: • Melodies — listen, explore the piano, then reproduce each phrase • Intervals — identify every interval from unison to octave • Chord progressions — recognize common, functional, minor-key and modal patterns • Chord qualities — distinguish major, minor, diminished and augmented triads • Scales — learn major, minor, pentatonic, blues, modal, whole-tone and diminished sounds MAKE PRACTICE YOUR OWN Choose the key, scale, octave and tempo. Focus on exactly the intervals, chords, scales and progression types you want to learn. Start with simple root-position chords and short melodies, then add inversions, open voicings, rhythmic chords and longer phrases. LISTEN WITH DIFFERENT SOUNDS Train with sampled grand piano, nylon guitar, trumpet and clarinet sounds. Changing the instrument helps you recognize musical ideas by pitch and structure instead of memorizing one timbre. PLAY, SEE AND UNDERSTAND Use the touch piano to find notes before answering or to perform a melody. After revealing the answer, follow it on an animated piano roll, piano keyboard, guitar, bass, ukulele or mandolin fretboard. Chord exercises show both chord names and Roman numerals. CHECK YOUR SKILLS Take a balanced 20-question ear test covering melodies, intervals, chord progressions, chord qualities and scales. See an overall result plus a score for each skill, then repeat the test later to compare your progress. BUILD A PRACTICE HABIT Track recent accuracy, completed exercises and individual strengths. Your practice history and test results stay on your device. Practical Ear Training is designed for music students, self-taught musicians, pianists, guitarists and anyone who wants a more confident musical ear. Practice as much as you like—no account, subscription or usage limit.