Hofnote.co.uk

Listen, understand, enjoy.

Hofnote is the leading online aural training site which helps musicians of all levels to develop their ear for music.

 
Hofnote gives music students interactive exercises with instant feedback at various levels, related to examining grades or more general interval hearing training.

Aural training is essential for developing a feeling for and understanding of music. It develops the link between the technical and intuitive sides of music.

Hofnote has been developed from an idea by Lester Hough. Lester is a pianist, composer and music teacher and has nurtured musicians of all ages. Some have learnt for enjoyment, some have gone onto performance and some onto university

He discovered that aural can be quite intimidating for his students. It used to be the only area examined in music exams which students could no practice on their own. They needed someone toplay the piano and ask questions about the piece of music.

However that has all changed now and students can now practise as often as they like in privacy and build their skills and confidence.

 

There are two aspects to aural skills:

The ability to hear and visualise the detail while listening to music, making the link from intuitive to technical. For example, listening to music and being aware of the time signature, beat and tonal qualities such as the type of scale and nature of chords.

The ability to imagine sound when seeing written music, making the link from the technical to the intuitive. This develop skills such as sight reading and sight singing.

Some musicians may incline more to intuition, and others to a more technical understanding. However, by being able to relate the two, musicians are more able to communicate and build a vocabulary which informs their performance.The links between technical and intuitive may be easier for some musicians than for others, but the Hofnote training system makes it easy for students to work at their own pace to consolidate their skills.